Bibulo.us - We plead the 21st.

Chocolate Cocktail

In the 1990s, cocktail menus were filled with chocolate cocktails: choco-tinis, Godiva confections, and so on.  And two "Chocolate Cocktail"s appeared in the Savoy Cocktail Book. But in the 1890s, another "chocolate cocktail" was sliding across the bar.

Except, it didn't have any chocolate in it.

Drinking chocolate was still a luxury, and we assume that cocoa powder was too expensive to use in mixed drinks. So bartenders came up with a creamy, frothy mix that looked a whole lot like drinking chocolate, and even tasted a bit like it.  In George J. Kappeler's 1895 book Modern American Drinks, the following recipe for the "Chocolate Cocktail" appears on page 34:

We used Delaforce ruby port, Angostura bitters, a whole local Rock Island brown egg, and ordinary superfine sugar (dissolved in a teaspoon of water before mixing).

The mouth-feel of the drink is a great deal like cool drinking chocolate. The closest point of reference is chocolate milk (or--and we mean this as a good thing--spiked Yoo-Hoo).  The sweet of the chocolate comes from the sugar; the bite comes from the bitters; and the fruit and wood flavors of chocolate in the port. It's not going to fool anyone, but for a 19th-century drinking public clamoring for the smooth feel of liquid chocolate, this would be just the thing.

I'm sure the choco-tini crowd will be clamoring for this drink: after all, there are fewer calories in a whole egg than in an ounce of Godiva chocolate liqueur.

Modern American Drinks (1895)

Modern American Drinks
by
George J. Kappeler

Photo set of representative pages from the copy in possession of the San Francisco Public Library

Liberal

Perhaps due to the change in Amer Picon's recipe in the 1970's rendering it lower proof we don't really know what this drink is supposed to taste like, however, if you can get your hands on a bottle of the stuff currently available in Europe (e.g through Gerry's of Soho, London) you will not find yourself disappointed. If this is a shadow it's former self, it's still a darn tasty shadow.

Robert Hess has also suggested that Torani Amer is a good substitute for Amer Picon, an experiment the authors have not yet had opportunity to make. If so, you may wish to add a drop of orange bitters to better replicate the taste of the original Amer Picon - or so it's been said Ted Haigh who has tasted the original has advised. Dave Wondrich, as Splificator of the eGullet forums, was able to do a head-to-head comparison against the pre-1970s Amer Picon and various bitters and recommends Amaro Ciociaro as the closest match. Other drinkers in the eGullet thread encourage the use of orange bitters with the Amaro Ciociaro as well.

The truly bold are encouraged to make their own Amer Picon, following the instructions of bartender Jamie Boudreau.

 

We recommend rye whiskey for the Liberal.

Recipes:

1895 Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler

Fill a mixing glass half-full fine ice
1 dash syrup
Half a jigger [1 oz] Amer Picon bitters
Half a jigger [1 oz] whiskey
Mix, strain into cocktail glass
Small piece of lemon peel on top

By the 1930s the drink had changed dramatically.

1935 The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book by Albert Stevens Crockett

Dash of orange bitters
3 dashes Amer Picon
One-half Whiskey
One-half Italian vermouth (stir)

The Manhattan

The Manhattan is one of the archetypal classic cocktails and it is here we begin the bibulo.us journey.

It is basically some whiskey, usually less sweet vermouth, plus a dash of some kind of bitters. Traditionally it is made with rye, the spiciness of which plays nicely with the flavors of the vermouth. It originated in New York, probably in the 1870s, but beyond that there is disagreement over its precise origin.

The personal experience of the bibulo.us authors is to recommend Carpano Antica Formula as the vermouth most suited to the drink.

Recipes:

1884 How To Mix Drinks - Bar Keeper's Handbook [by George Winter?] (cited by Wondrich 2007)

2 or 3 dashes of Peruvian Bitters
1 to 2 dashes (.5 tsp) of gum syrup
One-half wine glass (1.5 oz) of whiskey
One-half wine glass (1.5 oz) of vermouth
(no garnish mentioned)

1892 The Flowing Bowl by William "The Only William" Schmidt (cited by Wondrich 2007)

Half a tumblerful of cracked ice
2 dashes (.5 tsp) of gum
2 dashes of bitters
1 dash of absinthe
2/3 drink (2 oz) of whiskey
1/3 drink (1 oz) of vino vermouth
(a little (1/4 tsp) marschino may be added)

1895 Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler

Fill mixing glass half-full fine ice
2 dashes gum syrup
2 dashes Peyschaud [sic] or Angostura bitters
1 half jigger Italian vermouth
1 half jigger whiskey
Mix, strain into cocktail glass
Garnish with piece of lemon peel or a cherry

Dry version: without syrup or cherry.
Extra dry version: dry version with French vermouth instead of Italian

1907 The World's Drinks and How To Mix Them by William "Cocktail" Boothby

2 dashes of orange bitters
2 drops of Angostura bitters
1/2 jiggerful of Italian vermouth
1/2 jiggerful of bourbon whiskey
Stir, strain and twist & squeeze a lemon peel over the top.

A variant with a faint touch of Curacao apparently was all the rage among the science community in the early 20th century:

1910 The Scientific American Cyclopedia of Formulas Partly Based Upon the 28th Ed. of Scientific American Cyclopedia of Receipts, Notes and Queries by Albert Allis Hopkins

Vermouth wineglassful
whisky wineglassful
simple syrup 30 drops
Angostura bitters 10 drops
Curacoa 6 drops
a little shaved ice
lemon peel 1 small strip

Put all the ingredients except the lemon rind into a large tumbler
cover the top closely shake well and strain into a wineglass
Place the strip of lemon peel on the top and serve.

1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock

2 dashes curacao or maraschino
1 pony rye whisky
1 wineglass vermouth (mixed)
3 dashes Angostura bitters
2 small lumps of ice
Shake, strain, garnish with one quarter slice of lemon.

or

1 dash Angostura bitters
2/3 Canadian Club whisky
1/3 Ballor Italian vermouth
Shake, strain, garnish with cherry.

or

Sweet version: equal parts Italian vermouth and rye whisky, no garnish.
Dry version: half rye whisky, 1/4 each French & Italian vermouth.

1933 The American Bar Guide by R.C. Miller (2nd edition)

1/2 wine glass whiskey
1/2 wine glass vermouth
2 dashes bitters
3 dashes gum syrup
Strain in cocktail glass.

1935 The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book by Albert Stevens Crockett

Dash of orange bitters
One-half Italian vermouth
One-half rye whiskey (stir)
Serve with maraschino cherry

or

2 dashes orange bitters
2 pinches sugar
One-half Italian vermouth
One-half Irish whiskey

1946 The Stork Club Bar Book by Lucius Beebe

2/3 oz rye whisky
1/3 oz Italian vermouth
Decorate with maraschino cherry, stir, and serve.

1998 Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century by Paul Harrington

2 oz rye
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1 to 2 dashes Angostura bitters (optional)
Stir, strain, garnish with maraschino cherry.

2002 Esquire Drinks by David Wondrich

Stir well with cracked ice
2 oz good rye
1 oz Italian vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters or orange bitters
Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with [lemon] twist or maraschino cherry.

2006 The Art of the Bar by Jeff Hollinger & Rob Schwartz

"Uptown" Manhattan
2 oz bourbon (preferably Maker's Mark)
1 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
Dash of Angostura bitters
Dash of orange bitters
3 brandied cherries for garnish
Orange twist for garnish

Robert Hess' The Cocktail Spirit video demonstration

Steve & Paul's Cocktail Buzz episode pairing the drink with bacon-wrapped dates

Chris Doig's Brilliant Cocktails video demonstration

Other useful references:

History & recipe variants in Imbibe! by David Wondrich, pages 236-243

Wikipedia entry

Wikitender entry