“We may go to Europe for our chefs, but Europe comes to us for its bartenders.”
– W.C. Whitfield
W.C. Whitfield’s Mixed Drinks and Cocktails ($20) takes what you might call the old-school approach to bartending. Writing in the late nineteen-thirties and early forties, Whitfield was creating a guide that included drinks from his pre-Prohibition youth of the 1890s. If you want hundreds of possible drinks, it’s the place to look. We pulled out thirteen of the ones with the funniest names for your enjoyment.
Pink Whiskers
1 oz. brandy, 1 oz. French vermouth, ½ oz. orange juice, 3 dashes grenadine, 1 dash crème de menthe.
Bachelor’s Bait
1½ oz. dry gin, 1 egg white, 3 dashes orange bitters, 3 dashes grenadine.
Between the Sheets
1/3 oz. Cointreau, 1/3 oz. Benedictine, 1/3 oz. brandy.
St. Patrick’s Day
1/3 oz. green crème de menthe, 1/3 oz. green chartreuse, 1/3 oz. irish whiskey, 1 dash bitters.
Cloven Hoof
½ oz. brandy, ½ oz. crème de menthe, 1 dash absinthe
Morning After
3 oz. absinthe, 1 teaspoon anisette syrup, 1 egg white, top with soda water.
Volstead
1/3 oz. Swedish punch, 1/3 oz. rye, 1/6 oz. orange juice, 1/6 oz. raspberry syurp, 1 dash anisette.
Knickerbrocker
2/3 oz. dry gin, 1/3 oz. French vermouth, 1 dash Italian vermouth, 1 twist lemon peel.
Black Eye
½ oz. scotch, 1/3 oz. fresh cream, 3 dashes crème de cacao.
Corpse Reviver
1½ oz. cognac, ¾ oz. apple brandy, ¾ oz. Italian vermouth.
Buster Brown
1 ½ oz. whiskey, 2 dashes lemon juice, 1 teaspoon syrup, 2 dashes orange bitters.
Rhett Buttler
1 teaspoon curacao, 1½ oz. whisky, one peach quarter; place in a blender with shaved ice and blend until frapped.
Solar Plexus Punch
1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon pineapple syrup, ½ oz. lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Jamaica rum, 1 teaspoon abricotine, ½ wineglass of sherry, ½ wineglass of rye whisky, 1 egg white; mix in a ice-filled shaker, strain into punch glass, top with sparkling water and sprinkle with nutmeg.
