4 found Showing cocktails with ingredient Noilly Prat

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A Spontaneous Libation for your Consideration

Shrapnel

Posted by Shawn C
1 1⁄2 oz Bourbon
1⁄2 oz Sweet vermouth
1⁄2 oz Dry vermouth
1⁄2 oz Apricot liqueur
1 sli Orange (as garnish)
Instructions

Original instructions say "stir on the rocks", but I prefer to stir in mixing glass with ice, then pour over a large rock before adding garnish.

Notes

Came across this "Perfect Manhattan" riff while searching through my old copy of "Ultimate Bartender's Guide." I expected I would find an older source, or another name for effectively the same cocktail, but came up empty.

Lots of room to experiment with different bourbons, vermouths, and apricot here, as well as varying proportions. I chose Bulleit Bourbon because I like it, and its name is "shrapnel adjacent." I used Carpano Dry and Carpano Classico for the vermouths (I thought Antica might be overbearing in this.) I chose Rothman & Winter Apricot liqueur and have liked it with both 1/4 and 1/2 oz quantities.

My wife gave it a thumbs up, so it is in the rotation now.

History

Source of the cocktail is not stated in the book. Barbug.com lists the same name and recipe using Jim Beam Bourbon and Hiram Walker Apricot Liqueur, so that might reflect the original calls from the magazine.

Curator rating
5 stars
Average rating
3.5 stars
(5 ratings)

From the Knowledge Vault

Craft Cocktail Making: Theory and Structure of Acidity

Ward Eight A rye cocktail acidified with citrus.

The dividing line between a cocktail enthusiast and a craft cocktail aficionado is knowledge. Anyone can enjoy a cocktail, and with enough time spent at or behind a bar, attain a good enough working knowledge of brands and flavors of alcohol. Some of these people go on to create a new cocktail, usually starting with a common drink or ratio of spirits to other ingredients and tweaking them to make something pleasant.

Alas, this approach lacks repeatability in creating quality craft cocktails. Craft cocktails are not dump buckets for every neon colored, super sweet liqueur that your distributor is pushing. And they are not made to mask the flavor of alcohol, but to support and sustain it.

Combinations that should work based on the flavors of the components often fail to impress in the glass due to a lack of understanding of those same component's structural elements. Skilled mixologists construct cocktails from some basic building blocks: alcohol, sugar, acidity, and bitterness. A thorough understand of these primary elements can help craft cocktail designers make great drinks with a minimum of waste and trial and error.

Acidity

The cocktail dates back to the earliest parts of the 19th century. The original contained no acidic agents – just a simple mix of spirit, sugar, water, and bitters. But by 1862, Jerry Thomas had entire sections for Sours, Fixes, and Daisies, all of which featured acidity prominently. Certainly, the use of spirit-plus-acidity dates back to the 18th century Punch, which were spirit, water, lemon and sugar, with some other ingredients added for flavoring.

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Recent Discussion

  • Re I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All, 2 days 15 hours ago alliedforces64 commented:

    Read the list of liquors and thought "no way will that taste good". I was wrong. Maybe a tad too sweet, but ten out of ten, would recommend.

  • Re Warm lsle Guest, 3 days 9 hours ago Shawn C commented:

    I added instructions, assumed it would be shaken w/ice.

  • Re Spirit of Agave, 3 days 20 hours ago drinkingandthinking commented:

    Perfection. Simple to make but more complex that you would think. Margarita +.

  • Re Unusual Negroni, 3 days 20 hours ago drinkingandthinking commented:

    I've made this many times before finding it here. I just called it a white negroni riff, but I guess it actually existed before me. It's my go to "lazy" drink whenever I have Lillet. Always hits the spot.

  • Re 25th Hour, 1 week ago goddessborn commented:

    Used a no-age-statement Islay. 10yo tawny. Subbed Montenegro for Nonino—either I was heavy-handed with the maraschino or the Montenegro can't stand up to it. My glass was a little Maraschinish. Really tasty up drink, though.