Fox Shot

2⁄5 jig Gin, Beefeater
1⁄5 jig Brandy (Bonded brandy like Christian Brother's Sacred Bond works well.)
1⁄5 jig Sweet vermouth, Martini & Rossi
1⁄5 jig Bitters, Angostura
Instructions

Stir well with ice, strain into cocktail glass.

Notes

In Straub's recipe, each component is given as 1/5 or 2/5 jigger, implying that a jigger is equal to the full drink. If it is indeed meant as a shot, and a jigger is understood as 1.5 oz., the ratios work, but as a standard 3 oz cocktail, adjustment to the ratio may be desirable. Jack Grohusko's specification of M&R vermouth and Gordon Dry Gin probably has more to do with sponsorship or marketing than design.

Cocktail summary
Created by
Jacques Straub
Year
1913
Is an
authentic recipe
Reference

Straub (1913), Jack's Manual (1916).

Curator
Not yet rated
Average
3 stars
(2 ratings)
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Comments

So I know we usually don't do drinks with odd measurements like parts and jiggers, but turning 2/5 of a 1 1/2 oz drink into ounces gets silly real quick - 3/5 and 3/10 of an ounce is hard to measure. The OP asked how I'd scale it up to a 3-4 ounce drink, and my best guess would be to swap the vermouth and gin amounts, so: 1.25 vermouth, and a fat 1/2 oz of gin, brandy and Angostura. Thanks,  Zachary

Thank you for the suggestion. It seems to work well.

I don't follow. Why would you swap gin and vermouth here? That changes the flavor profile.

If you use 1.5 oz gin and 0.75 oz of everything else, you'll get the same flavor in a drink that comes in at 5.4 oz (after dilution).

Using 1 oz gin and 0.5 oz everything else comes in at 3.6 oz (within the request, but small for a modern drink).

Either seem "easy enough".

I think Mr. Pearson's switch allows the drink to be enjoyed as a sipped cocktail better, notwithstanding it subdues it and changes it. If the original brisk "knock-back" is desired on a standard scale (for the sake of experiencing  history, perhaps), 1 oz Gin, 1/2 oz of each of the rest might work, though I've had barkeeper friends suggest tampering with the ratio, adding a dash of lemon or syrup, etc., which might speak more to their personal tastes (i.e., toward more punch-like "balance," or else challenging the palate, etc.). One even wanted to frame it as a Negroni riff, brandy and bitters replacing Campari.

Just doubling the amounts as written leads to a drink that's 2 ounces of 80 proof spirit (and more if you're using bonded brandy) that's balanced by 2 teaspoons of sweet vermouth. That just seems unpleasant, which is why it's a 1.5 ounce shot as written. Swapping them makes a drink that's equal parts gin + brandy and sweet vermouth with a good amount of bitters. Thanks,  Zachary

Thanks for the explanation. Seems reasonable.

I've since had both versions as short sippers (though Butchertown, rather than Sacred Bond). I tend to enjoy bitters-heavy cocktails, but both variants are so Ango-dominant that I don't personally register either as being significantly "more balanced" than the other.

Assuming bonded brandy: after dilution, the original recipe is ~26% ABV, similar to other spirit-forward cocktails like a De La Louisiane or a bonded Manhattan (though a bit less sweet). The inverted recipe is ~23% ABV, closer to a Martinez or a Hanky Panky.