1919
Stir over ice, strain.
Slightly bitter, slightly sweet, somewhat like a Manhattan
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- Prefer with 1/2 sweet vermouth and over a large rock — ★★★★
- Over one large ice cube? Tone down Punte Mes to all equal parts? does well with lemon garnish. Cherry maybe? Barbencourt was used for rhum.
- On the sweeter side, so I like a little more robust rum substitution.
- Excellent drink although maybe a little too much like a Manhattan for my taste.
- Try with 1/2 rum, 1 oz rye next time. Remember 1 dash mole bitters
- Scaffa García Febles — Trinidad rum, Demerara Rum, Bénédictine, Chocolate bitters, Coffee
- The Fiery Dog — Whiskey, Sweet vermouth, Absinthe, Bénédictine, Peychaud's Bitters
- Puerto Rican Racer — Puerto Rican Rum, Apple brandy, Herbal liqueur, Peychaud's Bitters, Grenadine
- Funny Duck — Bourbon, Sweet vermouth, Bénédictine, Averna, Bitters
- Creole Cocktail — Whiskey, Sweet vermouth, Amer Picon, Bénédictine
Recipes specifically calling for Old Monk are so few and far between, I had to give this one a spin. The full ounce of Punt e Mes beats back most of the rye nuances and even most of the endearing harshness of the Old Monk. Certainly the Bénédictine comes through loud and clear. Successive sips do reveal more of the base spirits' character, but they definitely play a backseat to the Punt e Mes and Bénédictine.
I might need to revisit this one with good old Noily Prat to try to strike a rum/rye/vermouth balance that is more to my liking, but this is one that is worth further reflection and experimentation.
When we had it at Drink in 2008, it was 1 dash Mole Bitters. The cinnamon note of the Fee's would be delightful, but it was not the house recipe (the version of the Drink recipe book I have lists it as 2 dashes Mole Bitters and served in a rocks glass without ice).
http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2008/11/1919-cocktail.html
When I was working at Drink, it was discussed how if there were to be a garnish, nutmeg would be the one. It has enough body that a sweet cherry would be superfluous. In my mind the 1919 is an expansion of the Fort Point Cocktails at that bar (double the Punt e Mes and Benedictine amounts and split the rye with Old Monk Rum) and starker form gets a cherry garnish.
https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2008/10/fort-point-cocktail.html
It was not on the menu at No. 9 Park right before or after Drink opened in October 2008. There's a chance that Ben Sandrof had been tinkering with it before Drink finally opened, but I have never seen a reference to that possibility (including my own time spent in that establishment), and it has always been spoken of as a Drink house original. Then again, this is history told in bars by folks that drink.