Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Happy Hour: CotW--Satan's Whiskers

Satan's Whiskers (Straight) by woesis
Satan's Whiskers (Straight), a photo by woesis on Flickr.
Just a few days before I got pregnant with my sweet little boy, I celebrated another birthday. A dear friend gifted me with a fantastic book that--until know--I was not able to fully appreciate: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh aka Dr. Cocktail.

The book is lovely. Not just for its terrific recipes, but for the stories, history, and gorgeous photographs of both cocktails and vintage bar paraphernalia. But there is no better way to appreciate the book than to whip up the cocktails therein. My husband and I decided to do so by declaring a “Cocktail of the Week.”

Our first ever such cocktail, chosen for it’s fantastic name and relatively easy to come by ingredients is the Satan’s Whiskers cocktail. Haigh’s book lists two versions: curled or straight. Below is the recipe for curled. We’ve tried both and I think that I prefer the beverage straight, but that could be due to less than excellent curacao in the curled version.

Yields two vintage-sized cocktails.
Ingredients:

Gin--1 jigger
Dry vermouth--1 jigger
Sweet vermouth--1 jigger
Orange juice--1 jigger
Orange curacao--4 teaspoons
Orange bitters--2 teaspoons

Mix in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into glass to serve. Garnish with an orange twist.

To try the drink straight, substitute Grand Marnier for curacao.

When first made, my husband and I shared the drink with a couple of friends. Everyone seemed to enjoy the beverage a great deal. The first comment on the drink was, “It’s a lot like an orange soda,” and frankly they’re right. It does evoke the taste of an orange soda pop. The vermouth gives the beverage an almost grapefruit juice-like finish.

I think that for people not used to the strength and flavor of old fashioned cocktails, Satan’s Whiskers is a great entry-level beverage to try.

2 comments:

  1. I love this and will enjoy reading more of these!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Please let me know if you give this cocktail and try. If so, i'd love to hear your thoughts on the drink. :)

    ReplyDelete

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