THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN
One day at the Hotel Bel-Air, an elderly couple came in and sat at a corner table for lunch. They were alone in the lounge, seated at the one table that was out of view of the bar. In the middle of the lounge was a Steinway baby grand piano, The lock that secures the fallboard over the keys was broken, and Bud Herrmann, the long-time personality at the piano, asked me to keep an eye out to make sure that nobody played it while the lock was broken. Right after lunch, this slightly built, elderly man began to motor toward the piano, but by the time I noticed, he was seated and raising the fallboard. Just before his fingers hit the keys, I got to the piano and said, “Excuse me, sir. I’m sorry, but the regular piano player, Bud Herrmann, would prefer that people not play piano during the day when he’s not here.”
The gentleman was very understanding and went back to his table. He paid his check with a credit card, and as I was processing it, I noticed his name: Vladimir Horowitz. I called the desk, hoping against hope that this was a different Vladimir Horowitz. But this was the Hotel Bel-Air, and Mr. Horowitz was in town for a concert. I apologized and tried to rescind my edict. Mr. Horowitz was immovable, however, commenting that he actually had his own instrument shipped to wherever he was appearing. He was a perfect gentleman, bowing to Bud’s wish not touch the piano, and I was devastated.
LIME IN DE COCONUT*
1 ounce Absolut Lime vodka
1 ounce Absolut vodka
1 ounce Ginger Syrup, homemade (this page) or store-bought, preferably Monin
1 ounce fresh lime juice
2 ounces coconut water
½ ounce Coco López Cream of Coconut
Thin lime wheel, for garnish
Long slice of unpeeled English cucumber, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients (except the garnishes) with ice. Strain into a highball glass over ice cubes. Garnish with the lime wheel and cucumber slice.
LION OF BALTIMORE+
This was invented by author Phil Greene on the shores of Bodkin Creek, Maryland, after a day of sailing with his dad on Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 2013. The Lion of Baltimore was a vessel built by the United States to wreak havoc on British shipping during the War of 1812. The Lion was kept hidden on Bodkin Creek, where Phil and his dad moor their sloop.
2 ounces Appleton Estate Reserve Blend Jamaica rum
1 ounce Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
¼ ounce orgeat
2 dashes of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters
Shake all the ingredients well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
THE LITTLE GEM+
If made properly, this drink should have the crisp green color of Little Gem lettuce. If it doesn’t, adjust the curaçao accordingly for the next round.
1 ounce blanco tequila (I suggest Siete Leguas)
1 ounce Carpano Bianco vermouth
¾ ounce Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple rum
¼ ounce Marie Brizard blue curaçao
2 dashes of Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6
Lemon peel
Assemble all the ingredients (except the lemon) in a mixing glass and stir well with cracked ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass, twist the lemon peel over the top, and discard.
LITTLE GEM
“When I first started writing about drinks, back at the very end of 1999, I shook everything. Margarita? Shake it. Mai tai? Shake it. Martini? Shake it. Manhattan, Negroni, Presidente? Shake ’em—shake ’em all. In part, that was what I saw everyone doing, at least at the sorts of bars I was used to—rock-and-roll joints and dives, for the most part. Sure, there was the occasional geezer holding down the bar at a place like Musso & Frank’s in Hollywood or the Bemelmans Bar in New York who would waltz the ice around with a spoon when I asked him for a dry Tanqueray Martini, but they were rare, and when I tried it at home, it came out as a slam dance, not a waltz.
“But then I met Dale, and he showed me how to properly stir a cocktail. It still took me a couple of years to get it down to the point where my stir wasn’t embarrassing. It was worth the effort: to this day, the ability to stir a cocktail more or less properly is a skill that makes me ridiculously happy, considering how picayune it seems. But it is the essence of craft bartending: something fundamentally simple that nonetheless requires knowledge and experience to get it just right and results in a drink that is incrementally changed but transcendently better; that is alive in the glass.
“The Little Gem is a slightly odd but I think very tasty drink laid out on classic lines. It’s a little sweet, but when stirred right, it’s also velvety and delightful.” —David Wondrich, author
LITTLE ITALY+
“Dale, Rob Oppenheimer (general manager of Pegu Club), and I were sitting at the bar at Raoul’s one night having steak frites for dinner, and we were drinking Manhattans. We were also talking about Cynar, and Dale mentioned that he really liked it. Since we were sipping on Manhattans, I wondered how it would taste with Cynar, and the Little Italy is the end result.” —Audrey Saunders
2 ounces Rittenhouse 100-proof straight rye whisky
½ ounce Cynar
¾ ounce Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
2 Luxardo maraschino cherries, skewered on a pick, for garnish
In a mixing glass, stir the whisky, Cynar, and vermouth well with ice. Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with the skewered cherries.
LOS ANGELES COCKTAIL
From the Hi Ho Club, Hollywood, circa 1930.
2 ounces Jim Beam Black extra-aged bourbon
½ ounce Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
1 ounce Simple Syrup (this page)
1 medium emulsified whole egg (see this page)
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish
Combine all the ingredients (except the garnish) in a shaker with ice and shake very well to emulsify the egg. Strain into a chilled port glass. Dust with the nutmeg.
LONG ISLAND ICED TEA
Credit for this incredibly successful frat-house drink is attributed to Robert C. Butt. When made properly, the drink tastes great and doesn’t have to be an evening-ender. The key is to have all the spirits present but in small amounts. In the recipe here, the total alcohol content is 2½ ounces. It is a well-balanced, good-tasting drink, in large part because of the fresh lemon juice and simple syrup. Besides the Long Island version, there are a few other regional variations.
LONDON ICED TEA
¾ ounce Fords gin
¾ ounce Myers’s Platinum white rum
½ ounce Disaronno Originale amaretto
½ ounce Simple Syrup (this page)
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
3 to 4 ounces Coca-Cola (see Note)
Lemon wedge, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients (except the Coca-Cola and lemon wedge) with ice and strain into an iced tea or collins glass filled three-quarters full with ice. Top with the Coca-Cola and stir. Garnish with the lemon wedge.
Note: Get the Coca-Cola in the little green bottles, which is sweetened with cane sugar and stevia, not corn syrup.
LONG ISLAND ICED TEA
½ ounce Blue Shark vodka
½ ounce Fords gin
½ ounce Bacardí Superior rum
½ ounce Jose Cuervo Especial gold tequila
½ ounce Marie Brizard triple sec
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce Simple Syrup (this page)
3 to 4 ounces Coca-Cola (see Note)
Lemon wedge, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients (except the Coca-Cola and garnish) with ice and strain into an iced-tea or collins glass filled three-quarters full with ice. Top with the Coca-Cola and stir. Garnish with the lemon wedge.
LYNCHBURG LEMONADE
Here’s my version of this whiskey lemonade drink.
2 ounces Jack Daniel’s whiskey
¾ ounce Joseph Cartron Curaçao Orange
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
1½ ounces 7UP
1½ ounces club soda
Lemon wedge, for garnish
Shake the first three ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with the 7UP and the club soda. Garnish with the lemon wedge.
MADISON AVENUE COCKTAIL
Created by Eddie Woelke at the Weylin Hotel bar in the years before Prohibition. After Prohibition, Woelke ended up at the Sevilla Hotel in Havana, Cuba, which is where he created a Cuban classic cocktail, the El Presidente.
1½ ounces Bacardí Superior rum
¾ ounce Cointreau
½ ounce fresh lime juice
Dash of Bitter Truth orange bitters
3 mint leaves
Fresh mint sprig, for garnish
Thin lime wheel, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients (except the garnishes) with ice and fine strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with the mint sprig and lime slice.
MAHOGANY HALL GIMLET*
I made this one for the Gallery Bars aboard Holland America Line.
1½ ounces Beefeater gin
½ ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce fresh grapefruit juice
½ ounce Triple Syrup (this page)
2 dashes of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters
Thin lime wheel, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients (except the garnish) well with ice. Fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the lime wheel.
MAI TAI
2 ounces Appleton Estate Signature Blend Jamaica rum
¾ ounce Joseph Cartron Curaçao Orange
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce orgeat
¾ ounce Lemon Hart 151 overproof rum
2 fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Shake the ingredients (except the garnish) well with ice and strain into a mai tai or double old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Garnish with the mint sprigs.
Naming the Mai Tai
The Mai Tai was created in 1944 by Victor Bergeron at his famed bar, Trader Vic’s, in Emeryville, California, to take advantage of some good sixteen-year-old Jamaican rum he had around. Victor often said it was one of the finest drinks he’d ever concocted. When he made the drink the first time, he served it to his friends from Tahiti, Ham and Carrie Guild. After tasting the drink, Carrie raised her glass and said, “Mai tai roa ae,” which means “out of this world” or “the best” in Tahitian. “That’s the name of the drink,” replied Bergeron.
MALIBU BAY BREEZE
1½ ounces Malibu rum
3 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces cranberry juice
Lime wedge, for garnish
Build in a highball glass over ice and garnish with the lime wedge.
THE MANHATTAN
The Manhattan is the quintessential rye cocktail—except in Minnesota and Wisconsin, where they prefer brandy Manhattans. The craft community has embraced rye Manhattans again, and that is where my story begins. I produce an allspice-based aromatic bitters with my partner Ted Breaux, an absinthe maker of the first order. I wanted to promote our bitters in the Manhattan, but I didn’t want to be too heavy-handed about it so I put together a Manhattan tasting with five different aromatic bitters and included mine. Try the tasting with friends and turn your cocktail hour into a Manhattan party.
CLASSIC MANHATTAN
2 ounces Rittenhouse 100-Proof straight rye whisky
1 ounce Italian sweet vermouth
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Bordeaux cherry, for garnish
Stir all the ingredients (except the garnish) with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry.
A MANHATTAN PARTY
Make a batch of Manhattans without bitters, following the recipe below. Try the Manhattan with the four bitters listed below; the results are dramatic, ranging from a sweet Manhattan to the driest by simply changing the dash of bitters.
2 parts Bulleit rye whiskey
¾ part Dolin or Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
½ part Dolin or Noilly Prat dry vermouth
Combine all the ingredients in a pitcher. Stir your batched Manhattan with ice to properly dilute for the tasting and then strain off the ice. Serve half portions (1½ ounces) for the tasting with the four bitters. Serve the half portions without ice and without garnish.
Variations For a dry Manhattan, use dry vermouth and garnish with a lemon peel. A Manhattan made with brandy is called a Harvard, and one made with applejack is called a Star Cocktail.
The bitters for the tasting: Angostura aromatic bitters, Bitter Truth Bogart’s Bitters, Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters, and Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters.
APPLE MANHATTAN+
This delicious combination comes from master bartender David Marsden when he worked in a classy little spot called First on First in New York City in the 1990s. The Berentzen apple liqueur is the key, so no substitutes.
2 ounces Maker’s Mark bourbon
1 ounce Berentzen apple liqueur
Dash of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters
Thin slice of Granny Smith apple, for garnish
Stir the bourbon, liqueur, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the apple slice.
EASTERN MANHATTAN*
I created this for the Inagiku Japanese restaurant in the Waldorf Astoria. Today the Waldorf is owned by the Chinese, and that Japanese restaurant is just a memory. The irony of the story: My son did cocktails for the Chinese restaurant that opened on the other side of the lobby, with shochu and baijiu drinks. The Waldorf is currently closed for a major renovation. The Chinese needed to upgrade all the tech capabilities for their guests (wink, wink).
3 dashes (½ teaspoon) of daiginjo sake
2½ ounces Suntory Toki blended whisky
½ ounce Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
½ ounce Noilly Prat dry vermouth
Orange zest coin (see this page), for garnish
Fill a cocktail glass with crushed ice, then discard the ice. Dash the sake into the glass, swirl, then toss out. Assemble the remaining ingredients (except the garnish) in a cocktail mixing glass with ice and stir to chill. Strain into the prepared cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange zest coin.
RED MANHATTAN*
Of course this is not a proper Manhattan. First of all, the base is vodka. I’m just having a bit of fun with “Phil Ward’s potato head” system of substitution to create cocktail variations, in this case for the whiskey and the vermouth.
2½ ounces Absolut Kurant vodka
¾ ounce St Raphaël Rouge
2 dashes of Bitter Truth orange bitters
Orange zest coin (see this page), for garnish
Stir the vodka, St Raphaël, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice to chill and then strain it into a chilled cocktail glass. Express the orange oil over the drink and drop the orange zest coin into the drink.
REVERSE MANHATTAN
I came up with this “perfect” reverse Manhattan for a fundraiser for the Jacques Pépin Foundation; it was Jacques’s special request. In fact, it has real historical roots. The recipe appears in O. H. Byron’s Modern Bartenders’ Guide (1884) under Manhattan, where a two-to-one vermouth-to-whiskey recipe is the first of two Manhattans listed.
1 ounce Dolin sweet vermouth
1 ounce Dolin dry vermouth
1 ounce Bulleit bourbon
Dash of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters
Orange zest coin (see this page), for garnish
Bordeaux cherry, for garnish
Stir the vermouths, bourbon, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice to chill and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange zest coin and cherry.
MARAGATO
This was an early recipe from the famous El Floridita bar in Havana, Cuba.
1 ounce Havana Club 3-year-old rum
½ ounce sweet vermouth
½ ounce dry vermouth
¾ ounce fresh orange juice
½ ounce fresh lime juice
Dash of Luxardo maraschino liqueur
Flamed orange zest coin (see this page), for garnish
Shake all the ingredients (except the garnish) well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the flamed orange zest coin (this is my touch).
MARITIMER COCKTAIL+
Jon Smolensky is a first-class bartender from Vancouver who started his own distribution business for all his favorite cocktail ingredients. Some are long-tail market spirits for cocktail geeks only—for the present. But geeky ingredients may have a future as the market comes to them; my bitters is part of his portfolio in Canada.
2 ounces Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof British Navy rum
½ ounce Heering cherry liqueur
¼ ounce Rainwater Madeira (I suggest Broadbent, but there are lots of good ones out there)
¼ ounce Bittermens Hiver Amer cinnamon liqueur, or 4 dashes of Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters
2 dashes of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters
2 lemon peels
Stir all the ingredients (except the lemon peels) with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Express the oil of 1 of the lemon peels over the top of the drink and discard, then garnish with the other lemon peel.
MARK TWAIN COCKTAIL
As described to his wife in a letter from London, 1874.
1½ ounces scotch whisky
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce Simple Syrup (this page)
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
A LETTER HOME FROM SAMUEL CLEMENS TO HIS WIFE, OLIVIA
Livy my darling, I want you to be sure & remember to have, in the bath-room, when I arrive, a bottle of Scotch whisky, a lemon, some crushed sugar, and a bottle of Angostura bitters. Ever since I have been in London I have taken in a wineglass what is called a cock-tail (made with these ingredients) before breakfast, before dinner and before going to bed…To it I attribute the fact that up to this day my digestion has been wonderful—simply perfect. It remains day after day and week after week as regular as a clock.
THE MARY PICKFORD
Created at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba during Prohibition to celebrate their famous guest Mary Pickford, actress and cofounder of United Artists, with her second husband, Douglas Fairbanks.
2 ounces white rum
1½ ounces pineapple juice
Splash grenadine, homemade (this page) or store-bought
¼ ounce Luxardo maraschino liqueur
Bordeaux cherry, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients (except the garnish) with ice and strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with the cherry.
MARGARITA
Lime wedge, for frosting the glass
Coarse salt, for frosting the glass
1½ ounces El Tesoro blanco tequila
1 ounce Cointreau
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
Splash of Agave Syrup (this page; optional)
Frost half the rim of an old-fashioned or cocktail glass with the lime and salt (see this page). Chill the cocktail glass, if using.
Shake all the remaining ingredients well with ice. Serve over ice in the old-fashioned or “up” in the chilled cocktail glass.
CADILLAC MARGARITA
Lime wedge, for frosting the glass
Coarse salt, for frosting the glass
1½ ounces El Tesoro añejo tequila
1 ounce Grand Marnier
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
Frost half the rim of an old-fashioned or a cocktail glass with the lime and salt (see this page). Chill the cocktail glass, if using.
Shake the remaining ingredients well with ice and serve over ice in the old-fashioned or “up” in the chilled cocktail glass.
FROZEN MARGARITA
Lime wedge, for frosting the glass
Kosher salt or sea salt, for frosting the glass
2 ounces Cuervo Tradicional tequila
1 ounce Marie Brizard triple sec
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1½ ounces Agave Syrup (this page; see Note)
1 cup cracked ice
1 lime wedge, for garnish
Frost half the rim of a large goblet with lime and salt (see this page).
Combine all the remaining ingredients (except the garnish) in a blender. Blend and pour into the frosted goblet. Garnish with the lime wedge.
Note Extra sweetener (Agave Syrup) is needed with frozen drinks because the cracked ice increases dilution.
SMOKY MARGARITA
Lime wedge, for frosting the glass
Coarse salt, for frosting the glass
2 ounces El Tesoro blanco tequila
¾ ounce Agave Syrup (this page)
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
Splash of Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal
Frost half the rim of an old-fashioned or a cocktail glass with the lime and salt (see this page). Chill the cocktail glass, if using.
Shake the tequila, agave syrup, and lime juice with ice and serve over ice in the old-fashioned or “up” in the chilled cocktail glass. Float the mezcal on top.
THE “UNDRINKABLE” MARGARITA
My mentor Joe Baum liked many different drinks: the Margarita, Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Pisco Sour, and his session drink, the Glenlivet over ice. Joe would order the same cocktail three times in a row until he tasted one that pleased him. It wasn’t an easy process—then again, nothing was easy with Joe. When he didn’t like a drink, there was no explanation: it was simply wrong and needed fixing. I would work to improve it.
My first week as head bartender of Aurora, a fine-dining French concept that Joe opened with Gérard Pangaud, the youngest chef to win two Michelin stars. Joe brought Chef Pangaud to the bar for margaritas. After a sip, Gérard announced that he had just won the margarita contest in Paris and he said, “This is sheet”—hey, nice to meet you, too, chef, was my unspoken reply.
After several of those undrinkable margaritas, I tried to cut them off because they were both gone-jobs, to use the vernacular. Joe just snarled at me that he owned the joint and ordered another one—and another; no one was driving and I liked my new job. Later that evening, Joe slipped and fell on the stoop of his apartment and suffered a cut to his head. Joe arrived to work bandaged up nicely; I didn’t say a word. But, unfortunately, it took a dozen or so stitches to prove that I had finally won him over with my margaritas.
EVOluTION OF THE MARTINI
Like all royalty, the Martini cocktail has lineage. In Jerry Thomas’s How to Mix Drinks (1862), a drink called the Fancy Gin Cocktail paired genever with curaçao, dashes of absinthe, gum syrup, and bitters. At the time the Fancy Gin Cocktail became popular, vermouth was not widely available in this country, but you can see that the architecture of the Martini was evolving: a gin base with modifying ingredients of curaçao, gum, and bitters, served “up” in a cocktail glass.
FANCY GIN COCKTAIL
2 ounces Old Duff single malt genever
Dash of Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao
Splash of Monin gomme syrup or (in a pinch) Simple Syrup (this page)
2 dashes of Bitter Truth Bogart’s Bitters
Lemon wedge
Lemon zest coin (see this page), for garnish
Fill a shaker one-third full with cracked ice, add the genever, curaçao, syrup, and bitters and shake well. Moisten the edge of a fancy coupe glass with the lemon wedge and strain the cocktail into the glass. Express the oil of the lemon zest coin over the drink and drop it in.
MARTINEZ COCKTAIL
1 ounce of Ransom Old Tom gin
2 ounces of Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
2 dashes of Luxardo maraschino liqueur
Dash of Monin gomme syrup or Simple Syrup (this page)
Dash of Bitter Truth Bogart’s Bitters
Lemon zest coin (see this page), for garnish
Shake the ingredients (except the garnish) well with ice and strain into a large cocktail glass. Express the oil of the lemon zest coin over the drink and drop it in the glass.
THE VERMOUTH
The first shipments of the French Noilly Prat dry vermouth arrived in New Orleans in 1851, and shortly after in San Francisco, but it remained largely unknown in the rest of the country. It was consumed as wine and didn’t make the cocktail scene until the 1890s.
When Italian vermouth became widely available by the 1870s, the use of curaçao and maraschino as sweeteners or flavor additive in cocktails waned, and vermouth took its place. The vermouth cocktail was an ice cube and a lemon zest—not very sexy. But the stage was set for the two most iconic of all cocktails, the Manhattan and the Martini. Italian vermouth stepped into the spotlight in two Manhattan recipes found in The Modern Bartenders’ Guide (1884). Below the Manhattan recipes in that book there was a note that said, “For the Martinez Cocktail substitute gin for whiskey,” so the Manhattan came first and the Martini was…well, just an afterthought!
MARTINI COCKTAIL 1888
This is Harry Johnson’s martini recipe from his 1888 Bartender’s Manual, where he retained the curaçao, the gum, and the bitters from the Fancy Gin Cocktail (this page) and added vermouth in equal parts with the gin. The gin is Old Tom gin, not dry gin. And we must assume Johnson used Italian sweet vermouth because he listed simply vermouth in his inventory earlier in the book.
Fill a large bar glass with ice.
1 ounce Ransom Old Tom gin (see Note)
1 ounce sweet vermouth
Splash of gomme syrup (careful—not too much; I suggest Monin gomme syrup)
2 or 3 dashes of Bitter Truth Bogart’s Bitters
Dash of Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao or absinthe (optional)
Bordeaux cherry or a medium pitted Spanish olive, for garnish (Johnson offers both options)
Lemon zest coin (see this page), for garnish
In a mixing glass, stir all the ingredients (except the garnishes) with ice well with a spoon. Strain into a cocktail glass; garnish with a cherry or olive and squeeze a lemon zest coin on top.
Note The slight color comes from a short time in French wine barrels. There are six very classic gin botanicals in Ransom, but the real character comes from the whiskey-inspired mash-bill recipe of corn and malted barley with a small amount of unmalted barley. Ransom Old Tom was a collaboration between distiller and owner Tad Seestedt and drinks writer and bon vivant David Wondrich. It is not sweetened, so it makes sense for these old recipes that are kinda sweet.
COCKTAIL BOOTHBY: THE MARTINI (1891)
The modern dry gin with dry vermouth Martini wasn’t offered until the end of the nineteenth century; tastes were changing and bartenders noticed and reacted. Cocktail Boothby, author of American Bartender (1891), chided bartenders twice not to use sweeteners of any kind in his martini recipe, as the Old Tom “cordial” gin (Boothby describes Old Tom as cordial gin) and the Italian vermouth are sweet enough. Boothby cautions again, at the bottom of the same page in the recipe called Old Tom “Cordial” Cocktail, “Never use sweetening of any description in this drink as the cordial gin is sweet enough.”