An article in Gin in the New York Times Magazine last Sunday caught my eye. First there was the idea that, based on old Hogarth etchings Gin makes you crazy or depressed. Those etchings reveal the results of early British exposure to distilled spirits -- in this case Gin imported from Holland. The results gave rise to some of the same bluenosed prohibitionist propaganda that later surrounded Absinthe for different reasons. Like Absinthe, Gin is a botanical liquor with no potential dangers beyond that of alcohol though one may become "mad" about either or, like me, both.
The other thing that caught my eye was a recipe:
Fascinator Cocktail
Adapted from “Savoy Cocktail Book” (1933 edition)
2 dashes absinthe
1 ounce dry vermouth
2 ounces gin (I like No 3. London Dry gin)
1 mint leaf.
Shake liquid ingredients well with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a mint leaf.
My favorite cocktail is another, older version of this from the 1917 "Perfect Bartender" called --
The Horsethief
1½ ounces Gin
½ ounce Vermouth
¼ ounce absinthe
Shaken on with ice and strained into a glass -- no garnish.
This is also noted to be a favorite of Franklin Roosevelt.
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