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THE EXOTIC DRINKING BOOK
BALAK.LAVA SPECIAL No. II, when LADIES ARE PRESENT
Just why handsome women prefer sweet and creamy cocktails has
always troubled us, but they do; and anyway a lot of things about
handsome ladies have troubled us, so why get tweaky about the busi–
ness at this late date? ... Put r jigger of ki.immel,
Yz
jigger each of
absinthe, cognac and
kirschwasser,
into a shaker. Add
Yz
tsp orgeat
syrup and r to rYz tsp of thick cream. Shake briskly and serve in a tall–
stemmed cocktail glass. And for heaven's sweet sake don't think this
snake-in-the-grass drink is a harmless and gentle lady's affair just be–
cause it has cream in it!
FIRPO'S BALLOON COCKTAIL, the CALCUTTA CLASSIC
Our college mate C. Byron Spofford, at the time American Commer–
cial Attache in Calcutta for
all
of India, Burma and Ceylon, once
gave a dinner celebrating the farewell of a very o£Hnionated.pair of men
wished on him from Russian Famine Relief Headquarters by Her–
bert Hoover. We seem to recall their names as being Sabine and Ren–
shaw, but that doesn't matter-it didn't then, and it certainly doesn't
now. The thing that does matter is that Firpo mixed us a special round
of Balloons-named because the 5th one consumed is guaranteed to
set us bobbing about up under the ceiling. Firpo's is Calcutta's one
smart night spot. It was all very gay in spite of the Hoover sycophants.
. . . To r jigger of really good rye whisky add the same of Italian
vermouth and absinthe-substituting Pernod Veritas lacking the true
wormwood spirit. Now donate
2
dashes of orange bitters, or Angos–
tura if preferred, and r
Yz
to
2
tsp of egg white. Shake well. Serve in a
big saucer type champagne glass. This is another one to watch cannily
lest our pedal extremities fold up at some totally inappropriate
moment.
THE BARRY COCKTAIL, from MANILA, and MET FIRST in
1926,
then again LATER. As MIXED at the ARMY
&
NAVY CLUB
This is included through clinical mixing interest. It is exactly the
same as a Martini, but using Italian vermouth instead of the dry
French type; adding Angostura bitters rather than orange, and
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