experimenting...

I tried out a couple of drinks on Friday night, and had marginal success with both. The first drink was the Star, from William Grimes' Straight Up or on the Rocks. It is equal parts applejack and sweet Italian vermouth, and needed just a little simple syrup to make it very drinkable. Grimes writes, "Said to have been created at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan in 1911, the Star cocktail was famous enough by the teens to be celebrated by Franklin P. Adams in his 'Coming Tower' column in the New York Tribune." Who was Franklin P. Adams, you might ask? Good question. Let me know if Google comes up with anything.

The next drink was an original of mine. I wanted to use up some crappy brandy that we had languishing in the cabinet, we had an orange, and I thought that it would be OK together. I used about equal parts brandy and OJ, and then thought that it needed a little pep. I put some sparkling water into the lowball glass, and it was good. But it still needed more pep, or so I thought. I just a touch more in, and completely watered down the drink. Ah well, it was good while it lasted.