Wednesday, April 8, 2015

headlong hall

1/2 part Dry Gin (1 1/4 oz Beefeater)
1/2 part Dry Vermouth (1 1/4 oz Noilly Prat)
2 dash Benedictine (1/2 oz)
2 dash Absinthe (1 barspoon Butterfly)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

After the You Is or You Ain't, I was still in the mood to continue the Martini variation theme. Luckily, I found my answer for a next drink, and it was in Crosby Gage's Cocktail Guide & Ladies' Companion from 1941 called the Headlong Hall. The name is a reference, I assume, to the first novel by Thomas Love Peacock written in 1815 about a group of eccentrics. Recipe-wise, the drink reminded me of something between a Caprice or Poet's Dream and a Joan Blondell.
Once mixed, the Headlong Hall shared a lemon oil aroma with hints of the absinthe's anise and the Benedictine's herbal elements. Next, the French vermouth filled the sip with a crisp dry wine flavor, and the swallow presented gin, minty herbal, and anise notes with a chocolate-like finish.

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