Knickerbocker

Usually, when a woman orders a drink from a bartender, and doesn’t know what she wants but tells the bartender, give me something sweet,a good bartender should know to define through process of elimination, to determine what to make her. That being the case the Knickerbocker would be something I would recommend because it’s on the sweeter side but not overly sweet. Originally listed in ‘How to Mix Drinks’, Jerry Thomas’s 1862 cocktail handbook. Ted Haigh (Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails), however, traces its first appearance to Terrington’s ‘Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks’ of 1869, wherein a version for the fairer sex was also outlined.

Knickerbocker

2 ounces Appleton Rum
½ ounce orange Curacao
½ ounce raspberry syrup (John prefers using preserves instead)
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
1 lemon wedge

Using preserves instead of the syrup more closely resembles muddling fresh raspberries, an original variation. Combine all ingredients in a shaker, squeeze the lemon wedge into the mixture and drop it in. Shake with ice for one minute. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. No garnish.

Advertisement