Bar on hold: Cabaret and the Wailuc

Before year’s end I want to push through some extra recipes which can be made with our current bar. So let’s get to some mixing.

Cabaret

There are actually two kinds of the Cabaret cocktail. One version can be found in The Savoy Cocktail Book and uses gin, a quinquina (a type of aperitif wine), Angostura and absinthe (or pastis). But that’s not the version I’ll be putting forward here.

The other Cabaret can be considered a milder version of the Rolls Royce. Leaving out the sweet vermouth makes the cocktail a bit less aromatic and easier, even though the bitters fill up the gap that’s been left.

4 parts gin

3 parts dry vermouth

1 part Bénédictine

2 dashes Angostura bitters

glass:  cocktail

Stir with ice and strain into the glass.

Garnish with a cherry (if available).

Of course there are also different version of this type of Cabaret: ratios can vary between recipes. I’ve stuck to the ratio that Robert Hess uses.

Poet’s Dream

If you happen to have some orange bitters (probably not, but you if you like mixing you should really consider looking for them) you get a bonus recipe with the Cabaret.

If you substitute orange bitters for the Angostura bitters, your concoction would be called the Poet’s Dream.

Wailuc

This is an oddball. I stumbled upon it at the CocktailDB. It has gin and sweet vermouth, but the base spirit only gets a supporting role.

7 parts sweet vermouth

2 parts gin

1 dash maraschino

glass:  cocktail

Stir with ice and strain into the glass.

Garnish with a lemon twist

You’ll have to like sweet vermouth to like this cocktail, so much is clear. Use a high quality vermouth like Carpano Antica to get the most out of the Wailuc.

Since the gin takes a back seat, don’t hesitate to use a high ABV gin (I went for Tanqueray here).