So here we are in the stretch between Xmas and New Year’s where the days are lazy and the eating is good! After a day of not much activity other than setting up the New PVR and walking the resident Shiba Inus, we kind of felt like curry tonight.
Our usual curry is a stew-like concoction, with lots of Biryani spice, pulled together with whatever cut of meat looks good, and whatever veg are in the fridge. Today we opted to amp up the British ex-pat influence with cubed apples and a dollop of chutney in the curry itself. Served over basmati rice, with lots of condiments, Jeff was feeling like beer as an accompaniment, but I was hankering for a cocktail.
Dr. Cocktail (aka Ted Haigh) to the rescue! I’ve had the reissue of his book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails for a while now, but have just been reading thru it — there’s tons of really interesting cocktail history, and the cocktails are classic, but less well-known than things like the pre-Prohibition Martini or the Sazerac.
Anyhoo, I figured that if somewhere was going to have a suitable accompaniment for a Brit style curry, Dr. Cocktail’s book would be it, and wouldn’t you know it — there is a recipe for an old cocktail called the East India Cocktail (1882, Harry Johnson).
I made this, with one change — not having any raspberry syrup on hand, I substituted my homemade grenadine. I have to say, this cocktail pairs pretty darn well with a heavier style curry. There is enough complexity from the brandy/Maraschino/Curacao combo to stand up to the spiciness of the curry, and it is a sweeter cocktail, playing well off the addition of apples and chutney in the curry. It is a boozy cocktail, however, so make sure you use a cognac worth drinking, and have a nosh with it (something worthy of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club!)
The East India Cocktail (my variation on Ted Haigh’s)
- 3 oz. good quality brandy
- 0.5 oz. grenadine (I used my homemade hibiscus grenadine)
- 1 teaspoon orange curacao
- 1 teaspoon Maraschino liqueur
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a cherry (mine are dried cherries reconstituted in brandy, and kept in Maraschino liqueur)
An interesting side note here, Ted Haigh notes that this cocktail originally used Pineapple syrup or a combination of pineapple and raspberry syrup. Robert Hess (Drinkboy.com) also profiles a very similar cocktail called the East India House Cocktail (Charles Baker Jr.) , which uses the same combination of spirits, but pineapple juice instead of syrup and 1 oz. less of brandy.
The cocktails and the accompanying history in Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails is an interesting read, and I have been thinking it would be fun to work my way through all of the cocktails in the book — guess I’ve got my start here!