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Rebirth of the Robert BurnsGary Regan
Published 4:39 pm, Friday, August 16, 2013
A Tale o f Two Roberts; styling by Sarah Fritsche Pho to: Craig Lee , Special To The Chronicle
The Robert Burns cocktail is one of those
drinks with a documented history, but it can
still raise hell in arguments between cocktail
geeks. I like that in a drink.
Albert Stev ens Crockett, author of "The Old
Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book ," noted that the
liquid Robert Burns was created prior to
Prohibition at the Waldorf Astoria in
New York.
"It may have been named after the celebrated
Scotsman," he writes. "Chances are, however, that it was christened in honor of a cigar
salesman, who 'bought' in the Old Bar."
And a brand of cigar named for the Scottish bard certainly existed in the early 20th
century, so it's certainly possible that the drink was created in honor of a big spender at the
Waldorf, back before the great drought of 1920 to 1933.
One thing that everyone agrees on when it comes to the Robert Burns cocktail is that
scotch must form the base of the drink, and sweet v ermouth is the modifier. After that,
variations on the other ingredients can be found in many "authoritative" cocktail books.
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The Waldorf recipe also includes a dash of absinthe and a dash of orange bitters, for
instance, whereas "The Savoy Cocktail Book," printed in 1930, replaces those
with Benedictine.
And just to round things out, in the 1950s, David Embury , author of "The Fine Art of
Mixing Drinks," suggested that Drambuie could be used instead of either absinthe
or Benedictine.
Frank Caiafa, beverage manager at Peacock Alley in the Waldorf Astoria, recently decided
that it was time to put y et another twist on this drink. So now, more than 100 years since
its creation, the Robert Burns has gone through a rebirth of sorts.
It's sort of a "hybrid of the old Waldorf bar book recipe, and the Bobby Burns, from 'The
Savoy Cocktail Book'," he says. "I didn't add orange bitters to this version as I feel the
drink is complex enough, and the bitters helped to muddy up the mix.
"To happily confuse things more," as he says, he asked the Waldorf Astoria pastry kitchen
to make shortbread cookies as a garnish.
The drink is a masterpiece from beginning to end. Robert Burns might ev en compose an
ode to this baby if he were still around.
A Tale of Two Roberts
Makes 1 drink
Adapted from a recipe by Frank Caiafa of the Peacock Alley in the Waldorf Astoria, New
York.
2 1/4 ounces Sheep Dip 8-Year-Old or other blended scotch whiskey
1 1 /4 ounces sweet vermouth
1/3 ounce Benedictine
6 dashes absinthe
1 lemon twist, as garnish
2 shortbread cookies, as garnishInstructions: Stir the whiskey, vermouth, Benedictine and absinthe over ice; strain into
a chilled cocktail glass. Add the garnishes; the twist to the cocktail is to serve the cookies on
a side plate.
Gary Regan is the author of "The Joy of Mixology" and other books. E-mail:
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