The Waldorf Astoria is one of those very storied hotels whose name evokes a sense of old-world glamour and sophistication, and this lovely new collection of cocktail recipes certainly adds to that reputation.
The book contains hundreds of recipes for drinks served at the hotel’s bars – some are retro, some are classics, others are modern inventions, but all have been meticulously researched by the hotel’s bar manager, Frank Caiafa, and almost all of them are accompanied by his carefully compiled notes on the drinks’ histories, preparation methods or flavour profiles.
I started my exploration of the book by making two very simple cocktails, both of which use just vermouth and one spirit. While I preferred the delicate, herbaceous notes of the Astoria (pictured above), which Caiafa describes as a ‘reverse martini’, the Bacardi Vermouth (pictured below) was an interesting way to get to know the flavour of a sweet vermouth – I’d love to try it with various brands of sweet vermouth to see which one I like best. These both work well as aperitifs, best sipped while reading Caiafa’s book. Happy drinking – and happy reading!
ASTORIA
INGREDIENTS
2 oz (60ml) Noilly Prat extra dry vermouth (I confess I used Dolin dry instead)
1 oz (30ml) Hayman’s Old Tom gin (have you tried this yet? It is a sweeter, old fashioned style of gin that I love.)
orange peel, to garnish
GLASS
Cocktail
METHOD
Add ingredients to a mixing glass. Half-fill the glass with ice, stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange peel.
BACARDI VERMOUTH
INGREDIENTS
1.5oz (45ml) Bacardi Superior white rum
1.5 oz (45ml) Dolin dry OR Cinzano Rosso sweet vermouth (I used the latter)
GLASS
Cocktail
METHOD
Add ingredients to a mixing glass. Half-fill the glass with ice, stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange peel.
RECIPES BY
Both recipes are from The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book by Frank Caiafa (Penguin Books, 2016).
