Widow's Kiss
Widow's Kiss ('kiss of the widow' or ' widow's kiss ', from English widow 'widow' and kiss 'kiss') is a classic cocktail made from two French herbal liqueurs - Chartreuse and Bénédictine - and a fruit brandy made from apples, usually rounded off by one Dash bitters . Probably the end of the 19th century in the United States resulting drink is one of the short drinks and comes in a cocktail glass served. In addition to the intense herbal note and aromas of "apple, mint and eucalyptus ", the cocktail has a "slight honey sweetness", its taste is described as intensely aromatic to "medicinal".
history
The oldest known recipe for a Widow's Kiss appeared in New York in 1895 , where George Kappeler, a bartender from the Holland House Hotel , published it in his Modern American Drinks collection :
“A mixing-glass half-full fine ice, two dashes Angostura bitters, one-half a pony yellow chartreuse, one-half a pony benedictine, one pony of apple brandy; shake well, strain into a fancy cocktail-glass, and serve. "
“Half fill a mixing glass with pieces of ice , add two dashes Angostura bitters , 1.5 cl yellow chartreuse , 1.5 cl Bénédictine , 3 cl apple brandy ; Shake well, strain into a cocktail bowl and serve. "
Since one of the ingredients, the Bénédictine liqueur , has been produced since 1864, but has only been imported into the USA since 1888, the likely time of origin of the cocktail can be narrowed down to the early 1890s.
Occasionally the drink is also attributed to Harry Johnson, who is said to have published it in 1900; In fact, a drink called Widow's Kiss can only be found in a revised edition of his bar book published in 1934. It also consists only of liqueurs , namely equal parts of Bénédictine, green (instead of yellow as with Kappeler) chartreuse and maraschino , a cherry liqueur. Apple brandy as the basic spirit is dispensed with and an egg yolk is added, so that overall a comparatively sweet and creamy after-dinner cocktail is created that is strongly reminiscent of a flip .
Other recipes also differ considerably from Kappeler's version. The bar book Jack's Manual , published in New York in 1910, lists a Widow's Kiss, but with completely different ingredients, namely rye whiskey , sugar, an egg yolk and soda water , so has nothing to do with Kappeler's drink. Another recipe in the collection, which can also be found in other bar books of the early 20th century, points to a certain reputation of Bénédictine as a “widow liqueur”: an Eggnog called Widow's Dream made from Bénédictine, egg yolk , milk and cream.
Only the almost unchanged inclusion of Kappeler's recipe in the Savoy Cocktail Book , which appeared in 1930, was one of the most influential bar books in the first half of the 20th century and experienced numerous new editions in the following decades , contributed to the greater awareness of the cocktail . Its author, Harry Craddock , was the bartender at the Savoy Hotel in London at the time and, due to his previous work in the USA, had a considerable collection of recipes. In 1934 he co-founded the United Kingdom Bartenders' Guild (UKBG) and became its vice-president. In contrast to Kappeler, however, he did not specify the color of the Chartreuse liqueur . As a result, the drink should have been mixed more often with the older, much better known, but at the same time stronger green Chartreuse instead of the comparatively milder yellow variant mentioned by Kappeler. Craddock also names (French) calvados as an alternative to the Apple brandy common in the USA (see Applejack ).
preparation
Kappeler's version from 1895 is usually used as the standard recipe for the classic cocktail today (see above).
Modern recipes differ only slightly, if at all, in the dimensioning of the ingredients. Typical is Kappeler's mixing ratio of one part each of Bénédictine and Chartreuse and two parts of apple brandy (mostly calvados or apple brandy ). With Chartreuse, both the stronger green variant (“verte”) and the slightly milder yellow (“jaune”) are possible, or both are used at the same time, as is the case with Simon Difford, which means that green Chartreuse alone adds the other ingredients due to its strong taste cover threat.
Contrary to the usual rule that cocktails that only consist of alcoholic, easily mixable ingredients are stirred with ice cubes in a mixing glass and not shaken , the Widow's Kiss, following the recipe by Kappeler, is still mainly prepared in a cocktail shaker today .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Simon Difford: Widow's Kiss. In: diffordsguide.com. January 10, 2017, accessed July 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Sepo Galumbi: Widow's Kiss. In: galumbi.de. September 20, 2015, accessed July 5, 2018 .
- ↑ George J. Kappeler: Modern American Drinks. How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks. The Meriam Company, New York 1895, p. 110 (English, definition of quantities on p. 19).
- ^ Bénédictine. In: liquor.com. Retrieved July 5, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d Philipp Gaux: The Widow's Kiss is an inheritance that we should not turn down . In: mixology.eu. June 26, 2018, accessed July 5, 2018 .
- ^ A b Harry Johnson: The New and Improved Illustrated Bar Tender's Manual . Chares E. Graham & Co., Newark (New Jersey) 1934, p. 268 (English).
- ↑ a b Jack A. Grohusko: Jack's Manual On the Vintage and Production, Care and Handling of Wines, Liquors, etc. 3rd ed. Selbstverlag, New York 1910, p. 94 (English, the 3rd edition must have appeared after 1911, as an advertisement refers to a spirits prize awarded in 1911).
- ↑ a b Harry Craddock: Savoy Cocktail Book . Constable & Company, London 1930, p. 177 (English).
- ↑ Simon Difford: Harry Craddock - Bar manager. In: diffordsguide.com. May 1, 2018, accessed July 6, 2018 .