Top 10 Prohibition-inspired cocktails
Why not celebrate Repeal Day this week and the abolishment of the 18th Amendment with one of these Prohibition-inspired cocktails?
Prohibition continues to inspire bartenders around the world when it comes to making cocktailsDuring Prohibition, coming across good quality alcohol was like finding gold dust – near impossible.
So in order to disguise the low quality bootleg booze flooding the illicit black market, bartenders quickly crafted an array of delectable cocktails to mask the unpleasant taste.
There were cocktails to suit every palate from the short and boozy delights to longer, sweeter variations.
Today, the industry is still in the midst of a classic cocktail revival, driven largely by the resurgence of interest in Prohibition era tipples.
Speakeasy bars are making a comeback all over the world, from London and Paris to New York and Sydney.
As such, we’ve collated 10 of the best Prohibition-inspired cocktails on the market for you to enjoy in celebration of Repeal Day on 5 December.
Click through to the following pages to see our selection of the 10 best Prohibition-inspired cocktails and how to recreate them.
The Bootlegger – The Informant
Swap your after dinner espresso this Repeal Day in favour of this deliciously indulgent coffee-flavoured cocktail created by Orlando Gomes, director of newly opened London speakeasy The Bootlegger.
Ingredients
50ml Vanilla infused Ketel One Vodka
20ml Khalua coffee liqueur
50ml Fresh espresso
1 Spoon vanilla sugar
Method: Shake then double strain. Garnish with coffee beans in the shape of a flower.
Rub Smokehouse & Bar – Mary Lou Pickford: Queen of Hearts
Rye whisky fans will love this take on an Old Fashioned by Joe Macbeth of the Rub Smokehouse & Bar in Nottingham, UK, offering something easy yet totally delicious to sip to mark the anniversary of Repeal Day.
Ingredients
45ml Wild Turkey Rye
5ml Luxardo Maraschino
5ml Butterscotch syrup
10ml Fig syrup
3 Dashes of Creole Bitters
40ml Pineapple juice
Method: Prepare ingredients in a shaker with cubed ice. Shake and strain over cubed ice into an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint, Maraschino cherries and a Queen of Hearts playing card.
The Tack Room – Rob Roy 1894
If you like your cocktails short, then this offering from Dustin Drankiewicz at The Tack Room in Chicago will suit you just fine.
Ingredients
60ml Cutty Sark Prohibition
30ml Carpano Antica
4 Dashes of Angostura bitters
Method: Stir ingredients with cracked ice for dilution. Strain into a chilled up glass with expressed Lemon oils and twist as a garnish.
Barts – Holy Smoke
If you’re looking for a non-whisky based cocktail, then try your hand at recreating this rum and Cognac concoction from London speakeasy Barts – short, boozy and with just a hint of vanilla sweetness to complement the tobacco liqueur.
Ingredients
15ml Hennessy V. S. Cognac
25ml Havana Club 7yo
25ml Perique Tobacco Liqueur
5ml Vanilla syrup
Method: Build in rocks glass full of ice. Stir well (30 times). Garnish with squeezed lemon zest, wipe lemon zest around rim, place lemon zest in the glass, stir briefly (5 times) and serve.
Eau de Vie – Blood & Sanderson
The guys at Eau de Vie can always be counted on to push the boat out when it comes to their cocktail menus, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t bring a taste of the Oz cocktail scene right into your front room. This rich, fruity cocktail offering makes the perfect sipper to cheers the end of Prohibition.
Ingredients
45ml Bacon Bourbon from The Experimental Spirit Co.
10ml Tawny Port
15ml Pressed apple juice
15ml Smoked blood orange jam
15ml Lemon juice
Method: Shake all ingredients vigorously and strain over cubed ice in a bull skull mug.
Blind Spot – Old Sparrow
For cocktail lovers who enjoy their tipples short and dry, Blind Spot in St Martins Lane, London, have got you covered with this perfect Prohibition-inspired drink.
Ingredients
45ml Martell VSOP Cognac
30ml Campari
30ml Martini Extra Dry Vermouth
4 Drops orange bitters
Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail mixer with ice. Shake until well mixed. Drain into a small Sherry serving glass. Serve the remainder in a glass on ice.
The Tack Room – Derby Cocktail 1974
This cocktail was named to commemorate races as well as horses, famously of the Kentucky Derby, and this true Southern-inspired classic has evolved through many variations over the years. It may be post-Prohibition, but that’s what we’re celebrating, right? We definitely recommend recreating The Tack Room’s take on the Derby Cocktail.
Ingredients
30ml Bonded Bourbon
20ml Dry orange curaçao
20ml Punt E Mes vermouth
15ml Fresh lime juice
Method:Shake with ice and double strain ingredients into a chilled glass. Express orange oils to garnish.
Bramble Bar – Campbeltown Cocktail
One of Edinburgh’s best-loved cocktail bars that’s sure to deliver delectable drinks every time has created the Campbeltown Cocktail. This typical Prohibition-style cocktail is described as “boozy” with “nae messing”, and its name links to the historical Campbeltown region in Scotland that went from having dozens of distilleries at the start of the 20th century to just three today, thought to be a direct impact of Prohibition.
Ingredients
45ml Springbank 10yo
15ml Cherry Heering
10ml Green Chartreuse
Method: Add all ingredients to a shaker, fill with cubed ice. Stir for 30-40 seconds (this needs quite a lot of dilution). Strain into a Prohibition Martini glass and garish with a lemon twist.
Last Word Saloon – Who Dares Wins
For imbibers seeking something fresh, light and utterly delicious we highly recommend delving into this gin cocktail today to take you back in time to the early 20s/30s.
Ingredients
60ml Beefeater
25ml fresh lemon
15ml homemade orgeat
10ml Wolfschmidt Kummel
Method: Shake, double strain, served up, star anise to garnish.
However, if cocktail-making isn’t your forte then leave it to the pros and raise a celebratory glass of Bar Termini’s Classico Negroni from the comfort of your own home. The work in international drinks pioneer Tony Conigliaro, founder of 69 Colebrooke Row, this Negroni is made from gin, vermouth and Italian bitters to deliver a smooth, classic style Negroni with hints of fruit and citrus flavours. A 700ml bottle is available from Amathus at an RRP of £36.95.
Method: Serve chilled and enjoy.
