#1. The Perfect Cocktail

I thought the perfect way to start off this project would be with a 1916 martini. However, in my mind Ensslin called for gin, vermouth, and Angostura bitters, but in real life, he wanted orange bitters, which I have not yet acquired.

So instead, I went with "The Perfect Cocktail" which is a mix of gin, sweet vermouth, and dry vermouth. I was leery of the vermouth, my lone experience with it at home being an attempt to make vodka martinis with Martini Rosso vermouth many years ago. I used too much; I found the mix almost undrinkable.

This time around, I got Noilly Prat for both the sweet and dry, and I have to say, this is not a bad drink at all. It's not going to be my new favorite or anything like that, but I enjoyed it more than I expected.

Overall, the gin dominates the nose, but I think the sweetness of the red vermouth is the stronger taste. I notice a fair bit of gin aftertaste (I used Bombay) but the drink itself is almost like drinking strong red wine cold. Lots of herbal taste, though, and I thought a little sweeter than I would prefer. I look forward to some of the many other gin / sweet vermouth / dry vermouth drinks that pepper Recipes for Mixed Drinks in different rations. I think I'd probably like this mix pretty well with a higher ratio of gin to vermouth.

Throughout this project I'll be checking to see if these drinks still get references in modern guides or whether they've been forgotten. I'm checking with Difford's first because I got a copy of the 8th edition of his bar book and I find it tiny and fantastic. The closest I can find in name and recipe at his site is the Martini Perfect, which is exactly like Ensslin's recipe only with the addition of orange bitters. If I happen to try it again, I'll add the bitters and see what I prefer.

But, on the whole, a pleasant surprise, since I kind of expected not to like this one. Unlikely to drink too many of these in the future, but not bad at all.

[ADDENDUM] Went to see Prayers for Atheists (great show, by the way) after writing this and had an Abita Amber at the bar. And, it tasted just like dry vermouth, which was extremely unpleasant. The perfect cocktail seems to be a bit of a palate ruiner, so I'm going to downgrade its charms slightly. Not a good drink to order if you plan on enjoying anything else after.