Message 18279 of 39188 in General Discussion

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> In the UK if you order a classic champagne cocktail the drink you 
> will invariably recieve will be a sugar cube soaked in Angostura 
> Bitters dropped into the bottom of a large champagne flute, covered 
> with a measure of Cognac and topped with champagne....
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The Champagne cocktail is the only cocktail that appears in the Jerry Thomas 
Bartender's Guide which is still common. I expect that almost every cocktail 
book since then has also included this cocktail... or at least should.

I've got a few too many books to go through all of them and try to track down 
where a "cognac" variation might have first appeared, but the vast majority of 
recipe books don't list it this way.

I plucked out a broad selection of some of the better known books over the 
ages, and let's just see what they list...

The Bartender's Guide
by Jerry Thomas
1862
Champagne Cocktail
(One bottle of wine to every six large glasses)
1/2 teaspoon of sugar.
1 or 2 dashes of bitters.
1 piece of lemon peel.
Fill tumbler one-third full of broken ice, and fill balance with wine. Shake 
well and serve.


The Savoy Cocktail Book
by Harry Craddock
1930
Champagne Cocktail
Put into a wine glass one lump of Sugar, and saturate it with Angostura 
Bitters. Having added to this 1 lump of Ice, fill the glass with Champagne, 
squeeze on top a piece of lemon peel, and serve with a slice of orange.


The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book
by Albert Stevens Crockett
1935
Champagne
One lump Sugar
Two dashes Angostura Bitters
One piece Lemon Peel, twisted
Fill glass with chilled Champagne


Cafe Royal Cocktail Book
by W. J. Tarling
1937
Champagne
Put into a wine glass 1 lump of Sugar, and saturate it with Angostura Bitters. 
Having added to this 1 lump of Ice and 1/2 slice of orange, fill the glass 
with Champagne, squeeze on top a piece of Lemon Peel.
A dash of Brandy as required.

(Robert: Note that this recipe is almost word-for-word the same as the 
Savoy... except with the noticeable appearance of "a dash of brandy")


The Gentleman's Companion
by Charles Baker
1939/1946
(Robert: I have 'distilled' the recipes out of his rambling commentary)

Champagne Cocktail, No. I, Known as the Maharajah's Burra-Peg
2 jiggers well-chilled cognac
lump of sugar saturated with Angostura Bitters
Fill with chilled Champagne
Garnish with a spiral of lime peel.

Champagne Cocktail, No. II, christened the Jimmie Roosevelt
Fill large goblet with finely cracked ice.
lump of sugar saturated with Angostura Bitters
2 jiggers cognac
Fill with chilled Champagne
Float 2 tbs of green Chartreuse

Champagne Cocktail, No. III, in the charming style of the Jockey Club in Rio 
de Janeiro
In a large cocktail glass stack 4 ice cubes
crown with a lump of sugar saturated with 4 dashes of orange bitters
Lay 2 sticks of fresh pineapple along sides of glass.
Encircle the tower of ice cubes with a spiral of lime peel.
Fill with well chilled, medium dry, Champagne.
Float 1 tbsp Cointreau

Champagne Cocktail, No. IV, aka. Imperial Cossack Crusta
Using a large champagne cocktail glass
Cut a green lime, or lemon, lenghtwise and rub its combined oils and juices of 
the inside of the glass, and on 1/2" of the outside of the rim.
Dip the lip in sugar, then coat the insides with sugar
In a mixing glass, combine:
2 dashes of orange bitters
1 jigger of cognac
1/2 jigger Kummel
Stir with ice, then strain into cocktial glass
Fill with Champagne
Garnish with a rose petal.


The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks
by David Embury
1948
Champagne Cocktail. This drink should be served in a pre-chilled saucer 
champange glass. Place a medium-sized loaf of sugar in the glass and saturate 
it with Angostura bitters - about 2 dashes. Fill with thoroughly chilled 
champagne. Add a twist of lemon or orange peel, or both.
The addition of cognac in the ratio of 1 part of cognac to about 4 of 5 of 
champagne converts this cocktail into the MAHARAJAH's BURRA PEG. The Burra Peg 
is also served as a long drink in a Highball or Collins glass, decorated with 
a spiral of lemon or lime peel, like a Horse's Neck.


So... what we see from this quick spin through history, is that the originally 
published Champagne cocktail did not include brandy. In the Gentleman's 
Companion, it is treated as more of a category, instead of an individual 
drink. And periodically the use of cognac pops into the scene as we saw in the 
Cafe Royal, and a mentioned in Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (where Mr. Embury was 
possibly referencing Gentlemans Companion)

My own personal opinion on the use of Cognac in this drink, is that it then 
becomes a "variation", and I wouldn't recommend simply refering to it as a 
"Champange Cocktail", but instead to provide it with a "specialty" name... 
perhaps even "Champagne Cocktail Spécialité" or something like that.

-Robert Hess
 www.DrinkBoy.com
 www.MuseumOfTheAmericanCocktail.org