"Savoy Hotel" news and stories

After holding down a few bar shifts as a part-time night gig for extra cash, I knew I was really in trouble when I bought my first cocktail book that set me back most of my tip money. Flipping through the art deco dotted pages of cocktail recipes made my heart beat fast ... and it still does. The thrill of holding this book inspired me to give up the boring full-time day job and take up the bar life full-time. What was this cocktail bible? "The Savoy Cocktail Book" printed in 1930.

Although the first bar guide recipe book that we know of in print is Jerry Thomas' 1862 guide, "The Savoy Cocktail Book" has inspired many a modern-day bartender. The author Harry Craddock landed in London's Savoy Hotel after Prohibition damaged his career in the US. His bar book was one of the first to not only list drink recipes, but also a wine guide. Today's fancy pants bartenders should take note that it's not enough to be a cocktail geek. Mr. Craddock believed a good bartender also possessed a solid wine knowledge.

The legendary Savoy first opened in 1889 and still exists in London. The famous art deco steel "Savoy" sign was erected one year before the printing of "The Savoy Cocktail Book." This spot has boasted names such as César Ritz as first manager and Chef Auguste Escoffier as creator of fine cuisine. I'm more interested in the likes of the rare lady bartender Ada Coleman who Craddock worked under. We eagerly await the reopening this year after a massive renovation totaling over $160,000,000, including the famous American Bar where Craddock wowed his guests.

Get the recipe for the legendary Savoy Hotel cocktail.

Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the head mixtress at Casa Cóctel. She's owned her own whiskey label, called Red Hook Rye, and has been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.

We've survived the overindulgence of the holidays and the attempts to win the favor of friends and impress guests and strangers with our hospitality creativity. Now we're all ready for some simplicity to kick off the new year. After weeks of multi-ingredient punches and nogs, I head to the liquor cabinet ready to mix up simpler drinks.

Layered drinks served as shots are considered passé by many, but flipping through pages of old cocktail books, I often run across something with a few ingredients just poured in a glass. My 1930 copy of "The Savoy Cocktail Book" lists the eponymous "Savoy Hotel Cocktail" with 1/3 créme de cacao, 1/3 Bénédictine, and 1/3 Brandy. Author Harry Craddock instructs us, "Use liqueur glass and pour ingredients carefully, so that they do not mix."

Keep in mind that the makers of Bénédictine liqueur didn't come out with B&B until 1937, a few years after the publication of this recipe book. B&B is a bottled mixture of Brandy and Bénédictine. We liked the warmth of the Savoy Hotel Cocktail made with 2/3 B&B and 1/3 créme de cacao that nicely balanced herbal and chocolate flavors so our lack of straight Bénédictine on hand wasn't so bad after all. We couldn't resist trying this combination both stirred and shaken with ice and served up in a chilled cocktail glass. The shaken version, of course, creates more dilution and air bubbles making for a softer flavor. Our oven is at the repairshop, but I can't wait to try this with a homemade pumpkin pie even though the holidays are long gone.

Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the head mixtress at Casa Cóctel. She's owned her own whiskey label, called Red Hook Rye, and has been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.

This is the first in an occasional column on drinks made from the legendary 1930 "Savoy Cocktail Book."

I touched a first edition of "The Savoy Cocktail Book" once in the late '80s. I was a teenager and found it on a dusty shelf at John K. King Books in downtown Detroit. I fell in love with its foil cover and colorful Art Deco designs. And then I noticed the price: $45. Too much for a sober middle school student from southeastern Michigan. I put it back. But I never quite got over that first electrifying encounter.

We all have foodie passions; one of mine happens to be old cocktail books. And so almost two decades since I fell for the "Savoy," I have finally gotten my hands on a beat-up first edition and I want to bring you Slashfoodies along for the ride.

I asked a few mixologists what should be the maiden cocktail voyage for me and Savoy. It was Gary Regan who came up with the winner: The Hanky Panky.

We have a 29th of February this year, making this a Leap Year ... making Friday a Leap Day. So what does that mean?

Well, we have an extra day to put off preparing our taxes (yes!), and an extra day standing between us and summer (boo!). Just like the Olympics and Presidential elections (yeah, we get yet another day of political sniping, too), Leap Years come every four years. It also means it's time to dust off an old classic cocktail called, ingeniously enough, the Leap Year Cocktail.

This hibernating little fellow comes courtesy of the Savoy Cocktail Book, first authored by Harry Craddock and remains, 78 years after publication, a benchmark for tradition-minded bartenders and scholars alike. There are over 750 recipes in the book, a few of which have notations augmenting their worth. I'm going to lift the entire quote regarding the Leap Year.

This cocktail was created by Harry Craddock for the Leap Year celebrations at the Savoy Hotel, London, on February 29, 1928. It is said to have been responsible for more proposals than any other cocktail ever mixed.

Well alrighty then! That's quite a feat considering the little bugger pokes its head out of the ground every Presidential cycle, but okay, I won't quibble with anything reaching its 80th birthday. The recipe is after the jump, taken from a more modern perspective from Gary Regan's excellent Joy of Mixology.