by FredoI bet you thought I'd quit after that Remember the Maine huh? Well not even a late night at the office job can stop me and besides it is only day 2 forchrisake. So for the second act, I decided on another favorite, the TURF COCKTAIL No. II
Charles H. Baker, Jr. describes this cocktail as coming "from the Taj Mahal Hotel, on Apollo Bundar, Bombay, Saturday February 14th, 1931, to be exact; served after the running of the Maharajah of Rajpipla Gold Cup at the Western India Turf Club."
After winning 67 rupees, Baker and his cohorts decided they wanted something other than scotch, and after the staff whipped up this delicious cousin of the gin martini which lives on to this day in fine cocktail parlors:
1 jigger of dry gin (I went with Beefeater, only because I was out of Plymouth)
1 pony of French Vermouth (I used the Noilly Pratt)
1 tsp of Absinthe (I used Pernod)
1 tsp of Maraschino (I used Luxardo)
dash of orange or Abbots bitters (I used Regan's)
Stir in bar glass "like a Martini and serve in Manhattan glass, ungarnished" check and check.
Bartender Giuseppe Gonzalez made me a Turf No 2 several months ago and his rendition is clear. The Noilly Pratt gave my version a yellow color, so I am curious to know what type of vermouth he used. But the taste is unmistakable. A medley of botanicals from the maraschino and absinthe mixes with vermouth. Beefeater, a tough as nails gin, stands up well to the flavor assault.
Where to get this cocktail, try Dutch Kills in Long Island City, Queens, NY.
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