Vanderbilt

Glassware:

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Prepare:

1. Select and pre-chill a NICK & NORA GLASS.
2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist and skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

Method:

1. STIR all ingredients with ice.
2. STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

1. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and discard.
2. Garnish with skewered maraschino cherry.

Nutrition:

One serving of Vanderbilt contains 160 calories

History:

Adapted from a recipe in Robert Vermeire's 1922 Cocktails: How to Mix Them, which gives the origin of this cocktail as being at "the Kursaal" in Ostend, Belgium, where, as the name would suggest, it was made for a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. However, Colonel Cornelius Vanderbilt, the American railroad tycoon cited by Vermeire, died in 1877, so this cocktail is more likely to have been made for his great-grandson, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915), who died as a passenger on the RMS Lusitania ocean liner when it was sunk by a German U-boat torpedo during WWI.

Review:

Tangy, rich cherry and hints of vanilla fortified with brandy.

My previous specs for this cocktail were to serve in a coupe glass and called for a generous 67.5ml (2¼oz) cognac, 22.5ml (¾oz) cherry brandy, 5ml (1 bar spoon) sugar syrup, and aromatic bitters. In July 2022, in a quest for some semblance of sobriety, I reduced the volume of this boozy late-night treat back by a third to better suit a Nick & Nora glass.