He first takes us down the rabbit hole of mixology by recommending to readers a short list of gear they should know, if not have on hand, in their home bar. From glassware to bar tools, basic techniques to measuring instructions, all are explained in a simple, easy to understand manner.
Henry then outlines a variety of simple syrups that can be used in multiple recipes, as well as how to make bitters, shrubs, and your own house-made infusions. Cocktails are listed by main flavor components: sour, spicy, herbal, umami, bitter, smoky, rich, and strong. Henry captures the essence of the past 100 years in drinks with classics like the Hemingway Daquiri and Pimm’s Cup (Up), to the beer cocktail Golden Ale, the vegetable infused Salad Bowl Gin and Tonic, and new cocktail trends like the Pickleback, and a Campari and tequila cocktail called Dead Glamour, from Seattle bartender, Adam Fortuna of Artusi.
Savory Cocktails reads with ease, and all recipes, even those more complex like the Chaparral (which calls for dried grapefruit powder) are a cinch to follow. Many of the drinks in Henry’s list are from bars and bartenders well known for their craft, making it a great way for the traveling reader to taste before they visit.
Here’s an excerpt from the Sour section of Savory Cocktails, as Henry introduces the Hemingway Daquiri:
You don’t have to be a reader to know that novelist Ernest Hemingway was a man who liked to drink. It’s no wonder he tinkered with Cuba’s classic Daiquiri while he was on the island in the 1950s. It’s been said that he followed a “12-a-day rule,” mostly while he sat “working” at the bar at La Florida in Havana…
The Papa Hemingway “was compounded of two and a half jiggers of Bacardi White label Rum, the juice of two limes, and half a grapefruit and six drops of maraschino.” That’s way more sour and way stronger than the original—a subtle blend of lime and rum—and is befitting a man with big tastes.
The Papa Hemingway Daquiri
- 2 shots / 90 ml / 3 fl oz clear rum
- 1½ tbsp / ¾ fl oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tbsp / ½ fl oz freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- ¼ pony shot / 7½ ml / ¼ fl oz maraschino liqueur (Luxardo or other)
- 1¹∕³ cups / 10½-oz glassful of ice (for the frozen version)
- 1 lime wedge, as garnish
Shaken and strained: Add the rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice, and maraschino liqueur to a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass and garnish with a masculine hunk of lime.
Frozen: Place everything except the lime in a blender and blend thoroughly. Pour into an extra-large chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with lime. Makes 1.
Savory Cocktails is available on Amazon for Kindle at $9.99, or as a paperback for $12.99.
Photos and excerpt with permission from Ulysses Press.