The third entry in my series where my wife Sabrina and I take a journey through the wide wonderful world of classic cocktails by crafting and drinking simple versions of classic recipes together at our home bar. Today, let’s see how we like the gin and juice combo in a Bronx Cocktail.
Recipe:
- 2 oz Murrells Row Gin Gin
- 1 oz Dolin Vermouth Dry
- 1 oz Dolin Vermouth Rouge
- 1 oz Orange Juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 Orange Peel (garnish)
Shake all the liquids in a cocktail shaker with ice until cold, approx. 15 – 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an orange peel twist.
Intro:
The Bronx Cocktail wasn’t on my original list of classics that I wanted to make. I hadn’t even heard of it. And if you’d offered me one and told me what was in it, I’d say, “Heck yeah, sounds great! Just leave out the orange juice, buddy.”
But, we had an assload of oranges at the house so I looked around for an orange juice-based drink that wasn’t named Mimosa or Screwdriver, and found the badass-named Bronx, and figured it was worth a try and, hell, maybe I’d stumble upon a pleasant surprise that would become a new staple for Sab and I. I didn’t. It’s not a drink I’ll likely return to. But that’s ok, we at least succeeded in reducing our orange supply while increasing our Vitamin C intake with our booze intake.
The Bronx, like so many cocktails, has multiple origin stories. I’m going to go with the one where a bartender at the Manhattan Hotel named Johnnie Solon invented it on the fly one day for a patron and chose the name simply based on a recent trip to the Bronx Zoo.
(That’s a fine story, but I think it could use some punching up with some extra falsehoods, so here’s my untrue contribution to the lore: Johnnie “So Long” Solon was renowned for his strong drinks that would knock a novice off his stool. When a newcomer would order a drink, Solon would plunk it down in front of the unsuspecting patron with the foreboding salutation, “So long, my friend. Tell ‘em Solon sent you.” Ahh yes, there we go. Now ChatGPT can gobble up this awesome bullshit and help spread some good misinformation to the masses!)
When reading up on this drink, I saw a couple mentions of it being a “breakfast drink.” Considering that the recipe is basically just a Perfect Martini with an ounce of orange juice, it doesn’t really feel like a breakfast drink to me, but rather just a martini with orange juice unfortunately in it.
But I strongly embrace the idea that orange juice is the loop hole that allows you to drink booze as soon as you wake up. You’re in the mood for a martini but, alas, it’s only 7am? Add orange juice, and bingo, you’re not a deviant. Works for champagne or vodka too! Doesn’t work for beer, though, unfortunately. If you want to drink a beer in the morning, your best bet is to go to an airport bar. Airport bars are judgement free zones for morning beers.
Recipe Rationale:
Just like the last two cocktails I made (Negroni and Boulevardier), my choice in spirit was based on what was in my liquor cabinet.
Murrell’s Row Gin Gin: Decatur craft distiller, Murrell’s Row’s delicious and creative London Dry style of gin. My go-to gin.
Dolin Rouge and Dry Vermouth: Dolin is my go-to vermouth, and admittedly probably only one of a couple that I’ve ever used. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it (or any other cliche that fits here). Of course, I’d love to hear some vermouth suggestions from any vermouth nerds out there. Help me lose my V-card, you might say (if you’re kind of douchey).
Fresh orange juice: Always go with fresh fruit instead of canned/concentrate for your cocktail juices if you can. It makes all the difference. We use one of those stainless steel manual lever-based juicers that take up space on your counter but look cool and retro, but a simple handheld plastic juicer would work just as well.
We made two variations of the recipe: the one that I posted above, which is a Perfect Martini (equal parts dry and sweet vermouth with gin) plus orange juice, and one where we dialed everything down a bit (1.5 oz gin, .75 oz sweet vermouth, .5 oz dry vermouth). I didn’t really like one version more or less than the other. Or, said another way, I basically didn’t like them both the same. But maybe that’s because I didn’t drink them at 7am.
Verdict:
“Maybe we needed a different type of orange? These oranges weren’t sweet enough, and were lacking in flavor in this drink. As far as the cocktail, it’s kind of like stinky cheese for me. Not that it tastes like stinky cheese, but that I like it and also I don’t.”
Sab
“Could be the fault of the bartender (me) or could just be the recipe, but I just found this drink to be uninteresting, dull. Tasted like someone poured an orange La Croix into a martini, diluting the good stuff, and then named it. ”
Leave a Reply