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Friday Cocktail Hour: Pink Lady(from a cool new digital book)

Published: Jan 18, 2013 · Modified: Jan 18, 2013 by Michael Ruhlman · 13 Comments

Ingredients for a Pink Lady; tap on each for helpful info/from 25 Classic Cocktails

I first read about a new self-published iBook, 25 Classic Cocktails, published to iTunes, when Tampa journalist Jeff Houck wrote about entrepreneurial food people turning to digital devices. Donna and I recently published The Book of Schmaltz to the iTunes app store, a short cookbook on making and cooking with rendered chicken fat, an underappreciated cooking technique. Meanwhile, ingenious folks in Tampa came together to publish a book whose title requires no explanation.

But the book does warrant explanation. Each recipe, some common, some I hadn't heard of (one per screen), includes the recipe, a very brief history, one instructional video of the drink made and one quick montage video. At the bottom of the screen is a fat bar that, when tapped, displays all ingredients and, with a tap, their definition and description and helpful info, whether it be on the gin, green chartreuse, or even the type of glass (that was for a Bijou).

I even like that the mixer, Dean Hurst of SideBerns in Tampa, gives a 2:1 gin to vermouth ratio for his martini, which is how the drink began. (Although this is not one that I would want to drink nearly so much as the Perfect Martini.)

They do include The Martinez, I was happy to see, though not a Berkshire Martinez (not a classic). But one day, perhaps! I note on the cover image that this is Volume 1, happily portending more is in the works.

Without further ado, herewith the Pink Lady for the Friday Cocktail Hour. If you don't have apple brandy, don't use it and just call the drink a Clover Club. Both recipes are given below, and both, happily, use an egg white, which gives the cocktail body. Here is a video on the fundamentals of eggs in cocktails.

Pink Lady

  • 1.5 ounces gin
  • 0.5 ounce applejack brandy
  • 0.75 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 0.5 ounce simple syrup
  • 0.5 ounce grenadine
  • 1 egg white
  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker. Dry shake. Add ice. Shake once more.
  2. Double-strain into a coupe glass.

Watch the video on how to make a Pink Lady.

Clover Club

  • 1.5 ounces gin
  • 0.75 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 0.75 ounce simple syrup
  • 0.25 ounce grenadine
  • 1 egg white
  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker. Dry shake. Add ice. Shake once more.
  2. Double-strain into a coupe glass.

Watch the video on how to make a Clover Club.

Other links you may like:

  • My post on Friday Cocktail Hour Returns, which has a list of my first few cocktail hour posts.
  • Schmaltz, my new iTunes App.
  • Esquire magazine has a great collection of cocktails.
  • Food Republic shares their 7 most influential cocktails of all time.

© 2013 Michael Ruhlman. Photo © 2013 Donna Turner Ruhlman. All rights reserved.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Allen

    January 18, 2013 at 11:35 am

    Wheeew! Thank god, thought maybe you had gone to monk school, found religion.
    Welcome back to the festive world of Friday cocktail post. I have all the listed ingredients, and though I despise grenadine, I will gladly make this for my wife, perhaps while I subject myself to the single malt scotch sampler.
    I would like to comment on Donna's photography, that sharp knife in the last post. I can smell the onion, the wet blade looks scary sharp. Although the photos no longer look like random live action shots, they do not look fake, staged, like the sushi plates you see in Japan sushi store windows, mock ups of food. Taken to a whole new level, and seeing it evolve.
    I examined the photo, and no longer think my knives are sharp. I just don't trust anyone to get the factory edge back, so I hone the hell out of them.
    And what kind of a salesman are you? You sell a nice sharpener, but admit you take them in to be sharpened elsewhere?
    That's what I love about you. Honesty. No B.S.!

    Reply
    • ruhlman

      January 18, 2013 at 1:08 pm

      i'm kind of in cocktails all day heaven here in key west so may be absent from the blog for awhile, much cooking to do as well, having donna fill in.

      Reply
  2. Kris

    January 18, 2013 at 11:37 am

    Is there a source for the jars your syrup and juice are in?

    Reply
  3. Ryan Gardner

    January 18, 2013 at 11:48 am

    Hey everyone! This is Ryan Gardner, one of the creators of the book. If anyone has any questions or comments about the content of the book specifically, feel free to email AllSortsBooks (at) gmail (dot) com, as it forwards to all of our work emails.

    I will ask out bartender where he got the jars for the syrup and juice! It was our goal to keep everything unbranded and empower the reader to make choices in that regard. I'm glad they also looked good =)

    Reply
    • ruhlman

      January 18, 2013 at 1:09 pm

      thanks ryan, it's a terrific work, hope you get lots of attention and move on to V. II.

      Reply
  4. Ken

    January 18, 2013 at 11:59 am

    Thank you so much for another recipe for one of the most under-rated bottes on the shelf. Applejack Laird's Applejack in particular, is not only a terrific ingredient in cocktails, it's quite economical and delicious on its own. Pairs well with citrus, ginger, sugars, gin, sloe gin, vodka... the possibilities are endless.

    Will have to try this one tomorrow night!

    Reply
  5. Mike

    January 18, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    The pink lady sounds good and good timing with Friday cocktail hour fast approaching!

    Reply
  6. Rick Kirchner

    January 18, 2013 at 2:29 pm

    M.R, Funny you mention Key West, one of my good cocktail buddies is down there now and is having a hard time finding a proper cocktail. Craft Beers are easy to find, Proper cocktails, not so much. Any suggestions as they leave tonight? P.S. going to a "wake" for Brian Polcyn's, Milford Cinco Lagos tomorrow.

    Reply
  7. Lisa

    January 18, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    The Jack Rose is my favorite Apple Jack cocktail, although I prefer it with Apple Brandy and only with lime juice - no lemon!

    Reply
  8. eric g

    January 19, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    Same recipe for the Pink Lady in the PDT cocktail book:
    http://www.cocktailkingdom.com/The-PDT-Cocktail-Book-By-Jim-Meehan-p/bok_meehanjpdt_0000_00.htm

    They sourced it from
    http://vintage-cocktail-books.blogspot.com/2009/07/abc-of-mixing-cocktails-harry-mac.html

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Friday Cocktail Hour: Key Lime Daiquiri | Michael Ruhlman says:
    February 1, 2013 at 10:00 am

    [...] Friday Cocktail Hour features the iBook 25 Essential Cocktails and the Pink Lady. [...]

    Reply
  2. Friday Cocktail Hour: Clover Club | Michael Ruhlman says:
    February 15, 2013 at 11:20 am

    [...] which noted this excellent iBook called 25 Classic Cocktails. I asked the guys who made it to do a guest post and offer some cocktails. They chose a Pink Lady and also gave the recipe for a variant, the Clover [...]

    Reply
  3. Friday Cocktail Hour: The Boulevardier | Michael Ruhlman says:
    February 22, 2013 at 11:00 am

    [...] I love how various flavoring components (bitters, vermouths) become different cocktails when you change the spirit. How the Manhattan becomes a Rob Roy when you change the bourbon to scotch (as opposed to a lame-sounding “Scotch Manhattan”), or how a Martini becomes a … um, never mind about that #lostcause (Paulius, can we hope for Darwinian selection here?). I love the elasticity of a solid cocktail, how the addition of apple brandy turns a Clover Club into a Pink Lady. [...]

    Reply

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