I never knew such a drink existed until I found it in Dale DeGroff’s great book, The Craft of the Cocktail, which, incidentally, has a place of honor behind the bar at Max London’s, a sign of a place where they know what they are doing. Dale says the recipe originates from a book called The Flowing Bowl by Edward Spencer. He also informs us that there was a pre-Prohibition cocktail with the same name that featured applejack, sweet vermouth, and orange bitters (perhaps I’ll take a swing at that next week).

I played around with this recipe a bunch, and still feel it might be one step away from being what I really want it to be. But here’s what I did, making several modifications to Dale’s recipe starting with replacing the pineapple and strawberry in his version with the more local/seasonal blueberries and rasberries. . .

(I made this recipe in a shaker and it made two drinks).

10 little rasperries

10 little blueberries

1/2 ounce cherry liqueur (I used my homemmade but you could use any you have, or even skip if stuck)

1/2 ounce lemon juice

3 dashes Angostura bitters

3 dashes Peychaud bitters (optional, feel free to just do more Angostura)

3 ounces Cognac

An ounce or two of sparkling wine for topping off, probably prosecco

Lemon twist or peel, for garnish

Muddle the fruit, cherry liqueur, and bitters in the bottom of a mixing glass. You really want to break down the fruit almost as if it had been in a food processor so don’t skimp here. Add your cognac and ice cubes and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass and top with prosecco. Garnish with a lemon peel or twist.

You can also serve this in a stem glass with ice. When next I try it, I might go julep-style and do in a tall glass over cracked ice. Maybe with a little mint as well. I’ll add a pic of that if I try it out.