Pre-Prohibition, NYC, ~1890s.
| 2 oz · 60 ml | COGNAC | 40 % |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | WHITE CRÈME DE MENTHE | 24 % |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 2.5 oz mixed with ice, 0.92 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.5 oz of water |
| Served | 2.5 + 0.5 = 3 oz in the glass |
| Strength | 0.92 ÷ 3 = 30.7 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 0.92 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 21 g · about 150 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM COGNAC · from oak barrel aging
Bourbon's fingerprint, extracted from the charred American oak the law requires for aging. Same molecule as the vanilla bean's signature, so a well-aged bourbon legitimately tastes like vanilla. Chemistry, not metaphor. Cognac, aged rum, tequila reposado all extract vanillin from oak too. Different barrels, same molecule.
ALSO IN Old Fashioned · Manhattan · Whiskey Sour · Paper Plane · Boulevardier · Sazerac · Espresso Martini · Mai Tai
FROM CRÈME DE MENTHE · the cooling sensation
A cyclic alcohol that hijacks TRPM8, the same cold-sensing receptor that fires when the skin actually hits a cool surface. The "cooling" sensation is neurological, not thermal; the drink isn't cold, the nerves just think it is. Peppermint carries the most; a mojito gets a fraction of the real thing from muddled mint leaves. Same chemistry powers menthol cigarettes, cough drops, and the post-shave aftershock of anything labeled "icy."
ALSO IN Mojito · Mint Julep · Grasshopper · Old Cuban · Whiskey Smash · Cynar Julep · Eastside · Maid in Cuba
Cognac and white crème de menthe. The menthol triggers cold-receptor activation (TRPM8) alongside the oak-aged Cognac's vanillin, a sweet-cold pairing that reads as a digestif even at room temperature.
A favored after-dinner cocktail of the Vanderbilt social set, the Stinger was a Reginald Vanderbilt house specialty. Said to have been Cary Grant's drink of choice. The white (not green) crème de menthe is non-negotiable: green is for cooking, white for drinking, and the colorless version preserves the clean cognac-amber appearance.
