C.A. Tuck, Britain, 1937.
| 1½ oz · 45 ml | GIN | 40 % |
| ¾ oz · 22 ml | LILLET BLANC | 17 % |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | WHITE CRÈME DE CACAO | 24 % |
| ¾ oz · 22 ml | LEMON JUICE |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 3.5 oz mixed with ice, 0.85 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.7 oz of water |
| Served | 3.5 + 0.7 = 4.2 oz in the glass |
| Strength | 0.85 ÷ 4.2 = 20.2 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 0.85 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 20 g · about 138 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM GIN
The pine note in juniper berries, and the reason gin tastes like a forest. Co-distilled with the spirit during production. Found in actual pine trees, rosemary, basil, and a good London Dry. The "Christmas tree" smell of gin and the smell of a forest floor share a single molecule.
ALSO IN Negroni · Martini · Gimlet · Gin & Tonic · Aviation · Corpse Reviver #2 · French 75 · Bramble
FROM CRÈME DE CACAO · the chocolate stimulant
Chocolate's stimulant: cocoa's signature alkaloid, structurally similar to caffeine but with a longer half-life and a gentler peak. The mood-lift from dark chocolate is partly theobromine and partly the phenylethylamine that comes with it. Toxic to dogs because the canine liver clears it ~10x slower than the human liver. Same molecule, lethal at chocolate doses a person finds mild.
ALSO IN Brandy Alexander · Grasshopper
FROM LEMON · the lemon aroma
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
ALSO IN Margarita · Mojito · Daiquiri · Whiskey Sour · Gimlet · Moscow Mule · Paper Plane · Aviation
Gin, Lillet, white crème de cacao and lemon. The cocoa is the surprise: white crème de cacao (clear and chocolate-flavored) adds theobromine-adjacent depth without visual change. The Lillet's quinine-fortified wine base bridges.
Named for the 20th Century Limited, the luxury express train that ran between Chicago and New York from 1902 to 1967. William J. Tarling printed the recipe, credited to C.A. Tuck, in The Café Royal Cocktail Book in 1937. The chocolate-citrus-gin combination was unusual at the time and remains uncommon; the drink became canonical through the 2000s craft revival when bartenders rediscovered crème de cacao as a serious modifier rather than just a dessert ingredient.
