Be It Hereby Resolved

Continuing my quest for the perfect retro-cocktail from the Savoy Cocktail Book, I discovered the Resolute (on p. 133).  It had the virtue of simplicity and, more importantly, I had all the ingredients on hand.  I discovered that this cocktail is well-named.  You must be really Resolute to drink it when mixed as specified in the book.  The recipe from the Savoy called for lemon juice as a full ¼ of the cocktail with no sugar or syrup to offset the tartness.  Who knows – perhaps apricot brandy used to be a lot sweeter…  Although I’m known for making Margarita’s with just tequila and lime juice (no sugar), this cocktail was a bit (well, a lot) tarter than anything I generally care to drink.

I decided this recipe needed some adjustment.  I didn’t want to add sweetener, since that wouldn’t keep the recipe true to the spirit of the book.  The alternative was a radical reduction in the amount of lemon juice.  The recipe below cuts it by half, but you might want to go farther than that. I recommend that you make it with less lemon juice than specified, and add a little more if you feel you could withstand a little more tartness.  I added the garnish; none was specified in the original.

 

Resolute (Savoy Cocktail Book)

1 ½ oz. Bombay Sapphire® Gin

3/4 oz. apricot brandy

1 heavy dash freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3/8 oz. max.)

Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake resolutely until your hand gets too cold.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.