20th Century

I've already gone on at length about how much I love Tempus Fugit's Crème de Cacao. After buying it, I started encountering their other spirits at a lot of bars, in particular the Gran Classico and the Kina L'Aero D'Or (great name, right?). The Gran Classico is an amaro, and the Kina L'Aero is a kind of aperitif wine called a kina or a quinaquina. These wines are infused with citrus and spices, most importantly cinchona bark, which contains quinine (see my Gin and Tonic post for more on this). The most well-known spirit in this category is Lillet Blanc, which used to be called Kina Lillet. It was reformulated in the 80's and is no longer as bitter as it once was. Kina L'Aero D'Or would make a good substitute in something like a Vesper, which was created when Lillet was more bitter.

Anyway, I eventually decided to buy both the Gran Classico and the Kina L'Aero D'Or, and I've been thoroughly enjoying both of them. The Kina L'Aero came with a couple of classic cocktail recipes on the side of the bottle, including this one: the 20th Century. It also makes use of the crème de cacao, so I definitely wanted to give it a try.

It may sound odd to add crème de cacao to bitter wine, gin, and lemon, but it blends surprisingly well with the other bright flavors, giving them a lovely richness. I think the Kina L'Aero D'Or probably has a lot to do with how nicely the recipe works; Lillet might not hold up as well against the sweetness of the crème de cacao.

History: Though you may not have heard of the 20th Century before, it's actually quite an old cocktail, invented in 1937 by a Brit named C.A. Tuck. The recipe was published in the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book by William J. Tarling. It was recently resurrected by Ted Haigh's book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails.

Tuck named this cocktail for the Twentieth Century Limited train that ran between Chicago and New York City from 1902 until 1967. It was advertised as "the most famous train in the world," and it was quite a fancy way to travel - a red carpet was literally rolled out for passengers as they got on and off. Naming the 20th Century after the train was a nod to its elegance and sophistication, and I think the cocktail fits the bill.

20th Century

1 1/2 oz. gin
3/4 oz. kina (Lillet Blanc, Cocchi Americano, or Kina L'Aero D'Or)
3/4 oz. crème de cacao
3/4 oz. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Recipe from Tempus Fugit.