Widow's Touch

A few weeks ago, I featured a classic cocktail called the Widow's Kiss made with apple brandy, Benedictine, and Yellow Chartreuse. It's a good drink, but not really something I'd like to make again and again. A lot of older cocktails just aren't quite balanced for modern tastes, and even with PDT's adjusted recipe, the Widow's Kiss tastes like something from another time. To me that's part of the appeal.

The Widow's Touch, however, is another matter. I love this drink. It's an updated version of the classic that swaps out the Yellow Chartreuse for St. Germain, and the switch makes all the difference. In Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, Ted Haigh calls the Widow's Kiss "a cocktail of fall turning towards winter." In that case, the Widow's Touch is a cocktail of fall meeting spring. It's bright, sweet, and floral with flavors of apple and pear.

History: The Widow's Touch sprang from Boston's fantastic bar scene. It was created by John Gertsen when he was at No. 9 Park. He went on to open Drink, one of Boston's best-known cocktail bars.

Widow's Touch

1 1/4 oz. Laird's Applejack or Apple Brandy
3/4 oz. St. Germain
1/4 oz. Benedictine
1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a coupe glass.

Recipe from Bon Appetit.

Widow's Kiss

It's been much too long since I featured a classic recipe - maybe not since the Clover Club back in September. Drinks that stand the test of time are always worth exploring. They provide such a unique connection to history. And if that's what you're looking for, the Widow's Kiss has it in spades. This recipe dates all the way back to 1895. We've been drinking this cocktail for 124 years!

To aptly describe the Widow's Kiss, I must quote Ted Haigh. In his book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, he writes:

As the scene opens, you are up in your grandmother's attic opening the dusty steamer trunk she brought from Europe in 1914. You reverently turn back layer upon layer of old lace and brocade, unveiling a packet of old love letters tied in silk ribbon. Ancient dried rose petals flutter down from between the envelope. 

That is what the Widow's Kiss is like.

I'm not sure I've ever read a more poetic and evocative description of a cocktail. I'd like to see a bar menu where all the drinks are described this way. After all, drinking cocktails is so often about the entire experience rather than just the flavor.

In case grandma's attic isn't specific enough for you: the Widow's Kiss is a strong, herbaceous apple brandy drink made with Yellow Chartreuse and Benedictine. It's a spirit-forward sipper for sure, all apples, herbs, and sweetness. It's almost a touch savory as well. Definitely an interesting and complex drink, and one of the more famous Yellow Chartreuse cocktails.

History: The first mention of the Widow's Kiss is in the 1895 book Modern American Drinks by George Kappeler. Kappeler was the head bartender at Holland House, a fancy New York hotel on the corner of 5th Avenue and 30th Street. It's assumed that he created the recipe.

Haigh's recipe matches Kappeler's (1.5 oz apple brandy and 3/4 oz. each of the Benedictine and Chartreuse), but despite my devotion to cocktail history I decided to use the specs from The PDT Cocktail Book instead. I've come to trust PDT on the classics and thought that their version with less Benedictine and Chartreuse would be more to my taste.

Widow's Kiss

2 oz. apple brandy or Calvados
1/2 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz. Benedictine
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe. No garnish.

Recipe and history from The PDT Cocktail Book.

Fallback

We are currently in my absolute favorite time of year. The holidays are just so joyful. There are so many happy events and opportunities to get together with friends and family. It's not yet bitterly cold, but the temperature is low enough to turn on the heat and snuggle up under a blanket. Preferably with a whiskey cocktail.

The one thing I don't like about this time of year is how short the days are. It seemed bad enough as fall began, but then Daylight Savings Time ended. We "fall back" and suddenly it's getting dark at 4 pm! This makes it supremely inconvenient to get good cocktail photos. I like to shoot with natural light, but I'm not usually going to have a drink in the mid-afternoon. I end up having to just set things aside for later. My husband has gotten used to coming home and taking a peek in the fridge to check whether anything I made earlier that day is waiting to be consumed.

It was with this annual disgruntlement in mind that I picked the Fallback out of Regarding Cocktails. In addition to the appropriate name, it's made with Applejack and Amaro Nonino, a couple of my favorite fall ingredients. They lend flavors of apple, spice, vanilla, and brown sugar to rye and sweet vermouth. The Nonino and a couple of dashes of Peychaud's give the drink just the right amount of bitterness. It's utterly perfect for the fall.

And it still tastes just fine if you have to throw it in the fridge until cocktail hour.

History: The Fallback was created by Sasha Petraske for John Dory Oyster Bar in New York City.

Fallback

1 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. Applejack or apple brandy
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica recommended)
1/2 oz. Amaro Nonino
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Build the drink in a rocks glass beginning with the bitters. Add one large cube of ice and stir until the drink is chilled. Garnish with an orange twist.

Recipe adapted from Regarding Cocktails.