Apple Brandy, stirred
Dempsey
Barline 1h,1h,h,q,c
The code is the shorthand off my printed menu; the Key tab decodes every letter.
- 1 1/2 oz Apple brandy
- 1 1/2 oz Gin
- 1/2 oz Grenadine
- 1/4 oz Absinthe
Stir with ice until cold, then strain.
Coupe.
Taste
Equal ounces and a half of apple brandy and gin, so neither wins. Half an ounce of grenadine puts pomegranate against the orchard, and a quarter ounce of absinthe is enough anise to coat the glass. Stirred, no juice, coupe. Pink, wormwood-edged brandy and gin.
History
Robert Vermeire prints the Dempsey in Cocktails How to Mix Them (1922) and says it was introduced at Deauville in 1921 after Jack Dempsey knocked out Georges Carpentier on 2 July 1921 at Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City, the first million-dollar gate. Vermeire's formula is two-thirds Calvados to one-third gin, with dashes of absinthe and a teaspoon of grenadine. Harry MacElhone, the same year, credits Fred Martin at the Casino de Deauville in 1922, and uses a dash of Anis del Osa. Both claims stay in print. This menu splits apple brandy and gin equally, then pours half an ounce of grenadine and a quarter ounce of absinthe, heavier than the dashes.
Same shape, other bottles
The Fancy family, with the bottle that changed.
- Friscobourbon for apple brandy and gin
- Angel Facewith apricot liqueur
- One Chance Fancytequila for apple brandy and gin
- Alaskawith Chartreuse
- Casinowith maraschino liqueur
- El Caminomezcal and rye for apple brandy and gin
This is one drink on my home bar's menu. Tick the bottles you own and the menu lists which of all 185 drinks they pour.