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May 11, 2013 (Day 3) – Jockey Club

I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of people today about a local project I’m involved with that’s dedicated to purchasing and restoring a historical movie theater in my hometown’s downtown area.

It was actually the site of the first-ever movie premiere outside of Hollywood.

As things often do whenever I’m around people the talks turned to cocktails and what constitutes a classy cocktail versus a not-so-classy cocktail. My thought was “The number of sexual organs cited in the name.”

Secondarily, I’d say it’s a matter of presentation and the flavor of the ingredients. You’d be hard pressed to convince someone that your drink with Hot Damn and Apple Pucker is a “classy” drink. Then again, by the same token, I’d argue a Dry Martini drank off a hammered co-ed’s cleavage wouldn’t exactly scream “class.”

One nice thing about going through classic cocktail tomes and exploring the older drinks is that a good number of them easily fall into an area that would fit in perfectly at your local piano bar.

Another thing that’s nice about classic cocktails – they use a lot of different whiskies and gins.

Today we’ll be focusing on a whiskey that’s drastically underused in this day and age – rye.

Jockey Club

1 oz rye whiskey

1 oz sweet vermouth

2 dashes Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled with chipped ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass and then garnish with a brandied cherry.

Liquor.com calls this cocktail a cousin of the Manhattan.

I’d go so far as it to call them… Les Cousins Dangereux.