Widow’s Kiss Project: The Victory Cocktail

  • Posted by Editor
  • July 30, 2008

Posted by Audrey Ference on The Spirit World.

victory cocktailThe Widow’s Kiss Project is dedicated to scouring the tomes of classic cocktail literature to find and taste the least-likely-looking recipes, in the hope of finding and reviving odd-sounding gems (like the applejack, yellow Chartreuse, and Benedictine of the Widow’s Kiss) that might otherwise be overlooked.

Today’s drink comes from Harry Craddock’s huge and mostly swiped from elsewhere work, the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930.) The Victory Cocktail is equal parts absinthe and grenadine, shaken, strained, and topped with soda. No straight amounts are given—only ratios, with the soda filling up a “medium” glass. I stirred together ½ oz of Kubler with ½ oz of my homemade grenadine, strained it into a five oz glass, and topped with soda. Craddock doesn’t mention rocks but my soda was less than chilly, so I added some.

The Verdict:
I’d give it about a C. It is, as you’d imagine, on the uncomfortably sweet side, and frankly I can’t taste the grenadine at all. It’s not terrible and it makes me consider the idea of an absinthe and soda for a post-prandial beverage, but unless you have some kind of compulsion only to drink pink liquids, the Victory combo doesn’t have a whole lot to offer. And so our search for the elusive diamond in the rough continues…

See previous Widow’s Kiss Project entries:
The Flip Flap
The Girard Flip



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July 30th, 2008
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Written by:
Gwydion Stone
Posted on:
July 30, 2008 at 9:51 pm

I tried this, and I think your C is generous. It’s pretty much an absinthe frappé with grenadine as sweetener instead of sugar. Then I tried it with a home-made grenadine, made with pomegranate syrup (very tart) and it improved quite a bit.

Absinthe is tough to mix with in larger quantities, but if you treat it like a bitters, it works pretty well to tie other flavors together in “new” ways.

Try this as an aperitif on a warm afternoon:

The Reuben

Add to an iced collins glass:

2 oz Italian Vermouth
1/4 oz Absinthe
2 dashes Orange Bitters
1 scant tsp Grenadine
Top with Tonic Water

It’s very light, crisp, and really whets the appetite.