Wilson’s South Camp Road Cocktail
Gaze upon the words of Charles H. Baker, Jr. and be instantly transported to the high mountains of Luzon, the pre-prohibition days of New York, or to Jamaica where you’ll dine with a retired British army man named Wilson. It doesn’t matter where he takes you – it’s always interesting, and sometimes dangerous.
After reading the ingredient list for this potent drink, I decided I had no choice … I needed to find a suitable glass. I threw open my cabinets and searched through all of my glasses, but nothing would do. I was bereft of hope. Nothing I had, save a few tiki mugs, would be able to stand up to such an intense array of potions. As I was about to give up hope and grab any old glass, I noticed a candle holder sitting on the windowsill. This was it – exactly what I’d been searching for. I immediately snatched it up, delicately setting the burning vanilla candle aside. After giving it a good scrub, I popped it in the freezer. This would be my glass. It was perfect. It was wreathed with angels.
Wilson’s South Camp Road Cocktail
- 3oz gin
- 1/2oz grand marnier (or orange curacao)
- 1oz lime juice
- 1 1/2 dashes Fee’s aromatic bitters
- 1 1/2 dashes Fee’s orange bitters
- 3oz dry vermouth
- 1/2oz pastis
- 1 egg white
- 1/2tsp grenadine
- 2tsp simple syrup
- orange peel, for garnish
Shake with a plethora of ice for at least 30 seconds. Pour into a glass that may grant you a strong will. Twist the orange peel to release its oils and step off the plank.
Source: The Gentleman’s Companion Volume II: The Exotic Drinking Book, Charles H. Baker, Jr.
If I may be so bold, I would like to suggest we rename this cocktail the Snow Cloud of Deception. A quote from the receipt tells it all: “Try it yourself, but not more than two – and I mean that.”
This is one of those drinks where all of the ingredients come together to make something wholly new with only hints of the combatants that so aggressively resolved their feud in your shaker. This is not to say it’s devoid of interesting flavors… not at all.
Flavor
You’re first greeted gently by the grand marnier and dry vermouth, but when the mouthful hits the back of your tongue, you’re introduced quite formally to the pastis. It’s escorted with grandeur by the two bitters and a hint of pomegranate, and the whole experience is wrapped in a package of limey goodness. Finally, your mouth is left with a mellow creaminess that beckons you to take another sip.
A Deadly Second Attempt
For my second go I bumped each of the bitters to 2 dashes and gave the aroma a jolt with some orange zest. I was pleased with both additions, though I may go with a bit less of a heavy hand on the bitters next time. These adjustments are reflected in the recipe above.
It pains me to say this, but this cocktail may just be the Long Island Iced Tea of fine drinking.
14 Responses to “Wilson’s South Camp Road Cocktail”
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Rick lives! Forgive me for asking, but what is your spiral garnish technique? ‘Tis absolutely gorgeous.
Jack,
I think the tiki gods so overwhelmed me this summer that they put some sort of mental block on me crafting anything else!
I cannot claim ownership to this technique – Chris over at Brilliant Cocktails tipped me off to it.
Cut off each end of the orange/lemon and lay it on it’s side (like you were going to peel the rest of for segmenting). Get out a sharp or angry spoon, and hollow out the insides. You’re looking for a big orange circle.
Cut across to make one, long rectangular piece. Lay it skin-side down and cut off most of the pith with a sharp knife. Once you’ve done that, roll it up very tight and put a toothpick in one side. Drop it into some ice water for 10 or so minutes. Then slice of pieces, twist them, and garnish.
I wish I remembered the video that Chris pointed me to… maybe he’ll chime in with the link.
Wow!
Interesting cocktail.
It certainly does seem a bit dangerous!
3 oz of Gin!
Glad to see you back – new drinks to try!
Wow…what a great sounding concoction! This one would be good incentive to finally get an order in to Fee’s.
Now if I can just get over my aversion to anise/licorice. But I enjoy a sip of Jagermeister now and then, so I can probably hack it.;-)
And beautiful photo as usual, Rick.
The recipe actually called for Angostura and just “orange” bitters, but Fee’s definitely seemed to fit the bill. Fee’s is excellent to deal with – I would recommend a purchase from them to anyone. Though, avoid the temptation to buy their syrups.
Buy a bottle of pernod, and sip an ounce of it every day until you like it. It works. I like Good and Plenty now …
Well, I love Pernod, so I think this sounds great. Definitely potent, though. One to be wary of, I think.
Call it a mental block, but anything with a raw egg white in it just isn’t for me.
Adam,
If you’re worried about the safety of it – which you shouldn’t be – you can probably find pasteurized eggs in the shell. Egg really changes the texture of the drink; it’s very cool.
There are a lot of drinks that utilize egg that just wouldn’t work without it (e.g. Ramos Gin Fizz); there are probably 100+ in the meager library of cocktails books I have.
Yes, I am a food safety nazi, but even if I weren’t, this would give me the hinkies.
Hmmm. . . I just tried this and the egg curdled on me. Never had that happen to me before in a cold drink. A dodgy egg? So much liquor in there that the egg is getting ‘cooked’? I put it through a strained to remove the egg strands. Tastes fine.
If the egg was fresh and smelled fine, etc, I’m not sure how that would happen. How do you mix it?
One year later..heh..(this was before my time) but i think i just must say wadda cocktail and wadda sturdy garnish! best i`ve seen i think.
There is about a 1 in 10,000 chance of getting a food born illness from a raw egg white. This is about the same chance as winning the Massachusetts “Numbers Game” lottery.