The Frisco

[arrScott]

Inspired by a New York Times article on trying to track down a "Frisco" cocktail, I spent a week playing around with the contents of my cabinet and came to two conclusions. Here's the Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/dining/29tipsy.html

Conclusion 1: The Times writer didn't really try very hard, because about half the mixing books I own list a "San Francisco" cocktail that's exactly what he describes as being an obscure cocktail all but lost to memory.

Conclusion 2: None of the "San Francisco" recipes in my books are very good, whereas the couple of variations of what the Times writer calls a "Frisco" are close to excellent. Using various bourbons instead of ryes, I found that this recipe is almost always a winner:

1-1/2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz Benedictine

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Made with Bulleit, it's my new favorite drink, and I preferred it to a Manhattan with almost every bourbon I tried. It even turns out a serviceable cocktail with Jack Daniel's, which not every bourbon cocktail recipe does.

[ratcheer]

Sounds pretty good.

Tim

[bonneamie]

after hearing me talk up that article, a friend who happened to have all the ingredients at hand, made me one. It was good, and I think it would be even better in the depths of winter to clear up one's catarrh.

[imbibehour]

Sounds good. Somewhat close to a Ward 8 except there is Benedictine and no OJ and Grenadine...

For a moment there I thought I had seen something similar, but the Benedictine and just lemon with the Bourbon is new to me.

Interesting... will have to try one.

I am out of lemons...

[DanG]

Just picked up a liter of Benedictine at the duty free... will have to give this a try!

[cowdery]

If something has "Frisco" in the name, doesn't sour dough bread have to be involved?

[JeffRenner]

Tried this this evening (with AAA 10*) and found it very nice, but too much lemon juice. Topped it with more bourbon and Benedictine to make it about half as much lemon juice and liked it better. I think it has the proportions of a classic cocktail, as opposed to so many of these new, "forced" cocktails. But I think I will play a bit more with the proportions.

Strange how pale it is. I assume that the lemon juice bleaches it out.

[Lost Pollito]

The only cocktail I had while living in sf, was a shot of fernet with a ginger back.:grin:

[drunkard]

I drink these all the time. In old cocktail books, it's often listed as a Frisco Sour, which I figure must have been a play on the Pisco Sour (not a bad drink in its own right - it was the house specialty at Hinky Dink's in Oakland, which went on to become Trader Vic's). Anyway, I make mine like this:

2 oz Rittenhouse BIB

1 oz Benedictine

slice lemon peel

Shake everything real good and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist. I find this works much better than adding actual lemon juice, the peel and Benedictine provide just the right amount of honey/lemon notes that works beautifully with the rye. I've tried this with bourbon, and it's not really the same thing at all - definitely a rye drink.

[smokinjoe]

Although, I'm not much of a cocktail drinker, this drink does sound good. I don't have a bottle of Benedictine in the house, but I do have a bottle of B&B. Would ya'll see anything funky with trying that in the Benedictine's place?

[DanG]

I drink these all the time. In old cocktail books, it's often listed as a Frisco Sour, which I figure must have been a play on the Pisco Sour (not a bad drink in its own right - it was the house specialty at Hinky Dink's in Oakland, which went on to become Trader Vic's). Anyway, I make mine like this:

2 oz Rittenhouse BIB

1 oz Benedictine

slice lemon peel

Shake everything real good and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist. I find this works much better than adding actual lemon juice, the peel and Benedictine provide just the right amount of honey/lemon notes that works beautifully with the rye. I've tried this with bourbon, and it's not really the same thing at all - definitely a rye drink.

Thanks Drunkard -- I tried your recipe with Rittenhouse and I liked it best! It was good with lemon juice too, but it deboozed the drink a little too much. With the lemon juice, I found that EC12 worked better than Gentleman Jack, Rittenhouse, or brandy (I was getting pretty drunk toward the end). Booker's worked well too.