Leap Year cocktail

Peter Matika

This year we celebrated a phenomenon that occurs once every four years. Yes, you guessed it, it’s a Leap Year and guess what?

There is an official Leap Year cocktail!

The cocktail was originally crafted at The Savoy in London at the American Bar by head bartender Harry Craddock on February 29 in 1928. It went on to be included in the original Savoy Cocktail Book published in 1930.

The cocktail is infused with Gin, paired with sweet vermouth, brandy and the orange sweetness of Grand Marnier.

I have never tried it but do wish to taste it. But from the reviews I read online about the cocktail, I am led to believe it is an acquired taste and perhaps that is why it is celebrated once every four years. Legend has it, it’s responsible for many marriage proposals than any other cocktail that has ever been mixed. I am led to believe it has an exciting zesty taste. I am most certain that the recipe has been modified by mixologists to suit the ever-changing times. Palates have certainly changed since the 20s and we require slightly sweeter (or boozy and bold) and more balanced drinks to sip on.

The Leap Year’s ingredients seem to fight for attention and do not mesh well in my opinion. I sense it has bitter notes paired with sweet vermouth and rounded out with tart citrus sounds nice on paper, but just don’t work quite right. It really sounds like a medicinal concoction.

Anyway the ingredients and directions are as follows:

Ingredients
2 oz gin, 1/2 oz dry curacao, 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice, 1/4 oz dry vermouth, 1/2 tsp sugar, lemon peel and garnish

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake. Strain into a glass. Express lemon peel over glass and drop in.

Till next week!

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