Air Mail
4.2 213 ratings
Ingredients
How to make
Serve in a highball (max 10oz/300ml) glass
Prepare
- 1 Select and pre-chill a HIGHBALL (MAX 10OZ/300ML) GLASS.
- 2 Prepare garnish of lime zest twist or mint sprig tip.
Method
- 3 SHAKE first 3 ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled glass (preferably a column of ice).
- 4 TOP with sparkling wine and briefly stir.
Garnish
- 5 Garnish with lime zest twist (not expressed) or mint sprig tip.
Flavour profile
14.1% alc./vol. · 1.4 standard drinks · 168 calories
History
Lightly aged rum invigorated with brut sparkling wine, freshened by a touch of lime and balanced by honeyed richness. Some describe it as a rum-based French 75; like the French 75, there's debate over the correct glass and serving with ice. The Air Mail is best served as a highball in a highball glass (max capacity 10 oz/ 300 ml).
This potent cocktail's name likely references airmail as the quickest way to send correspondence, and it probably dates to the early days of airmail, which began on 15th May 1918 with the first scheduled route between New York and Washington D.C. The earliest known mention of this cocktail is in a 1930s promotional pamphlet, Bacardi and Its Many Uses. The Air Mail, spelled as two words, appears notably in W.C. Whitfield's 1941 wooden cover-bound Here's How, with the note "It ought to make you fly high." AIR MAIL 1 Lime (juice only) 1 Teaspoon strained honey 1 jigger Fine rum Shake well with cracked ice and strain into highball glass, fill with champane. (It ought to make you fly hight.) The 1940s seem to have been the Air Mail's peak, as the cocktail is mentioned in David A. Embury's 1948 book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks and in Esquire's 1949 Handbook for Hosts. BEE'S KNEES 1 part Honey 2 parts Lemon Juice 8 parts Gin Shake vigorously with cracked ice. The addition of a small amount of orange juice (about 1 to 2 parts) makes an interesting variation. The same drink, but with white Cuban rum instead of gin, is known as the Honeysuckle. The version with Jamaican rum is the Honey Bee. The Honeysuckle is also sometimes called the Airmail. AIR MAIL Mix in shaker: Juice of one-half lime 1 teaspoon honey 1 jigger gold rum Add cracked ice, shake; strain into highball glass and fill with dry champagne. While the Bacardi leaflet calls for Bacardi Gold rum, Whitfield specifies "fine rum" [well-aged blended Caribbean rums work well]. Both recipes, along with the Handbook for Hosts, suggest a highball glass [a tall glass smaller than 10oz / 295ml] filled with ice. It's a "short drink served long," and those who misguidedly serve it straight-up in a coupe or flute are mistaken.