Brown Derby
4.5 439 ratings
Ingredients
How to make
Serve in a coupe glass
Prepare
- 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
- 2 Prepare garnish of grapefruit zest twist.
Method
- 3 SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
- 4 FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Garnish
- 5 EXPRESS grapefruit zest twist over cocktail and use as garnish.
Flavour profile
17.5% alc./vol. · 1.1 standard drinks · 162 calories
History
This is a better cocktail than the similar but honey-sweetened De Rigueur Cocktail, as maple syrup's 'tang' sits better with the bourbon and grapefruit combo unless honey is very full-bodied.
This drink is said to have been created in the 1930s by a bartender at the Vendôme Café, located at 6666 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. William "Billy" Wilkerson, a real estate developer, opened the Vendôme in May 1933. He also owned The Hollywood Reporter, with offices situated one block away. Though invented at the Vendôme, the cocktail's name comes from another fashionable Hollywood restaurant of that time, the Brown Derby at 1628 North Vine Street. This particular Brown Derby location was more famous than the original, smaller branch at 3427 Wilshire Boulevard. Its fame derived from its proximity to movie studios and the fact that it was housed in a building shaped like a man's derby hat. The Brown Derby is a variation on the earlier De Rigueur Cocktail, which was sweetened with honey. The Brown Derby uses maple syrup as its sweetener. A mistaken belief that the Brown Derby should be made with honey originates from a recipe found in George Buzza Jr.'s 1933 book, Hollywood Cocktails: BROWN DERBY COCKTAIL 1/2 Whisky 1/4 Grapefruit Juice 1/4 Honey Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. However, the cocktail becomes a De Rigueur Cocktail when honey is used, according to Judge Jr's 1927 book, Here's How!, and Harry Craddock's 1930 book, The Savoy Cocktail Book. When considering the original ingredients of a Brown Derby, the base spirit, rather than the sweetener, is what warrants examination. Evidence for this can be found in Esquire Magazine. The cocktail is first mentioned in the magazine's "Painting the Town" column in 1935: "Amen Corner of Fifth Avenue Hotel gave me my chance to imbibe a Brown Derby amid politicians and litterateurs, who also eat there." Later, in 1939, a recipe for the Brown Derby was published in the magazine's "Potables" column: 2 parts dark rum 1 teaspoon maple sugar Juice of one lime Shake well and serve Therefore, for an authentic Brown Derby, consider using dark rum instead of whiskey in the recipe mentioned above.