Mike Romanoff
3.7 22 ratings
Ingredients
How to make
Serve in a coupe glass
Prepare
- 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
- 2 Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
Method
- 3 SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
- 4 FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Garnish
- 5 EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.
Flavour profile
20.3% alc./vol. · 1.3 standard drinks · 168 calories
History
Vodka Daisy: triple sec, apricot brandy, and a little sugar.
Michael Romanoff (1890-1971), born Hershel Geguzin in Lithuania, was a Hollywood impresario. He immigrated to New York City at age ten, changing his name to Harry F. Gerguson. In Hollywood, he adopted the persona of Prince Michael Alexandrovitch Dimitri Obolensky Romanoff, claiming kinship with Tsar Nicholas II. Scotland Yard characterized the former British and French convict as a "rogue of uncertain nationality." He was an actor in a city of actors, and when filmmakers required a 'technical adviser' for a European-set movie, Romanoff was the readily available, well-compensated expert. He became a popular figure in Hollywood, opening Romanoff's, a Beverly Hills restaurant favored by movie stars in the 1940s and 1950s. Humphrey Bogart, a close friend of Romanoff and a regular patron, was lunching with Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Jimmy Van Heusen in 1955. According to Hollywood lore, when Mrs. Bogart, Lauren Bacall, entered the restaurant and saw the group, she exclaimed, "I see the rat pack is all here." Thus, Romanoff's became the birthplace of the term 'Rat Pack' and the creation site of this drink. David Niven, also a close friend, dedicated chapter eight, 'The Emperor,' in his book Bring on the Empty Horses to the colorful Romanoff.