Remsen Cooler

Long drinks and highballs · Summer

3.7 14 ratings

Ingredients

How to make

13.2% alc./vol. · 1.4 standard drinks

History

Scotch and soda for the discerning palate.

Around 1890, this drink was made with Old Tom gin, but in recent decades, it's more commonly prepared with Scotch whisky. The first recipe book to feature a Remsen Cooler was Hon. William Boothby's 1891 Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender. COOLERS. Two well-liked drinks called coolers exist, each lacking a distinct title. One is a mix of equal parts milk and seltzer; the other is simply ginger ale lemonade, or lemonade made with ginger ale instead of water. Bartenders typically inquire about customer preference. N. B. – Some years ago, the late William Remsen, a retired naval officer and a well-regarded member of the Union Club, N. Y., introduced a beverage to the members of that esteemed organization, which has since borne his name and is now known to all clubmen as the Remsen cooler. The following recipe is accurate and has not previously appeared in print. Pare a lemon (a lime will not suffice) as you would an apple, creating a peel resembling a corkscrew. Place this rind in a tall, thin glass and pour over it a full jigger of Old Tom Cordial gin. Using a bar spoon, press the peel and stir thoroughly to infuse the liquor with the essence of the skin. Then, fill the glass with plain soda from the ice. English soda is highly recommended for this drink. The Remsen Cooler is also listed in David A. Embury's 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. COOLERS A Cooler is essentially a Horse's Neck With a Kick, though Prohibition Coolers made with non-alcoholic components also exist. As far as can be determined, the original Cooler was the Remsen Cooler. While most contemporary recipe books suggest gin for the Remsen Cooler, this is inaccurate. The Cooler got its name because it was made with Remsen Scotch whisky, a brand no longer available, at least in this country. The Cooler is served in a Collins glass adorned with the peel of a whole lemon or orange, shaped into a continuous spiral and draped over the rim of the glass, much like the Horses Neck. Occasionally, both lemon and orange peels are used for garnish. While the Horses Neck is made with ginger ale, the original Remsen Cooler was made with club soda. Today, some Coolers are made with charged water, and some with ginger ale. There are also Coolers made with other carbonated beverages, at least one or two made with cider, and some modern recipes have even resorted to specifying plain water. The Cooler should be very dry, but sugar may be added if desired; perhaps the best guidance here is "sweeten according to taste." However, to ensure the drink is thirst-quenching, refreshing, and satisfying, it must be kept decidedly on the dry side. The base of the Cooler can be a spirituous liquor, a wine, a liqueur, or even a fruit syrup. With sweet wines or liqueurs, a few dashes of lime or lemon juice are generally advisable, but this is optional. It is also optional whether to use bitters and in what quantity. With these principles in mind, one should be able to "roll your own" Coolers using whatever ingredients are available, of any type and strength to suit any palate, from that of an Andy Volstead to that of the Old Soak. Nevertheless, the following are presented as examples: REMSEN COOLER (The original Cooler) Decorate a Tom Collins glass with a lemon peel as directed above and place 3 to 4 large ice cubes in the glass. Add 2 to 3 ounces Scotch whisky and fill the glass with charge water. Stir quickly with a bar spoon and serve.