The Modern
3.8 45 ratings
Ingredients
How to make
Serve in a coupe glass
Prepare
- 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
- 2 Prepare garnish of skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
Method
- 3 SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
- 4 FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Garnish
- 5 Garnish with skewered cherry.
Flavour profile
19.9% alc./vol. · 1.7 standard drinks · 223 calories
History
A fruity sweet 'n' sour cocktail with equal parts scotch and sloe gin liqueur, lemon juice and absinthe. Quality sloe gin is crucial.
This cocktail is adapted from an early 20th-century recipe found in Charles S. Mahoney's 1905 book, The Hoffman House Bartender's Guide. Modern Cocktail. Bar glass half full of ice. Three dashes lemon juice, one dash orange bitters, one dash absinthe, four dashes of syrup, one-half jigger of Scotch whiskey, one-half jigger Sloe gin; mix well and strain in cocktail glass with cherry. Charlie Mahoney was the head bartender, and a celebrated one at that, at New York's Hoffman House Hotel. Mahoney's inclusion of The Modern in his esteemed book ensured its continued preparation by future bartenders. However, he was not the drink's creator, and for decades the identity of its originator remained unknown. This changed in December 2017 when Doug Stailey revealed on Twitter (@LibationLegacy) that John E. Haas, a bartender from Bradford, Pennsylvania (1873-1909), was the true creator of this cocktail. The evidence Stailey uncovered was in a column in the National Police Gazette dated December 17, 1904. Regrettably, little else is known about John E. Haas's life. Thanks are extended to Doug. Thanks also to David Wondrich for bringing this to a wider audience's attention. Special thanks go to Scott Bennett, the Discerning Drinker who brought all this to light.
Created by John E. Haas