The combination of gin, cocoa liqueur, vermouth and lemon juice may not seem to go together at first glance, but the Twentieth Century is a true classic in which the flavours complement each other perfectly. This drink is exceptional: it shows us how art deco tastes.
40 ml Eversbusch Doppelwachholder
20 ml Cap Corse quinquina white
20 ml Dutch Cacao
20 ml lemon juice
2,5 ml sugar syrup (2:1)
Preparation: shaken.
Lillet is used in the original recipe. However, since the Lillet available today is now made with a modified recipe, it should be substituted. We have chosen the Quinquina from Cap Corse. As the Dutch Cacao contains little sugar, you have to add some additional sugar syrup.
Alternatively and currently preferred by us:
40 ml Finsbury 47 Gin
20 ml Cap Corse quinquina white
20 ml Homemade Crème de Cacao (3 parts Hiebl Schokogeist : 2 parts sugar syrup (2:1))
20 ml lemon juice
2,5 ml sugar syrup (2:1)
This Twentieth Century was created by British bartender C. A. Tuck in or before 1937. In any case, the recipe first appeared in the “Café Royal Cocktail Book” in 1937.
Charles A. Tuck was Head Bartender at the Picadilly Hotel in London when he published his book ‘Cocktails and Mixed Drinks.’ in 1967. Interestingly, that was the year the Twentieth Century train stopped running. He writes about himself: »As for me, I have worked in many famous hotels in England and abroad. I started at the Carlton, in London, which was one of the most famous hotels in the world and which is no more. Later, I worked at the Semiramis in Cairo and then gained a great deal of experience all over Europe. I opened the Buttery Bar at the Hyde Park Hotel in London some years before the last war and when the war was over I opened a new Cocktail Bar at Flemming’s Hotel in London. In 1950 I went to the Piccadilly Hotel and have been Head Bartender there for a number of years. So much for my experience in the art of mixing drinks.« [6-11]
Charles Tuck was the president of the ‘United Kingdom Bartenders Guild’ in 1965, [10-173] its vice-president in 1968. In the 1970s, he was vice-president of the International Bartenders Association. [8]
It should be noted that there are numerous other publications of several drinks with the same name from the years before. The oldest, from 1904, is a sweetened Old Tom gin with bitters and creme de noyaux. From 1913 onwards, the books understand the name to mean a bourbon sour with a shot of Jamaican rum, which is turned into a highball with ginger ale or soda. In 1934, the name is used for a gin Alexander, but we may neglect this as a curiosity. It was not until 1937 that the recipe appeared that is now commonly understood to mean a Twentieth Century Cocktail.
The drink is said to have taken its name from the Twentieth Century Limited, [2] a luxurious night train that ran between New York and Chicago between 1902 and 1967 and was considered the most famous train in the world, becoming a national symbol. [4]
The other drinks with the same name were probably also named after this train service. If the drink had been created to celebrate the new century, it would certainly have appeared in print earlier. The first version from 1904 may still have been named after the new century, but since the train service was launched shortly before, in 1902, it is more likely to have been named after it in this case as well.
One also reads that the variant from the “Café Royal Cocktail Book” refers to the Hudson locomotive J-3a. [3] From 15 June 1938, the train was operated with this locomotive as a streamliner, whose striking silhouette made it a popular art deco motif. The express train made the 1542 km journey in 16 hours at speeds of over 160 km/h. [4] Whether this relationship is really true remains to be seen. The recipe appeared in a London bar book in 1937, but the streamliner was not used until 1938 and advertised with a promotional graphic. [3] Nevertheless, the idea that the drink was inspired by this art deco streamliner is very charming, even if it is probably not true. Because the drink really does taste as Ted Haigh states in his book “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails”: like art deco!
In the context of the Twentieth Century, one can ask what kind of crème de cacaos was originally used. Was it ‘white’, i.e. clear, or ‘brown’? In the ‘Café Royal Cocktail Book’, where it was first described, only ‘ Crème de cacao’ is given in the recipes of the book, and in the appendix it is written: “Crème de cacao. – A French liqueur, chocolate in colour, with the flavour of cocoa and very sweet.” – This means that in order to mix this recipe faithfully, you would have to use a dark Crème de Cacao. However, a clear Crème de Cacao already existed in the 19th century, as a glance at the books reveals. [9-311]
Sources
- http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Century_Limited#mediaviewer/File:New_York_Central_20th_Century_Limited_1938.jpg: New York Central 20th Century Limited 1938.
- http://www.shakestir.com/features/id/392/the-20th-century-cocktail: The 20th Century Cocktail. By Rhet Williams, 7. February 2012.
- http://cold-glass.com/2010/03/04/twentieth-century-cocktail/: Twentieth Century Cocktail. By Douglas Ford, 4. März 2010.
- http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Century_Limited: 20th Century Limited.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Test_run_of_streamlined_20th_Century_Limited_1938.jpg: Test run of streamlined 20th Century Limited 1938.
- Charles A. Tuck: Cocktails and Mixed Drinks. London, 1967.
- The photo was kindly provided by Le Lion.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20211130123124/https://cocktailbook.com/twentieth-century/ Twentieth Century.
- https://archive.org/details/leconfiseurmoder00mach/page/310/mode/2up?q=%22creme+de+cacao%22 J. J. Machet: Le confiseur moderne, ou, L’art du confiseur et du distillateur. Paris, 1803.
- http://docplayer.net/51075180-Guide-to-drinks-international.html Anonymus: The U.K.B.G. International Guide to Drinks. 4th edition. London 1965.
Historische Rezepte
1904 May E. Southworth: One Hundred and One Beverages. Seite 27. Twentieth Century.
HAVE the glass thoroughly
chilled and put in a little
cracked ice; on this put one
teaspoonful each of sugar syrup and
orange bitters, five teaspoonfuls of
Old Tom gin, and five drops of
noyau. Stir with a spoon and
lastly squeeze in a drop of oil from
the lemon peel.
1913 Jacques Straub: A Complete Manual of Mixed Drinks. Seite 103. Twentieth Century.
Juice of 1/2 Lime.
Juice of 1/2 Lemon.
1 Barspoon Sugar.
1 Jigger Bourbon.
1 Dash Jamaica Rum.
Shake well and strain into Highball
Glass. Fill with Ginger Ale or Seltzer.
1914 Jacques Straub: Drinks. Seite 80. Twentieth Century.
Juice of 1/2 a lime.
Juice of 1/2 a lemon.
1 barspoon sugar.
1 jigger bourbon.
1 dash Jamaica rum.
Shake well and strain into highball glass. Fill
with ginger ale or seltzer.
1916 Jacob Abraham Grohusko: Jack’s Manual. Seite 125. Twentieth Century.
Juice of 1/2 lime
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 teaspoonful of sugar
100% Bourbon
1 dash Jamaica Rum.
Shake well and strain into a high-ball glass. Fill with
Ginger Ale or seltzer.
1920 Anonymus: „Good Cheer“. Seite 55. Twentieth Century.
Juice of 1/2 a lime.
Juice of 1/2 a lemon.
1 barspoon sugar.
1 shot bourbon.
1 dash Jamaica rum.
Shake well and strain into highball glass. Fill
with ginger ale or seltzer.
1927 Anonymus: El Arte de Hacer Un Cocktail. Seite 182. Twentieth Century (Siglo XX)
Jugo de 1/2 limón .
Cucharadita de azúcar.
Vasito de whiskey Bourbon.
Gotas de ron.
Bátase bien, cuélese a vaso de higball, comple-
tándose con agua de seltz o Ginger Ale.
1933 Jacob Abraham Grohusko: Jack’s Manual. Seite 185. Twentieth Century.
Juice of half a lime
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoonful of sugar
100% Bourbon
1 dash Jamaica rum
Shake well and strain into a highball glass. Fill with ginger
ale or seltzer.
1934 Anonymus: A Life-Time Collection of 688 Recipes for Drinks. Seite 100. Twentieth Century.
Juice of 1/2 lime Shake well
Juice of 1/2 lemon Strain into highball
1 barspoon of sugar glass
1 jigger Bourbon Fill with Ginger Ale
1 dash Jamaica Rum or Seltzer.
1934 William T. Boothby: „Cocktail Bill“ Boothby’s World Drink. Seite 169. Twentieth Century.
Gin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/3 jigger Creme de Cocoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/3 jigger
. Cream . . . . . . . . . . . 1/3 jigger
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, grate nutmeg
over and serve.
1937 R. de Fleury: 1800 – And All That. Seite 233. Twentieth Century.
Juice of 1/2 a Lime
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
1 Barspoonful Sugar
1 Oz. Bourbon Whisky
1 Dash Jamaica Rum
Shake well and strain
into Highball glass.
Fill with Ginger Ale
or Seltzer.
1937 William J. Tarling: Café Royal Cocktail Book. Seite 201. Twentieth Century.
Invented by C. A. Tuck.
2/5 Booth’s Dry Gin.
1/5 Crème de Cacao.
1/5 Lillet.
1/5 Lemon Juice.
Shake.
1948 Trader Vic: Bartender’s Guide. Seite 187. Twentieth Century Cocktail.
Same as Alexander Cocktail.
1953 Anonymus: The U.K.B.G. Guide to Drinks. Seite 86. Twentieth Century.
2/5 Dry Gin.
1/5 Creme de Cacao.
1/5 Lillet.
1/5 Lemon Juice.
Shake and Strain.
1955 Anonymus: The U.K.B.G. Guide to Drinks. Seite 86. Twentieth Century.
2/5 Dry Gin.
1/5 Creme de Cacao.
1/5 Lillet.
1/5 Lemon Juice.
Shake and Strain.
1960 Anonymus: The U.K.B.G. Guide to Drinks. Seite 87. Twentieth Cantury.
2/5 Dry Gin.
1/5 Creme de Cacao.
1/5 Lillet.
1/5 Lemon Juice.
Shake and Strain.
1964 Anonymus: Manual del bar. Seite 259. Siglo XX.
. 4 golpes de Apricot Brandy.
Refrescado. 4 golpes de jarabe de Grana-
Servido en una copa dina.
de 90 gramos. 4 golpes de crema de Cassis.
(Creación de Máximo 35 gramos de Hesperidina.
Cabo). 35 gramos de Dry Gin.
1965 Anonymus: The U.K.B.G. Guide to Drinks. Seite 88. Twentieth Century.
2/5 Dry Gin.
1/5 Creme de Cacao.
1/5 Lillet.
1/5 Lemon Juice.
SHAKER.
1967 Charles A. Tuck: Cocktails and Mixed Drinks. Seite 64. Twentieth Century.
2/5 Dry Gin
1/5 Creme de Cacao
1/5 Lillet
1/5 Lemon juice
Shake and strain
1976 Anonymus: International Guide to Drinks. Seite 66. Twentieth Century.
2/5 gin
1/5 Creme de Cacao
1/5 Lillet
1/5 lemon juice
Shaker
2009 Gaz Regan: The Bartender’s Gin Compendium. Seite 346. Twentieth Century Cocktail. 45 ml gin; 15 ml Lillet Blanc; 15 ml white creme de cacao; 15 ml fresh lemon juice.
2009 Ted Haigh: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Seite 272. The Twentieth Century Cocktail. 1 1/2 ounces gin; 3/4 ounce Lillet Blanc; 1/2 ounce light crème de cacao (or a scant splash); 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice.
2011 Helmut Adam, Jens Hasenbein, Bastian Heuser: Cocktailian 1. Seite 277. Twentieth Century. 4 cl Gin; 2 cl Lillet Blanc; 2 cl Crème de Cacao, weiß; 2 cl Zitronensaft.
2011 Jim Meehan: Das Geheime Cocktail-Buch. Seite 44. 20th Century. 4,5 cl Plymouth Gin; 2 cl Marie Brizard Crème de Cacao Blanc; 2 cl Lillet Blanc; 2 cl Zitronensaft.
2014 Dave Arnold: Liquid Intelligence. Seite 130. 20th-Century Cocktail. 1 1/2 Unzen Gin; 3/4 Unzen Zitronensaft; 3/4 Unzen weißer Crème de Cacao; 3/4 Unzen Lillet Blanc.
2014 David Kaplan, Nick Fauchald, Alex Day: Death & Co. Seite 139. 20th Century. 1 1/2 ounces Beefeater London Dry Gin; 3/4 ounce Marie Brizard White Crème de Cacao; 3/4 ounce Cocchi Americano; 3/4 ounce lemon juice.
2017 Gary Regan: The Joy of Mixology. Seite 287. Twentieth-Century Cocktail. 1 1/2 ounces gin; 3/4 ounce Lillet Blonde; 3/4 ounce white crème de cacao; 3/4 ounce lemon juice.
2017 Jim Meehan: Meehan’s Bartender Manual. Seite 225. 20th Century. 1,5 oz. Tanqueray gin; 0,75 oz. Marie Brizard crème de cacao (white); 0,75 oz. Lillet blanc; 0,75 oz lemon juice.
2018 Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, David Kaplan: Cocktail Codex. Seite 179. 20th Century. 1 1/2 ounces London dry gin; 3/4 ounce Lillet blanc; 3/4 ounce white crème de cacao; 3/4 ounce lemon juice.
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