Upstairs

Upstairs is a good example of how a recipe can be modified to create something new, although the original recipe remains clearly recognisable. Those who like Calvados or Williams eau de vie will have a lot of enjoyment with the Upstairs.

30 ml Chateau de Breuil VSOP Calvados
30 ml Scheibel Williams eau de vie
25 ml lime juice
15 ml sugar syrup (2:1)
4-5 mint leaves

Preparation: Shaken with the mint leaves and double strained.

Alternatively and currently preferred by us:

30 ml Chateau de Breuil VSOP Calvados
30 ml Hiebl Williams
25 ml Limettensaft
15 ml Zuckersirup
4-5 Minzblätter

This mixed drink comes from Gianfranco Spada and was created in 2011 at Le Lion in Hamburg as a twist on the “Stairs Mojito” developed in 2006 at Londsdale in London. It was created in the then “Tasting Room” on the floor above the bar at Le Lion and was initially only served there, which is why it was given the name “Upstairs”. ^[1]

Thomas Domenig reports in a podcast about his time at the Le Lion and about the ‘Tasting Room’ located on the floor above: “My time at the Le Lion was from October 2011 to the end of June 2014. Gianfranco Spada was my colleague. I was lucky that we were a bit short of staff at the time, so I was able to work in the Tasting Room more quickly. Le Lion is a bar without windows, which means you have to ring the bell to get in. Mr Meyer got an extra room for rent and then set up a small, fine speakeasy bar there. To get there, you had to go down to the basement with the guests and then take them up in a super narrow lift. The lift also had lighting that was like on an operating table, and of course it was always great, because the people who then wanted to go back home in the bar evening then had the full lighting in their faces, and everyone looked great. In this ‘Tasting Room’, which was open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Gianfranco, a barman from London, did the ‘Tasting Room’ up there, with its very own vibe, and I was the commi there.” ^[4-28:20]

– “Meine Zeit im Le Lion war von Oktober 2011 bis Ende Juni 2014 im le Lion. Gianfranco Spada war mein Kollege. Ich hatte das Glück, daß wir damals ein bißchen knapp an Mitarbeitern waren und dadurch hab ich schneller mal im Tasting Room arbeiten dürfen. Das Le Lion ist ja eine Bar ohne Fenster, das heißt, man muß klingeln, und man kommt rein. Herr Meyer hatte einen extra Raum zur Miete bekommen und hat dann da eine kleine, feine Speakeasy-Bar eingerichtet. Um dorthin zu gelangen mußte man mit den Gästen runter in den Keller gehen und dann mit einem superengen Fahrstuhl die Leute hochbringen. Der Fahrstuhl hatte auch eine Beleuchtung, die wie am OP-Tisch war, und natürlich war es immer super, denn die Leute, die dann am Bar-Abend wieder nach hause gehen wollten, hatten dann die Vollbeleuchtung im Gesicht, und alle schauen super aus. In diesem ›Tasting Room‹, der hatte damals Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag auf, hat Gianfranco, Barmann aus London, dort oben den ›Tasting Room‹ gemacht, mit einem ganz eigenen Vibe, und ich war der Kommi dort.” ^[4-28:20]

It might be interesting to compare the Upstairs with the Stairs Mojito. Therefore, the recipe for the Stairs Mojito is also given here: ^[2]

50ml Santa Teresa Claro Rum
20ml lime juice
20ml sugar syrup
8 mint leaves
juice of half an apple
juice of half a pear

Unfortunately, there is another recipe, also called Upstairs, which has been known since at least 1925. It is Dubonnet with lemon juice, topped up with soda. For the sake of completeness, we have listed it in the appendix. Incidentally, if you use a lemon syrup instead of lemon juice – or add some sugar to the lemon juice – you get something that Harry McElhone called Dubonnet Citron in his 1923 book “‘Harry’ of Ciro’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails”. ^[3-73] We reported on this in a separate article.

Sources

1. That’s what it said in the Le Lion recipe database when I asked Hendrik Albrecht for more information.
2. http://loftclapham.blogspot.com/2009/06/mojito-101.html Mojito 101. 24. June 2009.
3. Harry McElhone: „Harry“ of Ciro’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails. London, Dean & Son Ltd, 1923.
4. https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GJOb8pj9opqUJ2MS15c8F “Hidden Bar History”, Folge 38 mit Thomas Domenig. Podcast von Eyck Thormann.

Historical recipes

1925 „Robert“ Buckby & George Stone: The Buckstone Book of Cocktails. Seite 61. Upstairs Cocktail.

Glass of Dubonnet, juice of 1/4 lemon.
Use medium-sized glass and fill with soda
water

1933 Harry Craddock: The Savoy Cocktail Book. Seite 165. Upstairs Cocktail.

The Juice of 1/4 Lemon.
1 Glass Dubonnet.
Use medium size glass and fill
with soda water.

1934 Patrick Gavin Duffy: The Official Mixer’s Manual [collectic1806]. Seite 194. Upstairs Cocktail.

Juice of 1/4 Lemon
1 Glass Dubonnet
Pour into glass and fill with soda water, add­
ing 1 ice cube.
Use glass number 12

1936 Raymond Porta Mingot: Gran manual de cocktails. Seite 372. Upstairs Cocktail.

Usese la cocktelera.
Unos pedacitos de hielo.
El jugo de medio limón.
Dos copitas de licor de Dubonnet.
Agítese, cuélese y sírvase en copa de 150
gramos.
Termínese de llenar con agua de Seltz y
wpreséntese con pajitas.

1940 Patrick Gavin Duffy: The Official Mixer’s Manual. Seite 194. Upstairs Cocktail.

Juice of 1/4 Lemon
1 Glass Dubonnet
Pour into glass and fill with soda water, add­-
ing 1 ice cube.
Use glass number 12

1950 Ted Shane: Authentic and Hilarious Bar Guide. Seite 126. Upstairs.

Juice of 1/4 Lemon 1 glass Dubonnet
Pour into glass and fill with soda water, adding 1 ice cube.

1953 Anonymus: Manual del bar. Seite 265. Upstairs.

. El Jugo de medio Limón.
Batido. 60 gramos de Dubonnet.
Servido en un vaso de Se terminar de llenar con
aperitivo. soda.

1956 Patrick Gavin Duffy: The Official Mixer’s Manual. Seite 8. Upstairs.

2 Jiggers Dubonnet
Juice of 1/4 Lemon
Pour into large cocktail glass with
ice cubes and fill with Soda
Water.

1964 Anonymus: Manual del bar. Seite 265. Upstairs.

. El jugo de me.dio limón.
Batido. 60 gramos de Dubonnet.
Servido en un vaso de Se termina de llenar con soda.
aperitivo.

1973 Anonymus: 500 Ways to Mix Drinks. Seite 43. Upstairs.

2 jiggers Dubonnet
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Soda
Pour into an 8 oz. old-fash-
ioned glass filled with ice
cubes. Fill with soda.

1976 Harry Craddock: The Savoy Cocktail Book. Seite 165. Upstairs Cocktail.

The Juice of 1/4 Lemon.
1 Glass Dubonnet.
Use medium size glass and fill
with soda water.

1977 Stan Jones: Jones’ Complete Barguide. Seite 422. Upstairs.

Fizz Glass Shake
2 oz Dubonnet
1/2 oz lemon juice
Fill with soda

explicit capitulum
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