The Starving Musician Recipes
Lady Mendl Cocktail
During the 1920's-1940's Lady
Mendl, aka interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe, was known for having Sunday
afternoon parties with fascinating guests such as the Cole Porters, F. Scott
and Zelda Fitzgerald, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. This drink, which
Elsie invented and served during the summer of 1933 while vacationing at the
Cottage de l'Horizon in Cannes, is said to be the original Pink Lady* and is
probably the reason why her parties were so legendary. It's described in
Jane S. Smith's "Elsie de Wolfe: A Life in the High Style" as "stupefying",
and we agree: while testing the proportions of the ingredients, I got
inadvertently blotto, and it didn't take much. Here's my best guess at
Elsie's recipe:
1 ½ oz. Tanqueray gin
¾ oz. Cointreau
3 oz. freshly-squeezed and chilled pink or ruby red grapefruit juice (or
more to taste)
Stir gin and Cointreau together and chill. Stir in grapefruit juice and pour
into a chilled cocktail glass.
Tips: 1. We chose Tanqueray gin because it was popular with the smart
set in the '30's and is likely to be what Lady Mendl used. 2. We tried this
recipe using a high-quality refrigerated ruby red grapefruit juice with
pulp, but it made a bitter drink with a less attractive color.
Freshly-squeezed is the way to go. 3. Cointreau is a must. 4. Because this
is such a strong drink, I like to set out a small, chilled pitcher of
freshly-squeezed red grapefruit juice so guests feel free to adjust the
drink to their tastes.
Creative variations: 1. Increase the amount of grapefruit juice and
serve on the rocks in a highball glass. 2. For a Salty Dog, omit the
Cointreau and serve on the rocks in an old fashioned glass. 3. Alcohol-free
version: Proceed as directed, omitting gin and Cointreau and adding 1/8
teaspoon orange extract or ¼teaspoon orange flower water to freshly-squeezed
grapefruit juice.
*According to several sources, as
its popularity grew among the smart set, The Lady Mendl cocktail was renamed
the Pink Lady. The Pink Lady recipe has changed considerably over the years,
and modern recipes bear very little resemblance to this drink.
Recipes ©2004 Randi Reed
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