There’s a hierarchy of coolness among pilots — a level of adoration and envy that comes as one climbs the ranks and looks at those still above them on the ladder. Here in the USA, 887,000 people hold a student pilot’s certificate. 517,000 have an actual pilot’s license. 355,000 have an instrument rating (which is where I personally top out on the ladder). Only 181,000 have an Airline Transport Pilot certificate — almost ten times fewer than the number of lawyers in the United States. And even among those ATPs, the number of test pilots are only a small fraction of daredevil individuals who are called to probe the unknown and laugh in the face of danger. This is a cocktail dedicated to them, the top of the hierarchy of coolness.
The history of this cocktail goes all the way back to the beginning of the tiki era. Donn Beach invented this cocktail in 1941, offering it at his famous Don the Beachcomber bar in California. As an Air Force veteran, Beach was aware of the hierarchy of cool, and at the time test pilots were at the very top of that ladder. After the war the ladder was extended, and jet pilots and astronauts joined as new rungs on that journey with variations of this cocktail dedicated to each of them. But the original is still a solid choice.
Now, I like the original cocktail, but there are some corrections I would recommend personally:
Ditch the Absinthe
The original version of this calls for a few dashes of absinthe, specifically Pernod Ricard. I have a bottle, but I avoid it like the plague. Why? Well, I happen to be allergic to wormwood apparently.
Yeah, its a sad life for me. Absinthe, vermouth, and a whole lot of other delicious flavorings are straight out the window. Even the absinthe wash that is applied to some standard cocktails is enough to give me an instant hangover and ruin my entire night. A Manhattan is almost a guaranteed weekend of pain and misery.
So, for me, I skip it. And I don’t think it is any worse for the change.
Increase the Falernum
This is one cocktail that, in my opinion, needs some additional sweetness. I suppose you can achieve that by adding some simple syrup, but since you already have a bottle of falernum on the bar then I think doubling the normal quantity is well deserved. It just makes the whole experience more enjoyable.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
- 3/4 oz White Rum
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 1/2 oz. Falernum (I recommend doubling this)
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- 6 drops Pernod Ricard (I recommend skipping this)
Add everything to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled. Pour into a tiki glass or a large rocks glass with crushed ice, garnish with cherries, and serve.
Definitely let me know in the comments if my adjustments are an improvement on the original, or if you prefer it as Donn Beach intended!