PINK LADY’S ENDANGERED COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH – THE BARBARA WEST

WINTER’S weather has at last retreated(?) – we can actually see the grass! LUPEC ladies feel this seasonal shift is cause for celebration. We’ll reach for lighter spirits and celebrate spring by raising a Barbara West cocktail. This drink comes to us from Ted Haigh’s fantastic book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. We believe it was created in the 193Os but beyond that have found no information about its history or namesake. The drink was sometimes simply called just a Barbara Cocktail, and there also existed a Barbara East. Who was this mysterious Barbara West? We may never know but we can enjoy the drink.

The recipe calls simply for sherry – but which type of sherry you use will cause great variation in flavor profile. Pedro Ximenez sherry, for example, is quite sweet, whereas fino sherry is bone dry. So, choose wisely. Ted Haigh recommends using amontillado sherry, a style which is quite nutty and not at all sweet. It makes for a complex and interesting beverage, great as an aperitivo.
Here’s to mystery woman Barbara West!

2 ounces of gin
1 dash of sherry
½ ounce of fresh lemon juice
1 dash of Angostura bitters

Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist.