Savoy’s Depth Charge – a cocktail recipe to quiet those rumblings below

Thumbing through the Savoy Cocktail Book is always a treat.  You find recipes for classic cocktails and ones you’ve never heard of; some sound fascinating, and others you probably wouldn’t want to try.  The Depth Charge definitely had an interesting sounding name, and the recipe was fairly simple for the amateur mixologist to stir up for an evening’s enjoyment.  The Savoy can be rather vague on quantities.  In the case of the Depth Charge it calls for “½ glass” each of Dry Gin and Kina Lillet, which could be anything up to 3 ounces.  That seemed a little much, so quantities have been rounded down to a healthy 1 ½ ounces each. 

The original Savoy recipe includes Kina Lillet, which had quinine in it, but is no longer made.  You can, however, simulate Kina Lillet by adding a dash of Angostura Bitters to the mix as specified in the recipe below.  There was a bottle of Hendrick’s Gin in the bar, and the idea of combining that with the Lillet was intriguing, to say the least.  The product was a bone dry cocktail, but the bouquet of the Hendrick’s combined with the orange peel garnish was delicious, and still tasted great as the cocktail warmed a little toward the bottom of the glass.  Be sure to inhale deeply through your nose as you sip this pale yellow beauty to savor the complete package.

Depth Charge

• 2 dashes Absinthe
• 1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Gin
• 1 ½ oz Lillet
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

Add ingredients to a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice.  Stir briskly for 20-30 seconds.  Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a long languorous twist of orange peel.  Enjoy!