Drink of the Week: The Resolute Cocktail

So, how is your resolve? Mine resolve is kind of, well, unresolved. For example, I wasn’t sure whether to call today’s drink simply “Resolute,” without the article, as some sites have it. Just as I’ve never been able to call Chrissie Hynde’s band “Pretenders” and feel strangely compelled to call them “the Pretenders,” “Resolute” just didn’t sit right. “The Resolute” doesn’t sound quite right. So, I’m going with the way it appears in The Savoy Cocktail Book which is, as you see here, the Resolute Cocktail. Yet, since every single recipe in Harry Craddock’s 1930 tome is The [Something] Cocktail I find that unsatisfying. That’s me. I can always see 15 sides of every two-sided question. Still, there’s something to be said for being resolute, as long as you’re being resolute about something good, and not simply being unmoveable about something really bad and stupid.

We’re seeing a lot of the latter these days but there are times when us less idiotic folks finally figure out that certain things are almost as simple as stupid people think they are. That’s when good and thoughtful people actually show a little resolve, and we’ve been seeing more of that lately. So, our drink of the week is for them as we can all resolve to be more resolute when we’re right, and extremely flexible when we’re so, so very wrong.

The Resolute Cocktail

1 1/2 ounces London dry gin
3/4 ounce apricot liqueur
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add plenty of ice, shake vigorously, and strain into a well-chilled cocktail glass. Drink without hesitation.

*****

Usually, I go on and on about various brands and how they stack up in a particular drink. This week, I’m taking a much different and far simpler tack.

So, I used Marie Brizzard’s very good apricot liqueur and my gins were two of the basics: Tanqueray and, for the thrifty classicists, Gordon’s. I actually lean slightly toward the simplicity of the latter. But I could change my mind about that.

What I won’t change my mind about is that the Resolute should be consumed as quickly as possible. If you have it quickly, it’s an icy, refreshing, slightly tart delight. If you wait more than a couple of minutes, it’s just another way to have an okay Gin Sour. So,  please consume your Resolute Cocktail with resolve, I guess.