Brown Derby (cocktail)

The Brown Derby, originally called the "De Rigueur" in cocktail books,[1] is a three-ingredient cocktail that was named after the Brown Derby hat-shaped Los Angeles diner.[2] It consists of bourbon, grapefruit juice, and honey syrup.[3] The cocktail was created at The Hollywood Reporter founder Billy Wilkerson's Vendôme Club on Sunset Boulevard[4] in 1930.

The Brown Derby is considered a brunch cocktail in that it is "tart enough to wake up the palate, but not tangy enough to jolt".[5] It has also been described as "an edgy riff on a Daiquiri"[6] and "wholly unlike most popular whiskey cocktails in that it comes across as light and fresh."[7] One advantage of the Brown Derby is that its ingredients are easy to find; it does not, for example, require any obscure liqueurs.[8] It has been noted that the honey in the Brown Derby is able to "bridge the gap between bourbon's sweet, earthy, caramel flavors, and grapefruit's acidic, floral tang."[9]

Some variants include herbs such as rosemary or sage or substitute rye whiskey for bourbon.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ "Brown Derby | Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails". Forgottencocktails.com. 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  2. ^ "The Brown Derby is the Drink Your Tastebuds are Craving". Liquor.com.
  3. ^ "Brown Derby (Grapefruit Bourbon cocktail)". Saveur. 14 September 2011.
  4. ^ "PUNCH | Brown Derby Cocktail Recipe".
  5. ^ Chowhound (2016-03-03). "Brown Derby Cocktail Recipe". Chowhound. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  6. ^ "Brown Derby Recipe: How to Make a Brown Derby Cocktail". Supercall. 2016-11-29. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  7. ^ a b "The Brown Derby cocktail recipe: A drink steeped in Hollywood history — Quartzy". Qz.com. 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  8. ^ "The Brown Derby | An Old Fashioned Bourbon Grapefruit Cocktail". Gourmande in the Kitchen. 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  9. ^ "The Brown Derby and the Challenges of Working with Whiskey". Jeffrey Morgenthaler. 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2019-07-20.