The Gentleman's Companion

Charles H. Baker, Jr., describes the Grande Bretagne Cocktail No. I as “One of the Five or Six Chief Cocktails of the Whole Wide World.” Strong words, even for Baker! As you can imagine, I was eager to give it a try.

Versions I and II of this cocktail both came from a nameless Greek bartender who worked on the M.S. Bremen for Raymond-Whitcomb Cruises. Baker published his book in 1939, when the Bremen, built by Hapag-Lloyd and launched in August 1928, was still an international sensation. From Hapag-Lloyd’s history, written in 1929 present tense:

With her futuristic silhouette, [the Bremen] embodies technology, momentum and glamour in equal measure and is depicted in exciting modern poster art, becoming the icon, embodiment and highlight of the brief “golden” Twenties.

I was lucky enough to turn up one such iconic image, as you’ll see above.

Between the first printing of Baker’s book in 1939 and the second printing in 1946, the Bremen met an unfortunate end. Again, from Hapag-Lloyd, in 1941 present tense:

The “great ‘Bremen,'” lying alongside in Bremerhaven and awaiting refit as troopship, is gutted by fire in March. After an inferno lasting two days, the most popular ship ever to operate under the NDL flag is no more than a burnt-out wreck. A mentally retarded ship’s boy (16), who later accuses himself of the crime, is executed as the fire raiser. Whether he was really the arsonist was never clarified.

Since the Bremen was, at the time, being retrofitted for use as a German warship, I suppose this was for the best.

In spite of this nautical connection, the cocktail appears to be named for a luxury hotel in Athens. Perhaps the Greek bartender used to work there and brought the drink along with him to the Bremen?

Anyhow, on to the drinks! Baker provides two variations of this cocktail. No. I calls for “dry apricot brandy”; as mentioned previously, I’ve been trying to figure out whether Baker uses this term to refer to a reasonably dry liqueur or, instead, an eau-de-vie. For this cocktail, he once again says that “unless fine dry apricot brandy is used, the result is sweet, abortive, disillusioning in the extreme.” And interestingly, No. II replaces the “apricot brandy” with kirschwasser, which is really an eau-de-vie! Could this be the solution to the apricot mystery?

I started by making both Nos. I and II with eaux-de-vie:

Grande Bretagne No. I

• 1 jigger gin (2 oz Beefeater)
• 1/2 pony apricot brandy (1/2 oz Blume Marillen Apricot Eau-de-Vie)
• 1/2 pony strained lime or lemon juice (1/2 oz lemon juice)
• 1 tsp egg white
• 1 dash orange bitters (Fee Brothers)

Shake with ice, then strain into a chilled Manhattan glass (I used a coupe).

Grande Bretagne No. II

• 1 jigger gin (2 oz Beefeater)
• 1/2 pony kirschwasser (1/2 oz Aqua Perfecta Kirsch Eau-de-Vie)
• 1/2 pony strained lime or lemon juice (1/2 oz lemon juice)
• 1 tsp egg white
• 1 dash peach bitters, or 1 tsp Cordial Médoc (1 dash Fee Brothers Peach Bitters)

Shake with ice, then strain into a chilled Manhattan glass (I used a coupe).

Both of these drinks were just plain lousy. But when I remade No. I with Orchard Apricot Liqueur, the result was tasty—a little heavy on the lemon, perhaps, but generally very good.

If that weren’t evidence enough, I finally looked in the section of Baker’s book where he provides information about various cocktail ingredients. Under “apricot brandy,” he mentions Marie Brizard, a liqueur, as an example of a dry apricot brandy.

So there you have it: When Baker says “dry apricot brandy,” he really means “a high-quality apricot liqueur.” If that isn’t news you can use, I don’t know what is. Also, go make a Grande Bretagne No. I. I’m not sure it’s one of the best six cocktails in the world, but it’s very much worth a try.

(Next time on Through the Book With Jigger, Beaker & Flask: A complete history of the Crimean War, followed by a disquisition upon the molecular chemistry of early 20th century cordials. Don’t miss it.)

Grande Bretagne No. I (Apricot Eau-de-Vie): ★★☆☆☆ 

Grande Bretagne No. I (Apricot Liqueur): ★★★★☆ 

Grande Bretagne No. II: ★★☆☆☆