Preakness Cocktails

It’s almost Preakness time. The second leg of the Triple Crown will see whether Bob Baffert, Victor Espinoza, and American Pharoah can win again.

Many think of the Black-Eyed Susan as the drink of Mid-May in Baltimore, but the Preakness Cocktail is the original drink.

“Prior to the Black-Eyed Susan’s introduction as the official drink of the second jewel in Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, Maryland racing fans sang the praises of another cocktail: the Preakness.”

 

The Preakness Cocktail

 

Thanks to our friends at A History Of Drinking for this recipe. Also make sure to check out their new book, Forgotten Maryland Cocktails: A History Of Drinking In The Free State.

The following recipe is a simplified version but still very similar to traditional recipe recorded in most cocktail books. By all accounts, it’s simply a Manhattan variant-

Recipe adapted from David Wondrich

 

Ingredients:

2 ounces straight rye whiskey

1 ounce Martini & Rossi red vermouth

2 dashes Angostura bitters (though some early versions substitute

1⁄2 teaspoon Bénédictine

 

Directions:

Stir with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and twist a swatch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top.

 

 

Of course the official drink of the Preakness Stakes is the daytime style drink, the The Black-Eyed Susan:

 

The Black-Eyed Susan

 

Ingredients:

 

1 1/4 ounces Early Times Kentucky Whiskey

3/4 ounce Vodka

3 ounces sweet and sour mix

2 ounces orange juice

Orange slice and cherry for garnish

 

Directions:

 

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.

Shake vigorously.

Strain over ice into a collins glass.

Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.