One of my fave Savoy cocktails: The 50/50 by Erik Ellestad.

San Francisco’s Savoy Stomp blogger, Erik Ellestad, is a cocktail geek like no other. For six years he’s chronicled his adventures with 1930s drink tome, The Savoy Cocktail Book, painstakinly re-creating every recipe in there for a loyal audience. And he would probably hate the comparison, but think Erik & Harry (Craddock) versus Julie & Julia. So far he’s done 850 recipes and he says he is STILL not finished. Apparently there are punch cocktails that still need doing!

Unfortunately, original Savoy author Harry wasn’t as meticulous as Julia Child. Erik had to contend with issues like typos and incorrect measurements in the book, making for really unpalatable concoctions. “There’s a cocktail called the Crow cocktail that’s in the Savoy Cocktail Book. It’s two-thirds lemon, one-third whiskey and a dash of grenadine. And it turns out that the original recipe was the opposite with two-thirds whiskey, one-third lemon and a little grenadine,” said Erik at an intimate Savoy gathering of bartenders and cocktail fans at The Pikey on Sunday. The published recipe is undrinkable but fortunately Erik did some digging and found a less insane version from a 1927 book which he posted on his blog.

For those eager to get their hands on a bar shelf-friendly version of Erik’s Savoy Stomp, unfortunately there isn’t one available yet. But keep an eye out. At the gathering yesterday, he brought a beautiful self-published coffee table version that he only brings out for the award-winning “Savoy Nights” drink event he does at the Alembic bar in San Francisco. Here’s hoping that one day soon a publisher will pick it up.

Curious to try these Savoy cocktails yourself? Erik will be guest bartending at The Eveleigh on Sunset tonight from 7pm to 11pm as part of the bar/restaurant’s ongoing guest bartender series.

EVENT: TONIGHT from 7pm to 11pm

The Eveleigh
8752 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, California 90046 (map)
(424) 239-1630
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Twitter: @theeveleigh