Satan’s Whiskers is a cocktail whose recipe first appeared in print in The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930). Equal parts gin, orange juice, and sweet and dry vermouth, with a dash of orange bitters, it took two forms: “curled” had half a part of orange curaçao, while “straight” called for Grand Marnier instead (which is, of course, simply a fancy brand of orange curaçao). A twist on the Bronx, one of the most popular cocktails in 1920s Europe, Satan’s Whiskers made its way to the United States in both variations within months of repeal, and both were found in Patrick Gavin Duffy’s 1934 The Official Mixer’s Manual. However, they quickly fell into decline after World War II, until championed as lost classics by Paul Harrington and Ted Haigh at the turn of the twenty-first century. In 2014, a bar named after the drink opened in Bethnal Green, London; it rapidly became one of the city’s most popular.
Recipe: Combine 30 ml each of gin, orange juice, sweet vermouth, and dry vermouth with a dash of orange bitters. Add 15 ml orange curaçao or Grand Marnier as desired, shake, and strain.
See also Bronx Cocktail; Harrington, Paul; and Haigh, Ted.
Haigh, Ted. Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Beverly, MA: Quarry, 2009.
By: François Monti