Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Saigon Special

I am a bit of a history nerd. I’ve successfully tied in a bit of history to the cocktail of the week before, and intend to do so again this week. Late April in 1975, the city of Saigon fell, and the thirty year conflict in Vietnam finally came to an end. Without turning this into a full on [DFO] History Corner,  I’ll keep the history lesson brief before moving on to the recipe for the Saigon Special.

In early 1975, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was constantly being routed by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) troops. Province after province was falling as the ARVN retreated further south.

By early April, it became clear that the Republic of South Vietnam was not long for this world. Embassy staff began preparing for an evacuation secretly, as the U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin steadfastly refused to believe the South’s capital was in danger.

On April 29th, the NVA began the final attack on Saigon by shelling Tan Son Nhut Air Base, which was adjacent to the airport of the same name. With Saigon’s fall now immanent, the C.I.A. sent out the evacuation code to American personnel still in the city. The signal to prepare for evacuation was the phrase “The temperature in Saigon is 105 degrees and rising” followed by Bing Crosby’s version of “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”.

With that, the evacuation began. The shelling of the airport already taking place, airlifts using civilian and military fixed wing aircraft became impossible. Helicopter airlift to US Navy ships in the South China Sea quickly became the only means of evacuation, primarily from the compound of the U.S. Embassy. Operation Frequent Wind had begun.

Vietnamese civilians who had worked for the Americans in some capacity swarmed the embassy, fearing for their lives. Graham Martin ordered that only one or two Americans board the evacuation helicopters, so that he could save as many Vietnamese as he could, knowing the airlift would stop as soon as the last American was off the ground.

The evacuation lasted until the early hours of April 30th. About 4:30 in the morning, under orders from President Ford, Martin was flown out of the embassy, and only Americans were to be evacuated from then on out.

At 7:58 A.M. the last of the embassy’s Marine guards were evacuated from the roof. With that, the American presence in Vietnam was officially closed out. Later in the morning, Saigon was unconditionally surrendered to the NVA. In 1976, the city was officially re-named Ho-Chi Minh City.

For more on Operation Frequent Wind and the evacuation, I cannot recommend watching this documentary enough: American Experience: The Last Days in Vietnam

With the history portion of the program complete, let’s get on with the drinking! We’re consulting with Mr. Baker’s “Gentleman’s Companion” once again.

1 pony (1 oz.) Cognac

1/2 pony (1/2 oz.) Dry Gin

1/2 pony (1/2 oz.) Cointreau

1/2 tsp. Lemon juice

2 tsp. or so Egg white.

Shake with cracked ice and serve in a tall cocktail glass with a stem. Garnish with a cherry. Use no sugar, the Cointreau lends sweetness.

This “odd drink from the capital city of French Indo-China” dates from 1925 according to Charles Baker. He and his friends decided to fly up the Saigon River to Pnom Phenh to visit the Cambodian ruins of Angkor then drive back down. 1920s planes not being of the best construction meant that mechanical issues forced them to ditch the plane along the Saigon river. Once back in civilization, this drink was immediately ordered by our fearless explorer.

The drink starts with the taste of cognac with hints of orange from the cognac before giving way to a smooth, creamy almost egg nog like texture from the entire egg white used in the mixing. The lemon gets lost in translation, which doesn’t seem to be a bad thing, as the sour notes from too much lemon juice might ruin the mixture of the flavors. Those flavors seemed to improve the more I sipped on it.

“This will be the final message from Saigon station. It has been a long fight and we have lost. . . . Those who fail to learn from history are forced to repeat it. Let us hope that we will not have another Vietnam experience and that we have learned our lesson. Saigon signing off.”

—Thomas Polgar, C.I.A. Station Chief, in his final cable to Washington from Saigon.

(Banner image found here)