Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: En Garde!

Hello and happy Friday yet again. This week I finally got around to making a drink I’ve always seemed to be one or two ingredients short every time I go to make it. It’s called the Lucien Gaudin Cocktail.

Who was Lucien Gaudin? According to the Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails book (where I found this recipe) he was a pretty badass and dominant fencer in the early part of the twentieth century, winning 2 gold medals in the 1924 Olympics, and two more in 1928. I can see where being an international Rockstar (as much as one could be in the late 1920s) would get you a drink named after you. Unfortunately, nobody is sure why this particular mix was named after him. I like to think he walked into a bar and demanded it be made, while brandishing his épée. One can dream right?

Lucien Gauidn

1 oz. Gin

.5 oz. Cointreau

.5 oz. Campari

.5 oz. Dry Vermouth

Stir in mixing glass with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

No garnish here.

The Campari is the most noticeable on the nose. The bitter aroma cuts through any vermouth and gin notes, but doesn’t overpower the senses. The orange smell from the Cointreau doesn’t stand a chance against the bitter liqueur. Though the other ingredients do a heroic job in preventing the Campari from total aroma domination.

The sip starts out heavy on the Campari. Almost too much. The Cointreau then really comes and mixes in providing a bitter/orange flavor that I will say works rather well. Those flavors continue to harmonize most of the way through the sip until the end when the Cointreau fades away and the gin notes finally start to make their presence known. The Campari is a constant all the way through the entire sip. The intensity never changes, even with the other flavors ebbing and flowing across the palate. The finish is a bitter mix of Campari and juniper from the gin. There is a bit of a coat left behind by the sip that lingers for a good fifteen to twenty seconds after you finish.

I’m a little surprised by this one to be honest. It is essentially a negroni with dry vermouth and orange liqueur. But it is so much more than that. For one (as mentioned above) the Campari really is the star of the show, so if you’re on the fence about it, maybe skip this one. The orange plays well in the limited exposure the flavor gets, and the gin is, well gin. It rounds out the flavor adding depth and complexity. I would recommend this as a pre-dinner drink, preferably early in the evening.

(Banner image found here)

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Sharkbait
Sharkbait has not actually been bitten by a shark, but has told people in bars that he was for free drinks. Married to a Giants fan, he enjoys whisk(e)y, cooking, the Rangers, and the Patriots.
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Dunstan

I’m house/dogsitting for a friend, so I’m separated from my home bar. Having to make do with wine and beer.

No, no, I wouldn’t call myself a “hero,” exactly. But I wouldn’t object to you calling me that.

BeefReeferLives

How ’bout we call you “Ralph Hinkley” for the weekend, will that do?

Dunstan
BeefReeferLives

Nice! Picked out a block of cheese yet?

Dunstan

I’m thinking Havarti

LemonJello

Respekt.

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litre_cola

Can you sub Aperol for Campari?

/mailing your bottle of Haskap Gin today.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I’m insulted that a drink named after a fencer doesn’t involve a cocktail spear in some way.
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Viva La Tabula Raza

Well, it’s not too big volumetrically, so you won’t have to go epee much.

BeefReeferLives

Thanks for the tip about the pervasiveness of the Campari. I can appreciate it as a note in a harmony of flavors, but probably not as the star in the show…

Of course, any cocktail I will be having this weekend will probably be a frozen/blended one, as it’s looking like the PNW will be hotter than two rats fucking in a wool sock. Woo.

litre_cola

We are under the same heat dome internet friend! All time records will be crushed.

Horatio Cornblower

Gonna crack 70 in Winnipeg, is it?

litre_cola

Well last summer we had a total of 3 days over 30 C. We have had 10 this month already, and forecast is for 35/36 this week. All time record here in the foothills is 36.1

/sir, I left Winnipeg 25 years ago just call me the Hartford Whalers of Western canadia

Last edited 3 years ago by litre_cola
Horatio Cornblower

Mid-80’s? The horror.

Man, when the icebergs melt your oceanfront property is going to be so valuable!

We get 4 days of 90+ here in CT this weekend into next week. That’s like 33 to you Metric heretics. But then we’re supposed to get 90+ in the summer.

Warthog

High of 78 here in NC. In late June. And it’s not raining. Clearly, fuckery is afoot.

Last edited 3 years ago by Warthog
BeefReeferLives

You North Calackity (tm by Hippo Enterprises) bastards stole our weather!!!!
Give it back, dammit!

Warthog

Cackalacky if you please. I expect we’ll be up to the 90s shortly, hopefully that means you get your weather back.

BeefReeferLives

Apologies for the misspelling & the outburst. Even the prospect of temps over 80 gets us PNW weather wimps all grumpy and out of sorts….

Warthog

No worries. Peeling skin off vinyl seats will do that to anyone.

litre_cola

Don’t forget the old metal buckles in grandpas Crown Vic.

Warthog

Good thing he thought seatbelts were a communist plot along with flouride and didn’t make us wear them.

litre_cola

Of course you can sit up front in the middle without a seatbelt. You don’t need that row of teeth right?

Horatio Cornblower

What’s the point of worrying about front teeth when that gay communist fluoride is just gonna make ’em fall out anyway?

BeefReeferLives

Not to mention contaminating our precious bodily fluids…