009 – Stinger

A Sydney ‘lock-down’ version of the famous pre-Prohibition Stinger cocktail.

Sydney’s Covid Lockdown has inspired me to explore this 19th and early 20th Century Cocktail and its fascinating roots. Here is the ‘Stinger’ recipe and some Cocktail background.

Make your own ‘Locktail’ Midnight Stinger. Here is the recipe:

METHOD — Shake 50ml of high quality Cognac with 20ml of good Créme de Menthe (white if available) over ice. Strain into cold glass and garnish with a sprig or leaf of fresh mint. For the ‘Midnight Stinger’ variation, float (lay on top) 30ml of high quality Jamaican Rum.

HISTORICAL NOTES – The ‘Stinger’ was a very popular society drink in the pre-Prohibition era. I have included it in my late 1880’s re-mixes, as it existed under different names well before its early 20th Century popularity. In William Schmidt’s famous 1892 book, The Flowing Bowl – When and What to Drink, it was published as ‘The Judge’ with only the addition of sugar syrup. It also appears as ‘The Brant’ in Modern American Drinks – How to Mix and Serve all Kinds of Cups and Drinks – by George Kappeler in 1895 where it has the addition of two-dashes of Angostura bitters and a lemon-peel garnish.

Sometime after the late 1800s, these names disappear and the Cocktail appears in the 1917 book, The Ideal Bartender, by Thomas Bullock, as ‘Stinger – Country Club Style’, and also in William Boothby’s 1905 supplement to the American Bar-Tender. In the pre-Prohibition years (prior to 1920), the Stinger was considered an after-dinner digestif and was stirred, rather than the more common shaken varieties that re-emerged after Prohibition (post 1933), one of the few ‘spirit-only’ cocktails that often breaks the ‘mix-not-shake’ rule.

The drink was strongly connected to famous millionaire Reginald Vanderbilt (1880–1925), reportedly his favorite cocktail, and one that he regularly made for his guests at his home bar in his Fifth Avenue mansion, often with a dash of Absinthe. It was also said that he had this cocktail daily, and in a 1923 profile of Vanderbilt, the Stinger was described as “a short drink with a long reach, a subtle blending of ardent nectars, a boon to friendship, a dispeller of acre.” Unfortunately for the reputation of the Cocktail, Reggie Vanderbilt died aged 45 from cirrhosis due to alcoholism. Some accounts credit Vanderbilt with the creation of the Stinger, while that does not seem to be the case, he can certainly be given credit for it’s early 20th Century popularity.

The Stinger’s reputation as a ‘high-society’ drink, led to a long-list of film inclusions, not least the film High Society with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra in 1956. It is also included in Ian Fleming’s novel Diamonds are Forever, and many other screen appearances include the TV-series Mad Men (2007), where is was made with Bacardi Rum due to a sponsorship deal.

In more contemporary times, Bartenders have taken the Stinger as a starting-point for other flavour combinations. Salvador Lazaro from the Brandy Library in New York, has a ‘Midnight Stinger’ variation that floats 20ml of fine Jamaican Rum over the mix to give a flavour progression as the drink is sipped. Earlier this year Imbibe Magazine had an article on Stinger Variations you can see here.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The IBA ‘Stinger’ version is here. It is 50ml Cognac, and 20ml White Créme de Menthe, garnished with an optional mint leaf.

TASTING NOTES – The ‘Stinger’ is a famous society Cocktail, and you would imagine that it should improve the very costly base Cognac. To be honest it doesn’t, it makes the Cognac taste as though you have just brushed your teeth with ‘Créme de Menthe’. I guess if you don’t care how much VSOP Cognac (or better) costs, then you’re in ‘Reggie’ Vanderbilt and his entourage’s league. The addition of high-quality Jamaican Rum as a float improves the flavour slightly and gives and interesting flavour variation as it is consumed. However adding cost to this already problematic Cocktail seems like more good money after bad. As they say, “money doesn’t always buy you taste”. Amazing that this Cocktail stayed in vogue for as long as it did. Try it, for histories sake, then you can say, like me, that you are drinking for research purposes. Then try the Covid Reviver, it is a much better ‘Cognac-based’ Cocktail.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – I have made this ninth Sydney Covid Lockdown Cocktail – Locktail – another homage to the cocktails of the late 1800s.

I have made this as close to a ‘Reggie’ Vanderbilt version of the society ‘Stinger’ as possible, minus the dash of Absinthe. I have also added a more modern twist, the addition of a ‘Rum’ float to re-create the ‘Midnight Stinger’, still a troubled blend. A simple mix of Cognac and Créme de Cacao (white) is a much more sympathetic blend, basically a ‘Brandy Alexander’ without the cream if you are looking for an improvement on this blend.

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am progressively building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site. I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

Coming up soon, the last cocktail from the 1800s – the forward list is here. Or take a look at the previous ones, the Gimlet, the Covid Reviver. the Dry Martini, the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan, the Jimmy McCollins, the Americano and the Sazerac.