The Colonial Cooler
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 21% ABV ∙
The Colonial Cooler stirs gin and rosso vermouth with orange liqueur, Amer Picon and bitters, then lengthens it with soda in a highball. Bittersweet and herbal on the front palate, the fizz lifts a bitters-laced backbone into something bright, crisp, and bracingly refreshing on the finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir the first 5 ingredients with ice: London dry gin 45 mlRosso vermouth 45 mlCognac orange liqueur (e.g., Grand Marnier) 5 mlAmer Picon 5 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 1 dash
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Soda water
- Garnish with mint sprigs and a pineapple wedge
Tips
- Stir the gin, vermouth, and other base ingredients well before adding soda, so the soda's fizz isn't stirred flat.
- Pre-chill the glass so the drink stays cold through the soda top without needing extra ice to compensate.
- Add the soda water gently down the side of the glass to preserve carbonation before garnishing.
History
The Colonial Cooler traces to Charles H. Baker Jr.'s The Gentleman's Companion, Volume II (1939), in which the well-traveled writer recounts drinking the cooler at the Sandakan Club in British North Borneo (now Sabah, East Malaysia) during the mid-1920s. Baker, sailing on a round-the-world steamer, described making an unplanned landing near Sandakan after his shore boats had engine trouble, and being served the drink at the club by an American expatriate who had brought fresh mint with him to the outpost. His recipe combined gin and Italian vermouth with dashes of Angostura bitters and Amer Picon plus a touch of orange curaçao, topped with soda and garnished with mint and pineapple.
The name reflects the drink's setting in a British colonial club rather than any documented naming story beyond that. It has since been carried into modern reference guides largely unchanged from Baker's original account, with some contemporary versions substituting Grand Marnier or Cointreau for the curaçao.
