Turf Club (1895 recipe)
A herbal and sweet gin cocktail ∙ Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 32.7% ABV ∙
The Turf Club is a stirred, spirit-forward cocktail of Old Tom gin, orange bitters, absinthe, and a touch of sugar syrup, finished with an orange twist.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Old Tom gin 60 mlOrange bitters 4 dashesAbsinthe 4 dashesSugar syrup 5 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express an orange twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Stick to four dashes of absinthe; a heavy hand buries the soft sweetness of the Old Tom gin.
History
This version of the Turf Club is drawn from George J. Kappeler's 1895 book, Modern American Drinks, where it appears as the "Turf Cocktail": a spare build of Old Tom gin with Angostura and orange bitters and a twist of lemon peel, notably without the vermouth found in other period recipes. This version of the Turf Club drops the Angostura and uses an orange twist, leaning on orange bitters, absinthe, and a touch of sugar syrup for its character, making it drier and more bitters-forward than its vermouth-based siblings.
The Turf Club itself first appears in print in George Winter's 1884 How to Mix Drinks-Bar-Keeper's Handbook, built simply from Old Tom gin, Italian vermouth, and bitters. Later authors from Harry Johnson to Charles H. Baker each published their own variant, some adding maraschino and absinthe. The name recalls the gentlemen's turf clubs of the era, gathering places for racing and betting, including one such club that stood at the corner of Madison Avenue and 26th Street in New York City.
