One of the earliest—and still the most famous—examples of jam as an ingredient in a cocktail revival era. Bartender Salvatore Calabrese created the drink at the Lanesborough, a posh hotel in Mayfair. “I’m a very typical Italian person,” he said. “The first thing in the morning, all I can do is an espresso. I’m like a zombie.” He said his wife made him eat marmalade. The bitter, tangy flavor intrigued him, leading him to create the cocktail. Some have noticed a similarity between this cocktail and the Marmalade Cocktail found in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. Calabrese says he was not aware of the Savoy recipe when he created this drink.
Reprinted with permission from A Proper Drink by Robert Simonson, copyright © 2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House.