Episode 238

Featured Cocktail: The 21st Century

This episode’s featured cocktail is a riff on a post-Prohibition, but still classic cocktail called The 20th Century Cocktail. Basically, we had an idea for a drink using the Soka spirit that we taste in this episode, but we wanted to see if there was already a template out there for it. And there kinda is, so we took it and modified it for our purposes.

The original 20th Century Cocktail was first published in Billy Tarling’s Cafe Royal cocktail book in 1937, and created by British bartender C.A. Tuck in honor of the 20th Century Limited Train that ran for decades between New York and Chicago. The original version contained gin, Lillet, creme de cacao, and lemon juice. But taking a cue from some pointed advice from Mark that we’ll hear later on, we decided to dial down on the sweetness. So to make my version of this drink, which we’ll just lazily call the 21st Century Cocktail, you’ll need:

• 1.5 oz Soka Sorghum spirit
• ¾ oz of Lemon Juice
• ¾ oz of Lillet Blanc or a similar lightly sweet, grapey aperitif
• A few dashes of our Embitterment Lavender Bitters

Combine these ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, give em a good, hard shake, then double strain into a chilled coupe glass, garnish with a lemon twist, and enjoy.

Essentially, this is a simplified 20th century cocktail without the creme de cacao and with the Soka in place of gin. Finally, we opted for the lavender bitters as a finishing touch, where the floral note plays well with the bouquet of verdant flavors in the Soka.  Overall, if you do end up playing with the Soka, you’ll probably want to immediately experiment with it in your favorite gin, rum, and agave sour cocktails…and you absolutely should because it’s fantastic. So be sure to tag us on Instagram @modernbarcart with your creations, whether you decide to try this rendition or strike out on your own adventure.