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Cocktail History
The Porter Cup is a vintage cocktail that was created by Jerry Thomas and was first published in his 1862 book The Bartender’s Guide: How to Mix Drinks. The recipe combines a unique mixture of French brandy, ginger, cucumber, and lemon with rich porter beer and tops it all with a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Porter: This is a type of beer made in England with malted barley, hops, yeast, and water. I used Stevens Point Brewery Point Milkshake Malt Porter.
Cognac: This is a type of brandy made in Cognac, France with distilled white wine. I used Courvoisier VSOP Cognac.
Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger, white sugar, gum arabic powder, and water. I made mine using this sous vide recipe.
Cucumber Slice: This is a cucumber slice that has been thinly cut into wheel shape.
Lemon Twist: This is the peel of a lemon that has been twisted into a corkscrew shape.
Grated Nutmeg: This is a spice made from the seed of a nutmeg tree. I used Frontier Co-op Whole Nutmeg.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Bottle Opener: This is used to open bottles. I used the OXO Steel Bottle Opener.
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Muddler: This is used to muddle ingredients. I used the HQY Stainless Steel Cocktail Muddler.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. I used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.
Grater: This is used to grate spices or citrus peel. I used the OXO Good Grips Grater.
Tasting Notes
This cocktail has the following flavor profile:
• Appearance: Dark chocolate brown color
• Aroma: Fresh nutmeg and malty beer
• Taste: Dark chocolatey beer taste offset with cucumber, ginger heat, and citrus
• Finish: More malty chocolate
Kendall’s Take: “I wish I knew the story behind the drinks in the book The Ultimate Guide to Beer Cocktails, this one especially. Descriptions aren’t listed for the recipes, but its name implied it was originally made by Jerry Thomas, which turned out to be true. That aside, I liked this beer cocktail quite a bit. The beer is a bit bitter, but the brandy, ginger, and cucumber sweeten it up and give it a refreshing spring vibe. If I could drink beer, I might ask for the Porter Cup again as an after-dinner treat.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Ultimate Guide to Beer Cocktails: 50 Creative Recipes for Combining Beer & Booze by Jon and Lindsay Yeager.
Porter Cup
Description
The Porter Cup is a vintage cocktail that was created by Jerry Thomas and was first published in his 1862 book The Bartender’s Guide: How to Mix Drinks. The recipe combines a unique mixture of French brandy, ginger, cucumber, and lemon with rich porter beer and tops it all with a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.
Ingredients
Method
Add cucumber slice and ginger syrup to a shaker.
Using a muddler, gently muddle cucumber slice in ginger syrup for 5-7 seconds.
Add brandy to shaker.
Fill shaker with cubed ice.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Add fresh cracked ice to a lowball glass.
Using a Hawthorne and fine mesh strainer, strain into lowball glass.
Top with beer.
Express lemon twist over top of glass.
Garnish with lemon twist and grated nutmeg.
