Tuxedo – Recipe from the ‘Old Waldorf Bar Guide’

After a settlement on the Erie R. R. where many customers of the Bar had country places. 

Dash of Orange Bitters 

Two-thirds Plymouth Gin 

One-third Sherry Wine 

Stir

Tuxedo Park was an upscale town just outside of New York which had sprung up beside one of the stops on the Erie Railroad. It was a railroad that linked New York with Chicago, but for some reason was one of the least popular, and I suspect operated less for business customers than its competitors.

The area is famous due to the suit jacket though, the story of its association goes that residents from this area quickly adopted the British trend of a tail-less jacket for formal occasions as it was easier to smoke in (I’m not entirely sure how this works, did smokers sit a lot at the time?) and at social occasions, of which there were many in this town of semi-retired captains of industry, it swiftly became a dress code of sorts, which visitors started to name after the town.

The drink is completely dependent on the sherry. I used an Oloroso, my favourite style, and the drink almost just turns into a powerful version of this sherry, which is a long way from being a complaint. I can remember reading somewhere years ago that sherry is a good alternative for vermouth in a martini, I don’t think it’s a good replacement, the flavours are massively different, the vermouth dryer, and a lot of it carries wood age flavour. It does however work very well, in this drink, and paired with other spirits in short Manhattan or Martini style drinks, or even an old fashioned.