Douglas Fairbanks – Recipe from David Embury’s ‘The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks’

1 part Apricot Brandy 

2 parts Lemon Juice 

4 parts Gin

1 Egg White to each 2 drinks 

Shake with cracked or crushed ice. 

Note that this drink is, in effect, a Golden Dawn (see page 201) with egg white substituted for the orange juice.

Douglas Fairbanks was almost the first big Hollywood star, probably only beaten to this title by Charlie Chaplain, and even then, it was Fairbanks who would later be known as the ‘King of Hollywood’. He was the original action hero, and had lead roles in Robin Hood, The Three Musketeers, The Iron Mask and The Mask of Zorro, at which point I feel the world has run out of swashbuckling roles for him. He fell in love with and married Mary Pickford, at the time the most famous Hollywood actress, and they owned show business like Brangolina did a few years ago. Fairbanks was a founding member of United Artists, hosted the first ever Oscar’s and during the first ceremony of its type Hollywood’s first celebrity couple left their hand and footprints in the sidewalk cement outside the newly opened Chinese theatre.

His fame did not last however, and it was the advent of talkies that marked the end, his athletic ability, health and looks started to decline at the same time, all a victim to a lifetime spent chain smoking which I can’t help but wonder may also have been why ‘talkies’ didn’t quite work out for him.

It was a time as well when every star had a drink named after them, the Mary Pickford is a go to rum drink for me, this slightly more austere, with enough going on to make sure its interesting, has a little more class than the rum based Pickford. The apricot pairs nicely with the gin, why do we don’t see more apricot in drinks I don’t know, and every time I try to use it in a drink here it never gets great pick up. Well worth a try on a warm summers evening, or on a cruise boat steaming to the Caribbean with a movie star on your arm.