A cocktail which is nothing but a plain Whisky Sour with the addition of orange bitters is the

Buster Brown – David Embury

1 part Sugar Syrup

2 parts Lemon Juice

8 parts Whisky

2 dashes Orange Bitters to each drink

Shake or stir with cracked ice. Stirring will produce a clearer drink, but whenever clarity is sought the lemon juice should be strained through cloth.

So, I thought that looking into Buster brown was going to be a little more interesting than it ultimately was. There were two Buster browns of note, one a Musician, although born well before Embury wrote his book he wasn’t even vaguely famous until about 10 years after, so unless Embury was a massive Blues and RnB fan the only real Buster Brown I could find was a slightly disturbing cartoon from 1902, which spurned a stage show and snazzy clothing line for kids. I would be amazed if this seemed like a good idea for drink, but the drink does date back to pre-prohibition, and recently more than one Bourbon has used this as a signature drink for a stretch, which as Embury notes is a little dull.

The drink, surprise surprise, tastes like a whisky sour, with the orange bitters only barely discernible through the citrus and bourbon, and I kind of feel it’s a little like asking for a cape cod instead of a vodka cranberry, a little pointless.