Queens (cocktail)

The “Manhattan” cocktail has existed since at least the 1880s, but for many years it was noted that the borough of Wueens did not have a cocktail of its own. A “Queen’s Cocktail” was printed in “Harry” of Ciro’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails (1923) and Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), but this probably refers to the Queen of England and not Queens County. The “Queen’s Cocktail” contains both French and Italian Vermouth and a slice of pineapple.
 
The Queens Chamber of Commerce in 1935 suggested a “Queens Cocktail” of lime juice, orange juice and brandy, but this drink never became popular.
 
“The Queens Cocktail, made with Beefeater 24 gin, lemon and pineapple juices, dry vermouth and @ The Liberty http://instagr.am/p/LY19uXRBJM/” was posted on Twitter by New York Drinkie on June 2, 2012. “#Queens Cocktail — 1 oz gin, 1 oz dry vermouth, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 1 oz pineapple juice. Shake with ice and strain” was posted on Twitter by Swig on April 29, 2014. Vince Keenan pointed out in 2014 that it appears that the “Queen’s Cocktail” has become the “Queens Cocktail.” The pineapple in the drink is more appropriate to Hawaii than Queens, New York. “The Queens Cocktail / A Bronx With Pineapple?” was a 2016 YouTube video.
   
The other borough cocktails are Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island.
 
   
Wikipedia: Queens (cocktail)
The Queens Cocktail is a variant on the Perfect Martini, with the addition of pineapple juice and sometimes lemon juice. Its closest relative is the more popular Bronx, which contains orange juice rather than pineapple.
 
It can be found as early as 1930, in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book; Craddock’s text, however, lists it as a “Queen’s Cocktail.”
     
Vintage Cocktail Books
Jack’s Manual
By J. A. Gruhusko
New York, NY: Edward V. Brokaw & Bro.
1908
Pg. 49:
QUEEN’S HIGH-BALL
1 1/2 pony Amer. Picon
1 pony grenadine
1 clear piece ice in glass.
Fill glass with fizz water. Serve.
   
21 November 1909, The Daily Picayune (New Orleans, LA), pg. 1, col. 6 ad:
A NICE THANKSGIVING APPETIZER
is a Queen’s Cocktail, made with equal portions of imported English Orange Gin and French DUBONNET, served in a mixing glass half filled with cracked ice.
(Solari’s.—ed.)
       
Old Fulton NY Post Cards
2 October 1916, Daily Star (Brooklyn, NY), editorial, pg. 2, col. 2:
We have Manhattan cocktails and Bronx cocktails, why not a Queens cocktail? Some enterprising and patriotic mixologist here ought to be able to invent a concoction that would be worthy of the bracing breezes and tonic ozone so characteristic of the “Borough of Opportunities.” We suggest as the ingredients one part of blue sky, one part of undiluted sunshine, a long whiff of salt air, and two parts of the joy of living.
 
Vintage Cocktail Books
“Harry” of Ciro’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails
London, UK: Dean & Son, Ltd.
1923
Pg. 59:
Queen’s Cocktail.
1 chunk of Pineapple, 1 slice of Orange, in the shake. Add ice, 1/2 Italian Vermouth, 1/2 French Vermouth, 1/2 Gin.
Shake well, and string into cocktail glass.
 
Vintage Cocktail Books
About Town Cocktail Book
By Joe Fitchett
Vancouver, BC: Mitchell Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd.
1925
Pg. 19:
QUEEN’S
THIS cocktail comes to us all the way from Montreal via a Vancouver friend, and makes its appearance at many of the fashionable dinner parties there.
1 slice of orange
1 slice of pineapple
1 ounce of Gin
1 ounce French Vermouth
1/2 ounce Bacardi Rum
1 ounce Italian Vermouth
Shake over ice and pour into glasses.
 
Vintage Cocktail Books
The Savoy Cocktail Book
By Harry Craddock
London, UK: Constable & Company, Ltd.
1930
Pg. 130:
QUEEN’S COCKTAIL.
1/2 Slice of Crushed Pineapple.
1/4 French Vermouth.
1/4 Italian Vermouth.
1/2 Gin.
Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.
 
24 January 1935, Brooklyn (NY) Daily Eagle, “Manhattan, Bronx: Ah! Try a Queens,” pg. 8, col. 6:
A serious bid for the popularity now held by the Manhattan cocktail was entered last night on behalf of the Queens cocktail, which was introduced at the annual dinner of the Chamber of Commerce of the Borough of Queens in the Hotel Commodore.
 
The dinner started with a toast to President Roosevelt, out of glasses filled with the new cocktail, for which the recipe follows:
 
One-sixth lime juice
Two-sixths orange juice
Three-sixths brandy
Sweeten to taste and serve with cherry.
       
Google Groups: soc.motss
Happy May Day
Chris Hansen
6/2/07
(...)
Manhattans are supposed to be made with bourbon, I think. There is a recipe and lots of controversy in the comments at:
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink580.html .
 
>And then there was the Bronx, which I assume is extinct as the great
>auk. Back in the 30s it was one of the three most popular cocktails
>served in the U.S.; it’s specifically mentioned is several of my
>favorite movies of the period, most notably _The Thin Man_ where Nick is
>teaching the bartenders what dance rhythms go with which drinks. The
>Bronx is a “perfect martini” with orange juice added. The screwdriver
>has probably replaced it among the health conscious and breakfast drinkers.
 
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink1619.html is the recipe for a Bronx cocktail. The only comment says that it’s good for a cold.
 
>Oddly enough, I’ve never heard a Queens cocktail.
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drinkl12m404.html replaces the OJ in the Bronx with pineapple juice. Sounds vile.
 
Brooklyn: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drinkl12m404.html sounds even viler: replace OJ with maraschino cherry juice!
 
Chris “There doesn’t seem to be a Staten Island cocktail (nor a “Richmond”); pity, as it would be fun to drink your way through the entire City of New York.” Hansen
       
Google Groups: soc.motss
Listen as that shoe drops…
Frank R.A.J. Maloney
4/25/08
(...)
I’ve been hunting around a Queens cocktail. I found one involving gin, both kinds of vermouth, and crushed pineapple, but I suspect it was not named for the borough, but for some queen regnant or consort since some of the recipes call the Queen’s cocktail.
 
There’s also a Staten Island, with coffee vodka, dry vermouth, lime juice, and a cherry. Obviously not a vintage recipe. (In the spirit of completism, I will also mention the rummy Staten Island Ferry, a kind of Piña Colada sans coconut cream.)
   
Chris Hansen
4/25/08
(...)
I think this might be a case of grocer’s apostrophe. I’ve seen this one too. And, I can’t think of any Queens Regnant or Consort who would drink something like that. Our own dear Queen likes Dubonnet and gin.
(...)
Geez, that Staten Island drink sounds fairly on the vile side. If we do have a New York City Drinks Party, we will eschew the Staten Island.
   
Twitter
New York Drinkie
@newyorkdrinkie
The Queens Cocktail, made with Beefeater 24 gin, lemon and pineapple juices, dry vermouth and @ The Liberty http://instagr.am/p/LY19uXRBJM/
6:27 PM - 2 Jun 2012 from Manhattan, NY
 
Twitter
Naren Young
@ForkandShaker
Anyone know if there’s a Queens Cocktail, as in the NYC borough? There’s a Bronx, Manhattan & a Brooklyn. What about poor Staten Island?
2:04 PM - 27 Oct 2013
     
Vince Keenan
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 07, 2014
Cocktail of the Week: The Queens
(...)
What is known is that the Queens cocktail, like the Bronx, is a perfect martini with fruit juice. It has long been assumed that some uppity barkeep on the wrong side of the East River decided the neighborhood needed a libation of its own and simply swapped the Bronx’s orange for pineapple. Or so said the few articles on this neglected drink.
 
I consulted Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book and made an alarming discovery. A drink with the same ingredients (calling for a slice of crushed pineapple instead of the juice) does appear in its pages – where it’s listed as the Queen’s Cocktail. As in possessive. As in belonging to Her Majesty. Such is the way of history; first you lose your apostrophes, then your empire. Being affiliated with royalty still doesn’t explain why pineapple is involved.
(...)
The Queens, or The Queen’s, or The Fuhgeddaboudit

1 ½ oz. gin
1 oz. pineapple juice
¾ oz. sweet vermouth
¾ oz. dry vermouth
 
Shake. Strain. No garnish.
   
Twitter
Swig
@SwigHQ
#Queens Cocktail — 1 oz gin, 1 oz dry vermouth, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 1 oz pineapple juice. Shake with ice and strain. #QTM @coalition4QNS
11:43 PM - 29 Apr 2014 from New York, NY
   
Twitter
@CulinaryAndCity
@CulinaryandCity
Queens cocktail @TavernGreenNYC already a fave.
10:44 AM - 30 Apr 2014
   
YouTube
The Queens Cocktail / A Bronx With Pineapple?
Common Man Cocktails
Published on Apr 1, 2016
Oh yeah, another borough of NYC cocktail: The Queens Cocktail, designed like the perfect martini or the Bronx Cocktail with out the OJ and replaced with Pineapple juice.
 
For some, this may beat the manhattan with the added juice, but for traditional drinkers, they might not like the change up with the additional sweet pineapple components.
 
Tavern on the Green (New York, NY)—Fall 2018 Beverages (COCKTAILS)
BRONX
Dorothy Parker Gin, Orange Juice, Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino, Dolin Blanc Vermouth
14
 
BROOKLYN
Ragtime Rye, CioCiaro, Maraschino Liqueur, Dolin Dry Vermouth
15
 
MANHATTAN
Breukelen 77 Rye Whiskey, Carpano Antica Vermouth, Angostura Bitters
16
 
QUEENS
Bootlegger Vodka, Velvet Falernum, Hibiscus Syrup, Pomegranate Molasses, Lemon Juice
13
 
STATEN ISLAND
Owney’s Rum, Coconut Water, Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice
15