Brandy Cocktails: Cognac

Jimmie Roosevelt Cocktail

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Jimmie Roosevelt Cocktail Ingredients

1.5 oz. Hennessy Privilège VSOP Cognac

0.25 oz. Yellow Chartreuse

0.25 oz. Sugarcane syrup

8 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Sugar cube

Garnish

Lemon twist

Jimmie Roosevelt Cocktail Preparation

If using crushed ice, fill a Louis bag with ice and crush with a mallet. Place sugar cube on a plate or clean surface. Soak sugar cube with bitters until fully absorbed.  Pour cane syrup into a wine glass or goblet. Rinse walls until fully coated.  Add soaked sugar cube and cognac. Add cracked or crushed ice. Slowly float Chartreuse into the glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. 

Jimmie Roosevelt Cocktail Story

Charles H. Baker first recorded this robust take on a Champagne Cocktail in 1939 in The Gentleman’s Companion. Meant to be built in a wine glass, the Jimmie Roosevelt includes the same Angostura-soaked sugarcube trick that is characteristic of a well-made Champagne Cocktail, but adds layers of cognac, champagne, and finally, Chartreuse, all over cracked ice. Laborious to build, demanding to drink, the Jimmie Roosevelt is a restrained exercise in appreciating assertive spirits slowly melding together.