The Algonquin’s Blue Bar would be remiss if it didn’t serve a cocktail named after Dottie. The Blue Bar takes its name from its blue lighting, a recommendation by actor John Barrymore. He told Case that blue gels are placed over stage lights because they make people look good. With that advice, Case installed blue lighting in the bar.
This recipe was created for the Blue Bar by Allen Katz, general manager of the New York Distilling Company.
—Delia Cabe
• ON-DEMAND: Listen to Faith and author Delia Cabe talk about this cocktail, as well as other cocktails inspired by literature and literary luminaries from Delia’s book, Storied Bars of New York. •
Excerpted from Storied Bars of New York: Where Literary Luminaries Go to Drink. Published by The Countryman Press, a division of W. W. Norton & Company. Copyright © 2017 by Delia Cabe. Photo Courtesy of the Algonquin Hotel.
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The Dorothy Parker cocktail won’t set you back like the hefty $10,000 bar bill for the hotel’s special martini would. A person looking to propose to a beloved may arrange beforehand for the bartender to serve that cocktail garnished with a sparkling piece of “ice,” as in, a diamond. An in-house jeweler will help you and your intended select a setting.
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- 2-3 ounces gin
- 1/2 ounce St. Germain
- 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
- honey to taste
- basil leaves
- Add all liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Stir or shake. Pour into chilled glass. Garnish with basil.
Well, Times have changed. We stopped at Blue Bar after a concert, settled into a nice corner table and ordered our usual drinks. Mine a French .75 and my wife’s a Dorothy Parker. Only to be advised by our waiter that they no longer served Dorothy Parker’s. Not exactly sure why. But Blue Bar without Dorothy Parker is like…well…I’m not sure what it is like! I say to Blue Bar, in the spirit of the Halloween season, surrender Dorothy!
Let’s hope it’s one of those classics that comes back around again. Bring Dorothy back!
I travel from Texas to enjoy the Dorothy Parker at the Algonquin. If I bring my own basil, will they make it? #bringbackdorothyparker