Tract · Cocktails

Spirit-forward · Shaken · Historical · complexity 2/5

Brain Duster

Applegreen's Brain Duster is an absinthe-and-vermouth aromatic sharpened with a little sugar and seltzer.

anise · herbal · sweet · dry · aperitif · nightcap · formal

Served in Small thin glass.

Family

Variants (3)

Applegreen's Bar Book by John Applegreen (1904, p.60) — Applegreen 1904

1 ponyAbsinthe — absinthebase
Soda water — seltzerdilution
1 ponysweet vermouth — vermouthmodifier
0.5 tspsugar — sugarsweetener
  1. Shake the absinthe, vermouth, and sugar.
  2. Strain into a small thin glass, add a little seltzer, and serve.
Nose
Absinthe and vermouth herbs dominate the aroma.
Palate
This matters because it shows another small pre-Martini aromatic built from absinthe and vermouth rather than the now-familiar gin-dry-vermouth axis.
Finish
The finish is herbal, sweet-dry, and persistent.
Summary
A tiny absinthe-vermouth aromatic from the bracing aperitif fringe.

Manual del Barman by Antonio Fernandez (Tony) (1924) — Tony 1924, despeja cerebro

1 small glassAbsinthe base
1 teaspoonfulLemon juice (fresh) — lemon juicebase
2 chorrosherry modifier
2 chorrovermouth Torino modifier
ice other
2 chorrogum syrup sweetener
  1. Stir well with ice in a large glass and strain into a cocktail glass.

Ice: Ice

The Artistry of Mixing Drinks by Frank Meier (1936, p.25)

0.5 lemonlemon juice — Lemon Juicebase
2 teaspoondry sherry — Dry Sherrymodifier
1 glassPernod — Sweetened Anis 'Pernod fils'modifier
  1. Shake well, strain into a double cocktail glass, and serve.

See also: The Opal, Hungarian Bracer, Absinthe Cocktail