Metropole Cocktail

Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler (1895, p.41) — George J. Kappeler 1895

1. Fill a mixing-glass half-full with fine ice.
2. Add the gum syrup, Peychaud's bitters, orange bitters, brandy, and French vermouth.
3. Mix and strain into a cocktail glass.
4. Add a maraschino cherry and serve.

Garnish: Maraschino cherry

Nose

Brandy, dry vermouth, and bitters create a more taut aromatic profile than the sweeter Italian-vermouth branch.

Palate

The drink sits between the Manhattan/Martini vermouth world and the older brandy cocktail, using French vermouth to tighten and civilise the core spirit.

Finish

The finish is dry, herbal, and neatly bittered.

Summary

A dry-vermouth brandy cocktail showing the aromatic family becoming more urbane and aperitif-like.

The Metropole is useful because it places brandy inside the dry-vermouth branch more often associated with whiskey or gin. That widens the map of late nineteenth-century vermouth cocktails considerably.

The small dose of orange bitters and the cherry garnish keep the drink from becoming too stark; both soften the French-vermouth line just enough.

The Cocktail Book a Sideboard Manual for Gentlemen (1901, p.33)

1. Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the ingredients.
2. Mix and strain into a cocktail glass.

Ice: Ice

This is a useful brandy-and-French-vermouth branch in the same era that Manhattan and Martini dry variants are being normalized.

The mixed bitters set matters here because it gives the drink a more layered aromatic profile than many neighbors.

Drinks as They Are Mixed by Paul E. Lowe (1904, p.25) — Lowe 1904

1. Mix the bitters, French vermouth, gum syrup, and brandy with ice in a mixing glass.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass and serve.

Nose

Dry vermouth and orange spice lift the brandy base.

Palate

Metropole is useful because it shows brandy moving into the drier French-vermouth aperitif field rather than remaining confined to the older sweet aromatic style.

Finish

The finish is dry, orange-edged, and lightly vinous.

Summary

A dry brandy-and-vermouth aperitif from the modernising cocktail branch.

The Gorham Cocktail Book by Gorham Mfg. Company (1905, p.34) — Gorham 1905

1. Stir the gum syrup, Peychaud's bitters, orange bitters, brandy, and French vermouth with fine ice.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass and add a small twisted piece of lemon peel.

Garnish: Twisted lemon peel

Ice: Fine ice

Nose

Citrus, brandy, and dry vermouth herbs rise clearly.

Palate

This is a useful dry brandy branch because the modifier logic is closer to later aperitif cocktails than to the sweeter old aromatic baseline.

Finish

The finish is dry, orange-toned, and elegant.

Summary

A dry brandy-vermouth aromatic from the aperitif branch.

Cheerio! A Book of Punches and Cocktails by Charles (1928, p.44) — Cheerio 1928

1. Combine the brandy, French vermouth, bitters, gum, and cracked ice in a glass.
2. Mix well, pour into a cocktail glass, and serve.

Ice: Cracked ice