The Jerry Thomas Project – The Cobblers

The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

With the arrival of my husband’s family, I’ve found myself thinking that afternoon cocktail trysts are more than agreeable – and I, unlike most, am in a lucky position to justify it as R&D work. Today, I remade all of the Cobblers – excited that I had a reason to disappear for half of the day and perhaps more excited that there are seven Cobblers, enough to leave from this afternoon’s jaunt in a spirited glow.

According to Jay Hephurn from Oh My Gosh (a really great blog if you enjoy
reading about cocktail history) the cobbler is an old form of mixed drink
that consists of a base spirit, typically some sort of wine, a wee bit of
sugar and fresh fruit. It predates Jerry Thomas by a couple of years and
perhaps gained popularity because it was one of the first drinks to contain
ice and come with a straw! Hephurn continues stating that the most popular
cocktail was the sherry cocktail, which is crazy because I don’t even carry
sherry at the bar because I NEVER have anyone ask for it. Anyhow, if you are not familiar with sherry – it is produced from a white wine grape in a certain part of Spain and fortified with brandy. The flavor of sherry can be all over the board, ranging from dry and less sweet to bold, syrupy, and jammy. (Point being – don’t diss on sherry until you’ve tried a couple.)

Sherry Cobbler

5 ounces of sherry (I used the Hidalgo Pedro Ximenez Sherry – which is brazen with a distinct flavor of plump raisins)
1 tablespoon of fine white sugar
1 orange wheel (cut in four)
Add ice, shake – serve with the ice. Top with fresh berries and serve
with a straw.

Champagne Cobbler

5 ounces of champagne
1 tablespoon of fine white sugar
1 orange peel
1 lemon peel
Add ice, shake – serve with the ice. Top with fresh berries and serve
with a straw.

Catawba Cobbler

5 ounces of Catawba wine (as it is really really hard to find, you could use
any rosé)
1 tablespoon of fine white sugar
1 orange wheel (cut in four)
Add ice, shake – serve with the ice. Top with fresh berries and serve
with a straw.

Hock Cobbler

5 ounces of German white wine
1 tablespoon of fine white sugar
1 orange wheel (cut in four)
Add ice, shake – serve with the ice. Top with fresh berries and serve
with a straw.

Claret Cobbler

5 ounces of claret
1 tablespoon of fine white sugar
1 orange wheel (cut in four)
Add ice, shake – serve with the ice. Top with fresh berries and serve
with a straw.

Sauterne Cobbler

5 ounces of sauterne
1 tablespoon of fine white sugar
1 orange wheel (cut in four)
Add ice, shake – serve with the ice. Top with fresh berries and serve
with a straw.

Whiskey Cobbler

3 ounces of whiskey
1 tablespoon of fine white sugar
1 orange wheel (cut in four)
1 dash Maraschino
Add ice, shake – serve with the ice. Top with fresh berries and serve
with a straw.

So I finally broke open my bottle of Catawba wine for this series of drinks – and let’s just say that it tastes like a wine cooler and my guess is that it is mainly sold to people under the age of 21. As the catawba grape is one of America’s few native grape species (one of the others being the beloved jam grape the concord), anyone who loves any wine being produced in California, Oregon, or Washington can be extraordinarily grateful for the fact that European grapes were brought over – as we would be drinking terrible unbalanced  kool-aid wine that lacked any personality or depth.

My favorite of the cobblers – Champagne cobbler. The hint of sugar and fresh berries make a glass of champagne even the more luxurious.

To check out other Jerry Thomas Project recipes – click here.