The Algonquin is named for a venerable grand hotel in Manhattan, luncheon spot for a famed circle of writers in the 1920s and 1930s. The lore is interesting, and well-documented, so I won't repeat it here, but I do encourage you to look it up!

This is a simple potion made interesting by the inclusion of unsweetened pineapple juice.

The pineapple juice does not have to be a stopper - I have an ice cube tray that makes 1" cubical ice cubes, of volume 1 ounce. So I fill some of the cubes with pineapple juice and I can have an Algonquin whenever I am in a literary mood!

This is a very old formula. 

I had long thought that the complex herbaceous audacity of green Chartreuse would be a perfect match for a gin of great character. Recent experimental evidence indicates a clear need for further research...

I really want to try this with Barr Hill Gin and with Uncle Val's Botanical Gin.  

This is a specialty of Burgundy. It has a light, sparkling flavor that dances in your mouth as the jelly melts, full of wonderful flavors!

I read about the Jambon Persille in Jane Grigson's Charcuterie long ago, and I wanted to try it ever since. Then last year while touring Burgundy on our big vacation, I got the opportunity to have it for lunch in Dijon! 

Once I knew how it was supposed to be, I could make it with confidence. Here's my recipe. 

A delicious cold dish the contrasts hearty mushroom flavors with creamy cheese. Use a mix of fresh supermarket mushrooms and dried wild mushrooms to get great depth of flavor.

I get excellent dried mushrooms in the Polish markets on Millbury Street in Worcester, near Kelly Square. The expensive King Bolete is a particularly nice addition, if you can get it. 

This one is too sweet for me as written. The Calvados is a stroke of genius, but I had to increase the lemon juice.

I'm intrigued by the ingredients, but I think the Honeymoon is not the best formula to use them.  I've been pretty happy with the cocktails in this fine book, but this one needs some experimentation. 

This drink is simple and delicious! It's a bit on the sweet side for my taste, but it's light enough that the gin comes through. This will be a good cocktail for sampling different gins.

I think it would also make a good summertime drink, either straight up or as a cooler with seltzer and plenty of ice. 

I don't know which club is honored by this cocktail. There's a Pegu Club Cocktail and a Clover Club Cocktail... maybe this is a generic cocktail for all clubs where gentlemen sit about smoking cigars and saying "Splendid! Splendid!" in well-aged baritone voices. 

In any event, this cocktail is all about quality ingredients. It's just gin and sweet vermouth. There are so many interesting American gins that this formula fits a near infinite range of drinks. 

This pre-prohibition classic from the famed Waldorf Hotel (before it became the Waldorf Astoria) was recommended to me by my old friend Joe Adams. There are a lot of words online about it, mostly trying to adapt it to "modern tastes", as if today's cocktail fans would be too challenged by the absinthe. 

There's some pretty bad absinthe out there; use a good one. Absinthe has a strong flavor, so a strong rye and strong sweet vermouth are also important. I used a cask-aged sweet vermouth, but Carpano Antica would go well.

As for the rye, I started with Old Overholt, but once I had a good formula I switched to 100-proof Whistle Pig... Now there's a cocktail worthy of the Waldorf! 

I was looking for an old-school cocktail to enjoy while rooting the Cubs toward their first World Series title since 1908 when what should I find but the Chicago Cocktail!

This one may not go back to 1908, but it definitely predates 1930, when it was first in print. Considering how Al Capone's Chicago was awash in Canadian whisky during Prohibition, this brandy-based concoction probably predates that dark period as well. 

Here's something peculiar about the Chicago: the recipe calls for an old-fashioned glass, but the whole drink is little more than 2 ounces, so use the smallest old-fashioned glass you have, or make it a double! 

The recipe that I saw was very old (around 1900). It called for cognac. I tried this with a very good Pierre Ferrand cognac and also with the Christian Brothers VSOP brandy that I use for holiday baking due to its strong vanilla overtones.

The brandy version was better; the other was a waste of good cognac. I think this is because the old recipe was created during a time when brandy might be any fruit-derived spirit, some truly bad, while cognac was a guarantee of the grape spirit. Today even the cheapest brandy is derived from grape wine unless noted otherwise, so I think the cheap modern brandy is an adequate substitute for the cautious cognac in the original recipe.

I learned this simple late-summer delight from my father. It responds well to different varieties of heirloom tomatoes. 

In southern Italy, where this recipe originated, they use the famous sweet Red Onions of Tropea. Those are indeed very mild and sweet, and they are unavailable in New England.

Instead of using supermarket red onions, I use Vidalia onions, which I find nearly as mild and sweet even if they lack the red color. 

Use a good quality olive oil, and if you cannot get fresh oregano, use dried oregano but infuse it in the oil for an hour or so before serving.