webster cocktail

1 oz Dry Gin (North Shore Distillers No. 11)
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/4 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Thursdays ago, I was delving into our 1947 edition of Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide and spotted the Webster Cocktail. One of the earliest appearances of this recipe in the drink literature is in the Savoy Cocktail Book where it explains that it was "a favourite cocktail at the bar of the S.S. Mauretania." When the Mauretania was launched in 1906, it was one of the fastest ocean liners and captured the Blue Riband for the quickest transatlantic passage in 1907. The Mauretania snatched that honor from her sister ship, the Lusitania, which was also launched in 1906. The Lusitania was honored with a drink named after it before it reached its untimely demise at the hands of German U-Boats in 1915. The Mauretania was luckier and avoided U-Boats during World War I and served at first as a troop carrier followed by its role as a hospital ship.
The Webster presented an apricot aroma along with floral notes from the North Shore Distillers gin and perhaps the dry vermouth. Next, the sip was a combination of the tart lime and a clean wine note from the Noilly Prat, and the swallow was apricot and rather gin forward and ended with the gin's violet note. Overall, the drink reminded me of the Boomer which used lemon juice and Peychaud's Bitters instead of lime juice.