Lucien Gaudin’s Birthday and the Cocktail

Greetings drunkards and drunkards in training.  You knew, of course, that there would be an entry in The Drunkard’s Almanac today because it is Lucien Gaudin’s birthday.  Oh, you forgot?  Go ahead, smack your forehead, read along, and we’ll cover the Lucien Gaudin cocktail.

Born September 27, 1886 Lucien was a French fencer.  No, not a guy moving stolen goods.  We’re talking swords today.  He competed in foil and epee events at the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympics and won either a gold or silver medal in every event entered.  All told he got four golds and two silver medals.  Along with this he won the international champion award twice and nine consecutive French titles in foil.  He was good at it.

A French darling, he was sometimes called “poetry in motion” for making it all look easy.  That said, his story did not end well.  After retiring from fencing competition he became a journalist and a co-owner of the company Les Films Sportifs, but when that company went bankrupt in 1934 Guadin committed suicide.  Fell on his sword, so to speak.  (Before you get upset please bear in mind that your correspondent never told you he would be sensitive or refrain from a bad pun.  After all, there’s booze involved.)

So let’s get to the point.  Gaudin was indeed such a revered figure that a drink was named after him.  Yes, there is indeed a Lucien Gaudin cocktail and naturally that will be the Drink of the Day.  The drink’s background is a bit murky.  Nobody seems to know exactly when and where it was invented.  The earliest reported reference is in Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide from 1948, but it was likely invented sometime during Prohibition in France when a lot of U.S. bartenders were hanging out in Europe and the ingredient list was common fare.

Now if you’re expecting a blockbuster you may be disappointed.  We don’t have those every day.  But it is very easy to make and employs only ingredients you already have on the shelf, particularly after Negroni week.  You see, it really is just a slightly busy Negroni variation that is a bit less sweet but with more notably prominent orange flavors than your basic Negroni.

Lucien Gaudin

So let’s get to the point. Gaudin was indeed such a revered figure that a drink was named after him. Yes, there is indeed a Lucien Gaudin cocktail and naturally that will be the Drink of the Day. The drink’s background is a bit murky. Nobody seems to know exactly when and where it was invented. The earliest reported reference is in Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide from 1948, but it was likely invented sometime during Prohibition in France when a lot of bartenders were hanging out there and the ingredient list was common fare. Now if you’re expecting a blockbuster you may be disappointed. We don’t have those every day. But it is very easy to make and employs only ingredients you already have on the shelf, particularly after Negroni week. You see, it really is just a slightly busy Negroni variation that is a bit less sweet but with more notably prominent orange flavors than your basic Negroni. It's easy. To assemble the Lucien Gaudin here’s all you do:

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1½ oz Gin
• ½ oz Dry vermouth
• ½ oz Cointreau You can use a dry Curacao if that’s all you have around but then your correspondent would recommend adding a dash of simple syrup.
• ½ oz Campari
• Garnish: orange twist

Instructions

 

• Stir over ice in your trusty mixing glass
• Strain into a pre chilled cocktail glass of your choice
• Garnish with twist
• Drink
• Congratulate yourself. An orange flavor this prominent counts as a serving of fruit in your nutritional plan.