I don’t know about the weather where you are, but it is starting to get nice down south. Atlanta usually gets about 3 days of spring time weather before it gets dreadfully hot , so we’re trying to enjoy it as best we can. This weeks drink is perfect for cooling off after the all too quickly approaching exhaustingly humid days of summer. When possible, I like to give some background to the cocktail recipes for the show, and sometimes, that is way more work than I am not getting paid to do. This was one of those times.
But, somehow, due to a lack of interesting things to do this last week, I was actually able to hobble together a small amount of speculative info on this weeks cocktail,
The Salty Dog.
A Salty Dog is an adaptation of a classic drink called a “Greyhound”, (A Salty Dog is just a Greyhound, with a salted rim). One of the first printed recipes for the Greyhound can be found in the Savoy Cocktail Book which was written by the barman, Harry Craddock. Harry was an United States citizen who left during Prohibition and joined the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel, London, in 1920. Craddock was one of the most famous cocktail barmen of the 1920s and 1930s. His cocktail book was published in 1930, and is still in print today. Craddock invented a number of classic cocktails, including the famous Corpse Reviver #2and possibly including the White Lady, and popularised the Dry Martini. The idea that the Greyhound came from London and particularly from the Savoy at about 1930s is believable, though, by no means substantiated.
Why is it called a Salty Dog you ask? For love of God, I don’t fucking know, I barely know where the damn thing came from people!!! But, since you insist on asking, I do know this: ”Salty Dog” is nautical slang for an experienced sailor who has spent much of their life aboard a ship at sea. A salty dog is often given increased credibility by ship mates in matters pertaining to ship-board life and duties.
In U.S. folklore and song, salty dog has an older sexual meaning. For example, in the traditional song "Salty Dog Blues", the lyric "Honey, let me be your salty dog" translates to "Let me be your sexual partner." This, just might be the best usage for this particular episode.
Enough, history, lets get to the drink:
The Salty Dog
- 5 oz grapefruit juice
- 1 1/2 oz gin
Salt the rim of a Highball Glass (previously referred to as a “Collins” glass)
Shake ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into the pre-salted glass. Sip as if you were a british gentleman who once killed a man back in your prime.
Alternates
- If you DVR Archer, and are watching this the following morning, put on a white robe and enjoy the show with a Bloody Mary. Though, it might actually be a Bloody Caesar... I'll let you decide which you prefer.
- Like any good soldier, you could pour a good british ale (Samuel Smiths perhaps?) into a cold mug. Not a pint glass. A fuckin' mug .
- If you’re a bit of a scoundrel, pour some Brandy in a canteen/flask, and sneak a few swigs when no one’s looking.
Alright, it’s 10:30pm, and that is all the love I have to give for today.