Brown Derby
Bourbon, grapefruit and honey, shaken. A 1930s Hollywood sour that is one of the best three-ingredient drinks there is.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the bourbon, grapefruit juice and honey syrup to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with a grapefruit twist.
A thoughtful finish
- Fresh grapefruit juice is the whole drink; bottled juice is sweet and flat and the balance collapses.
- A ruby grapefruit makes it sweeter and pinker; a white grapefruit makes it drier and more bitter. Both work, and the honey measure can move a quarter-ounce either way to suit.
- A higher-proof bourbon stands up to the juice better than a soft 40% one.
Common mistakes
- Honey straight from the jar. It seizes in the shaker; make a syrup.
- Too much honey. Half an ounce against an ounce of grapefruit is the balance; it should read tart, not sweet.
- Serving it on ice. It was written up, and it is better that way.
A few good questions.
What does a Brown Derby taste like?
A bourbon sour with grapefruit in place of lemon and honey in place of sugar: tart, a little bitter, round and warm. It is one of the few sours that shows the whiskey.
Why is it called the Brown Derby?
For the Los Angeles restaurant chain, famous in the 1930s. The drink was probably not invented there, but the name was good advertising.
What is a De Rigueur?
The same recipe under a different name, printed in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930.
Can I use rye?
Yes. It is drier and spicier; bourbon's sweetness suits the honey a little better.
Variations
- Whiskey Sour — Bourbon, lemon and sugar.
- Gold Rush — Bourbon, lemon and honey.
- Bee's Knees — Gin, lemon and honey.
- Paloma — Tequila and grapefruit — the other great grapefruit drink.
Where it comes from
c. 1930s · Hollywood, California · Vendome Club
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The Brown Derby is named for the Brown Derby restaurants of Los Angeles — the hat-shaped one on Wilshire Boulevard opened in 1926 — but it was reportedly created at the Vendome Club, a rival Hollywood spot, in the early 1930s, and printed in the 1933 booklet Hollywood Cocktails. The same recipe appears in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930 under the name De Rigueur, which suggests the drink was circulating before either name stuck. It was largely forgotten until the 2000s, when bartenders rediscovered how well bourbon, grapefruit and honey get along.
Sources
- Hollywood Cocktails, 1933 (book)
- Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930 (book)
- Ted Haigh, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, 2009 (book)
Strength. About 1.5 US standard drinks at an estimated 20.6% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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