Army and Navy

Oct 5

For those who dare to win, I salute you, with a classic cocktail toast that has its origins at the storied Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC. In keeping with the military theme here, the club was originally started in 1885 as a lounge and meeting place for war veterans, but is now open to all past and current members of the US Army, Navy and Marines. The daiquiri is said to have been first introduced here, by Admiral Johnson, in 1909, and there is a plaque on the wall of the “Daiquiri Lounge” commemorating the auspicious occasion.

The eponymous Army and Navy cocktail is also thought to have originated here, although the provenance is less certain. The drink first appears in the pages of The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David Embury, 1948. Embury was a lawyer with a passion for cocktails, and although not a professional, penned one of the seminal works of the era. I once featured his “Six Essential Cocktails” which hew to an older, boozier template than what is preferred by modern palates. Embury notes in his book that the original recipe used a 2:1:1 ratio (gin:lemon:orgeat), which he thought was “horrible”. He advises his own very dry formula of 8:2:1, which is found throughout the book. Modern day spirits writer Simon Difford adjusts things to an 8:3:2 ration which may well, do I dare to say it, be the winner. Cheers!