Let's toast this tribute puzzle with a fitting tipple. This classic can be traced back to some time in the nineteen-thirties, when cocktail culture had left America due to Prohibition and landed overseas. Harry Craddock, a seminal figure in cocktail history, was an icon at the Savoy Hotel in London. He was also the President of the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild, which published, in 1937, a compendium of current approved and "authorized" cocktails of the day. There is mention within those yellowed pages of a Sidney J. Read, whose biography is mostly lost to history, save for the classic cocktails he invented, including the one we are toasting with now.

A little Dram o' Drambuie

I've extolled the virtues of a proper whiskey sour before, merely standing on the shoulders of men like Read. His version features Drambuie, that storied blend of honeyed whiskey from Scotland. Drambuie, from the Gaelic "An Dram Buidheach" (The Drink that Satisfies), originated in the mid eighteenth century as the personal beverage of Prince Charles Edward Stuart - Bonnie Prince Charlie would drink a dram a day for strength and vitality, they say. Which just might be what's required if you attempt Euklid for Nick - Cheers!

Which would you nick? I mean, pick ... err, nevermind

Old Nick by Sidney J. Read c. 1930's

1 1/2 oz rye whiskey

3/4 oz Drambuie

1/2 oz fresh lemon

1/2 oz fresh orange

2 dashes orange bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Nick and Nora glass. Garnish appropriately.

To purchase Euklid for Nick visit:

https://www.pelikanpuzzles.eu/