In the mid-nineteenth century, when mixing drinks well was something of an art form, Jerry Thomas was America’s preeminent bartender.
He was famous for taking two silver mugs, mixing a Scotch whisky and hot water, lighting the drink on fire, and then tossing the liquor from silver mug to silver mug, creating a flaming arc, as you see in this illustration. He called it the Blue Blazer.
(Don’t try this at home!)
Thomas wrote America’s first mixed-drink primer, How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion, first published in 1862. A big hit, it was in print for more than thirty years and plagiarized for at least that long.
Among the many drinks described in the book is the Crusta. It’s seldom encountered today, but it was very popular at the time. Thomas wrote:
The ‘Cocktail’ is a modern invention, and is generally used on fishing and other sporting parties, although some patients [author’s italics] insist that it is good in the morning as a tonic. The ‘Crusta’ is an improvement on the ‘Cocktail,’ and is said to have been invented by Santina, a celebrated Spanish caterer.
The book had recipes for a brandy crusta, along with variations made with whiskey or gin. So what’s a crusta?
The main feature that sets it apart from cocktails is that a wide strip of lemon peel is wrapped around the inside of the glass, as shown below. Then the drink mixture is poured in. The peel adds flavor – as well as panache – to the drink. It’s also a bit tricky to drink without the peel slip-sliding away.
Here’s Thomas’s recipe and directions. Followed by my adaptation.
3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup.
2 do. bitters (Bogart's). [do = ditto]
1 wine-glass of brandy.
1 or 2 dashes of Curaçoa.
Squeeze lemon peel; fill one-third full of ice, and stir with a spoon.
(Use small bar glass.)
The whiskey and gin crustas are made the same as the brandy crusta, using whiskey or gin instead of brandy.
Crusta is made the same as a fancy cocktail, with a little lemon juice and a small lump of ice added. First, mix the ingredients in a small tumbler, then take a fancy red wine-glass, rub a sliced lemon around the rim of the same, and dip it in pulverized white sugar, so that the sugar will adhere to the edge of the glass. Pare half a lemon the same as you would an apple (all in one piece) so that the paring will fit in the wine-glass, as shown in the cut, and strain the crusta from the tumbler into it.
Then smile.
Today's crusta
Lemon
Sugar
3 ounces Brandy
1 ounce orange Curaçoa
Dash of bitters
1/2 ounce lemon juice
Run a lemon wedge around the edge of the glasses, then dip them in a little sugar to coat the rim. Peel the lemon with a vegetable peeler to get a wide strip, then wrap it around the inside of the glass.
Mix the other ingredients in a chilled shaker with some ice, shake well, and pour carefully into the glasses. Try not to disturb the lemon peel.
Serves two.
As Jerry Thomas said, smile.
