Lucien Gaudin Cocktail
We’re right in the middle of Negroni Week. Don’t know what Negroni Week is? It’s where bars all over the world make and sell Negronis and either all or a portion of the proceeds from each drink go to the charity of the bar’s choice. It’s a great cause created by Imbibe Magazine and Campari. While I’m not a fan of the Negroni, I do love a worthy cause. Combine that worthy cause with alcohol, and I’m definitely in. So, to celebrate, I’m bringing you a classic variation on the Negroni. It’s called the Lucien Gaudin.
Launched in 2013 as a celebration of one of the world’s great cocktails, Negroni Week has grown from roughly 100 venues to 6,000, and they’ve collectively raised nearly $900,000 for various charitable causes from helping the homeless to cancer research and beyond. The week-long event may end tomorrow, but there’s still time to participate. Just find your favorite bar, order a negroni (or some variation) and enjoy. Then at the end of the week, the people behind the event tally up how much was raised collectively by all the participating bars and restaurants. Sounds like fun, right?
While I don’t work at a bar or restaurant, I wanted to acknowledge the event, because it is so important and so many people out there like Negronis and Campari, the liquor with which it’s made. I’ve made a Negroni before and as I said, I’m not a fan. The Campari is just too bitter for me. While I don’t necessarily like my drinks sweet, I can’t do bitter, and believe me I’ve tried. Campari, which was created in 1860 by Gaspare Campari, is made with a variety of spices and herbs and tastes more like Orange Bitters than Cointreau. It definitely takes some getting used to (I still haven’t). So, why do I still make cocktails using the bitter liquor? Hubs loves them!
The Lucien Gaudin is a tribute to one of France’s fencing champions. He made his name in the early twentieth century, and then went on to become European and world champion. But that wasn’t enough. He won two gold medals in the 1924 Olympics, and two more in 1928. A couple more silver medals made him one of the most decorated French medalists in Olympic history. With a past like that, it’s only natural that a cocktail be named after him. While I can’t find anything about who created the drink, it first appeared in the tomb, Cocktails de Paris, in 1929, when Gaudin was at the height of his fencing career.
If the recipe sounds like a Negroni, that’s because the drink is pretty much just a French riff on the classic. It includes gin and Campari, but then substitutes dry vermouth and Cointreau for the original’s sweet vermouth. With a recipe like that, it’s surprising that this classic has fallen into obscurity. I mean, it’s really not that different from the much more popular Negroni. If anything, it’s slightly (and I do mean slightly) sweeter and definitely has more orange notes thanks to the Cointreau. But for some reason, the Lucien Gaudin has all but disappeared from the cocktail world. Well, thanks to Negroni Week (and the internet) hopefully it’ll make a comback. I mean if this week isn’t the perfect time to sample this Prohibition tipple, no time is.
Lucien Gaudin
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 ounces gin
- 1/2 ounce Campari
- 1/2 ounce dry vermouth
- 1/2 ounce Cointreau
Directions:
- Pour all the ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until chilled.
- Strain into a coupe glass, garnish with a twist of orange and serve.
