Brightest Young Things

Maurice Chevalier

• 3/4 oz vermouth rosso
• 3/4 Noilly Prat French dry vermouth
• dash orange bitters
• 3/4 oz orange juice
• 3/4 oz gin

Shake well over ice in a shaker, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. This one is closely related to the Bronx Cocktail and its variations, the only difference being the bitters and Noilly Prat vermouth. Noilly Prat should be used because it's drier than other vermouths, but if you're short on NP you can substitute for other dry vermouths. By the way, if you happen to be a fan of Noilly Prat and crave its dryness in your martinis you may want to stock up. The taste is like what I imagine an IHOP-marketed martini would taste like: you kind of get the idea that this could be something good, but the orange and bitters just make it taste a little bit like a hangover in your mouth. Also it's intriguing to me that this is named for Maurice Chevalier, a French actor/singer who was a notorious cheapskate. I would imagine he'd drink straight gin because it's cheaper than buying the vermouths and bitters and gets you drunker quicker.