The Bronx Cocktail and the Income Tax Cocktail

I recently bought a set of four Thin Man movies. For those of you who aren't familiar with the film series, just know that the first one was released in 1934, is based around a detective (Nick Charles) and his wife (Nora), and includes a LOT of references to drinking. I highly recommend it--it's an excellent cocktail movie. Anyway, at one point, Nick Charles is at a bar, talking to some bartenders while he orders a Martini. He instructs the barkeeps, "The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now, a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time." I'd heard of a Bronx cocktail before (I love a Manhattan), so I decided to mix up a few of these. 

There are a couple of theories about who came up with the Bronx. Some people think Joseph Sormani created it in Philadelphia around 1905. Other sources credit Johnnie Solon (a bartender in Manhattan), sometime around 1899-1906. Check out the Wikipedia page about this cocktail out; the Solon theory has an entertaining creation story.

I generally don't trust the cocktail recipes on Wikipedia, so I hit the cocktail books and found this in Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. It was filed under a different drink, the Income Tax. One of my favorite things about cocktails is the history of the cocktail or how cocktails relate to each other. For example, the Manhattan (sweet vermouth and bourbon) became the Martinez (sweet vermouth and gin) became the Martini (dry vermouth and gin)...I just find this incredibly interesting (this is an excellent story about just this genealogy). From the standpoint of a very amateur barman, these connections make it easier to add drinks to my "memorized cocktail" list, just by slight adjustments. The Income Tax is just a Bronx, but with two dashes of Angostura bitters. 

The Bronx

• 1 1/2 oz gin (I used Gordon's)
• 3/4 oz sweet vermouth
• 3/4 oz dry vermouth
• Juice of 1/4 orange, freshly squeezed (This is obviously really vague. I used 1/3 of an oz.)

The Income Tax

• 1 1/2 oz gin 
• 3/4 oz sweet vermouth
• 3/4 oz dry vermouth
• Juice of 1/4 orange, freshly squeezed
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

I quite liked both of these drinks. I would call the Bronx a citrus-y cousin to the Manhattan--the orange mellows the booze a little, but it is still pretty strong. As for the Income Tax, the bitters add a little sophistication and a lot of depth to the drink. These are ingredients that are pretty common, so you probably already have everything to make them, so that's a nice bonus that rarely happens.