It’s tax day. Boo! No one has ever liked that, even back in the 1920s when they made up The Income Tax Cocktail. This variation on the Bronx Cocktail uses gin, two kinds of vermouth, and fresh-squeezed orange juice to help ease the pain of dealing with all those tax forms.
Did you know that income tax was established in the United States because of prohibition? When alcohol was banned, politicians didn’t want to lose the money they made by taxing liquor, so they instituted the income tax to make up for it. So not only were people in the 1920s denied alcohol, they were taxed on their income for the very first time. And of course a few years later, alcohol was re-legalized and now we are taxed on both our incomes and alcohol.
No one said Uncle Sam is fair, I guess. Anyway, whether you want to celebrate a refund or drink away the sorrow of having to pay, The Income Tax Cocktail should do just fine.
This recipe is inspired by the classic Savoy Cocktail Book. Here it is:
The Income Tax
(makes one cocktail)
Ingredients:
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1 1/2 oz gin
1/4 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz fresh-squeezed orange juice
1-2 dashes Angostura bitters
Orange twist for garnish
Directions:
Pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake thoroughly and drain into a glass. Garnish with the orange peel. Enjoy!
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