Hello friends! Today, I’m sharing a “twofer” post. First up, a cocktail called the Caliph of Baghdad. This recipe is from a 1933 book, Del Monte – Cocktail Recipes Mixed by Famous People for a Famous Hotel. I chose it because of its connection to this month’s Dining with The Dame book, They Came To Baghdad.  This book was originally published in 1933 for the Del Monte Hotel but has been brought back into circulation by my old pal, Jenny of Silver Screen Suppers and Dinner and A Movie.

The Book

The book was inspired in  1933 around the same time as the the repeal of Prohibition. 

“John Caitlin, the eccentric Mayor of Carmel-By-The-Sea in California, established the Association for the Advancement of the Fine Art of Drinking and invited the great and good of the stage, screen and typewriter to submit their concoctions for consideration”

Submissions were evaluated at the Del Monte Hotel in Monterey in December 1933, leading to the creation of the book.

Ernest Hemingway, Marlene Dietrich, W.C. Fields, and the Marx Brothers were but a few of the great and the good to submit recipes.  I will definitely be featuring the Marlene Dietrich cocktail down the track, it sounds amazing!

The Hotel

The Hotel Del Monte still exists and it looks beautiful!!!!  And, the rates are not exorbitant.  I have never been to America, but my best friend lives in California so it is high on my list of places to go!  I wonder if we could have a night or two in the Del Monte when I am there so we can pay homage to the Association for the Advancement of the Fine Art of Drinking!

The Caliph of Baghdad – The Drink

There is a warning that this drink packs a punch.  And it certainly does!  This is one that you want to sip slowly all night and / or add a lot of ice!  Having said that, savouring one of these over a evening is quite pleasant because the sweet  / sour of the brown sugar and the lime combined with the rum is delicious!

I can absolutely recommend the Del Monte Cocktail book!  There are many delicious sounding cocktails from so many famous names! It is truly a little piece of history!

Have a great week!