The Cobbler has been around a long time. In Jerry Thomas’s 1862 book, How to Mix Drinks or the Bon Vivant’s Companion, there are seven different recipes for Cobblers, with their chief difference being the ingredient that the formulation championed — and here, for our regular Threeway feature, we’ve got three Cobbler recipes for you.
The Cobbler is one of the simplest drinks for a bartender to master – at least, as Thomas wrote, when it comes to putting the ingredients together. But that’s not the whole story, he writes.
“The ‘cobbler’ does not require much skill in compounding, but to make it acceptable to the eye, it is necessary to display some taste in ornamenting the glass after the beverage is made.”
And it’s interesting to note what, in Thomas’ book at least, sets the Cobblers apart from other recipes; that is, aside from his Whiskey Cobbler recipe, they are all premised on wine as the chief ingredient. It might be sweet wine, like in the Sauternes Cobbler; it could be German wine, in the guise of the Hock Cobbler; or even employing Catawba wine, a grape native to America.
Of course, you’re welcome to throw brandy, calvados, or whatever you want in the mix. Here, we look at three different Cobbler recipes: one, from Kittyhawk in Sydney; the East Village Hotel’s Sherry Cobbler; and
a Port Cobbler, because we don’t drink enough ruby port.
Kittyhawk’s Pineapple Cobbler
- 30ml manzanilla sherry
- 15ml vodka
- 20ml lemon sugar syrup
- 30ml pink grapefruit
- 2 pineapple chunks
- 3 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters
- 3 dashes Angostura orange bitters
- 1 orange wedge
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a Collins glass over ice. Garnish with a thin pineapple wheel.
Port Cobbler
- 90ml ruby port
- 30ml maple syrup (cut 1:1 with water)
- 2 lemon wedges
- 2 chunks pineapple
- 1 orange wedge
Muddle the fruits before adding rest of the ingredients to shaker with crushed ice. Strain over crushed ice and serve.
East Village Sydney’s Sherry Cobbler
- 30ml fino sherry
- 30ml oloroso sherry
- 30ml pineapple infused dark rum
- 15ml citrus oleo saccharum
- 3 muddled lemon wedges
- 3 muddled pineapple wedges
Muddle fruit in a shaker, add others and a wine glass worth of crushed ice. Toss briefly and dump contents of the shaker, including the ice, into a wine glass. Top with crushed ice and garnish with a pineapple wedge and pimp with seasonal berries or fruit.
*The citrus oleo saccharum is made with mostly lemon and orange, but also lime, grapefruit, and blood orange.
Recipe provided by Lee Potter Cavanagh, East Village Sydney