- 14 hours ago
In honor of February 29th, LBF and Dave dust off a gem from 1928: the Leap Year, first printed in the Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock. Bright citrus, gin, and a whisper of elegance—because if we only get this day every four years, we’re not wasting it on basic drinks. It’s crisp, historic, and proof that good taste never goes out of style.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00No, I don't want to start it. I'm not ready. Why are you? You're always in such a rush.
00:06Well, I'm not in a rush, but I like to get everything on film.
00:08But I'm not even prepared.
00:10I like to get things on film.
00:12Oh, okay. Fine. Then keep it rolling. Keep it rolling.
00:16Okay.
00:22Okay, we're getting a chocolate.
00:24Okay, so you picked out this...
00:26I did, because...
00:27Amazing drink.
00:28Well, I was like, well, it's the end of February.
00:31We've had all these storms. Blah, blah, blah.
00:33What can we do? Yada, yada, yada.
00:36But I actually chose this drink because even though it's not this year,
00:41it is the time of leap year.
00:44And actually, my best friend, Melissa, is a leap year baby.
00:48Because, like, honestly, she broke them all.
00:50So, we can only handle one of Melissa every four years.
00:55We are.
00:56All of you want to sell it as Melissa Mayer.
00:59Real estate.
01:00Um, can't mask.
01:02Wow, that's a racket.
01:03That's a racket you're making.
01:05All right.
01:05Jesus.
01:07Anyway, can I say what it does?
01:08It's a leap year.
01:08I had to find the sweet vermouth.
01:10Okay.
01:11We have two to choose from.
01:12Great.
01:12So, it's a leap year drink, and it's called.
01:16What'd you call it?
01:18The leap year.
01:18Oh, it's called the leap year.
01:20Yeah, and it's from the Savoy Hotel.
01:23I was completely unfamiliar with this drink.
01:24So am I, really.
01:26But it's easy.
01:27And we have all the ingredients.
01:29I like an easy drink, because you know me.
01:31I, like, I don't like to follow recipes.
01:34I don't, I'm not fastidious like Dave.
01:38I'm going to get some ice and make more noise.
01:41I like making noise.
01:42It's a bar, after all.
01:44It is a bar.
01:44And you actually.
01:44What's your favorite sound?
01:45You know your favorite sound.
01:46Oh, my God, Dave.
01:47I didn't even tell you.
01:48So, my two favorite sounds are the shaking of a cocktail and the pop of a champagne corn.
01:54So, when I was at the hotel during the blizzard, I was in my room, and, like, every 10 minutes
02:02or so, there was the sound of a pop of champagne.
02:06And I'm like, no one is having that much champagne.
02:09It was some sort of thing that was going on in the bathroom, but every 10 minutes it was, like,
02:14pop.
02:15Pop.
02:16And it was annoying me, but also, I liked the sound so much, and it did annoy me so much.
02:20Yeah, you love that sound.
02:21Yeah, so, anyway.
02:22May I have my cutting board, please?
02:25That's the one that I bought you?
02:26Yes.
02:27So nice.
02:28TG Maxx.
02:31So, this is a kind of a cool drink, and I, I know you referenced your best friend, Melissa.
02:37Yeah.
02:37Who's a Leap Year Baby.
02:38This is an official elite beer, but who cares?
02:40Right.
02:41Who cares?
02:42Let's pretend it is.
02:42Who cares?
02:44All right, what's in it?
02:45Gin.
02:46Yep.
02:46We, we're pretty.
02:48We're, like, gin, gin-centric these days.
02:50Yeah, we, we, we're pretty, uh, loyal to the, uh, Bombay Sapphire.
02:54Well, it doesn't matter, really, what you have, but, like, I don't, I like.
02:57There's so many good gins.
02:58But some of them are really floral, and, um, and that, if you like it, some of them are very
03:02piney.
03:03Ah, can I make two gin recommendations, especially if you're making cocktails?
03:07Sure.
03:08Plymouth gin.
03:37Plymouth gin.
03:37Yeah.
03:37Uh, the, uh, lovely recipe you got from me calls for, uh, two ounces.
03:42Two ounces of gin.
03:44Two ounces of gin.
03:45People are afraid of gin.
03:46It's not, it's not, when you have a good gin drink, it doesn't taste like, you know.
03:50Gin's good.
03:51When you had it in college and threw up in the bushes, like.
03:53You know what I like?
03:54I'm referencing my mother, by the way.
03:57Oh, my God.
03:58It's true.
03:58She can't drink gin because of that.
04:00You know what I like about this, Drake?
04:01What's that?
04:02So, it has an orange, um, uh, orange, uh, liqueur.
04:11I always, I always hate saying that word.
04:15Liquor.
04:16Liqueur.
04:17Liqueur.
04:17Liqueur.
04:18Liqueur.
04:19Can you go with liqueur?
04:20Liqueur.
04:20So, it calls for an orange liqueur, but it calls specifically for Grand Marnier, and Grand
04:25Marnier, to me, like, uh, because there's cognac in Grand Marnier, it's still orange-flavored
04:30like a Cointreau and Triple Second, all those things, but the Grand Marnier just has, son
04:35of my, you're bored already.
04:37It has, it has, uh, extra, that's the sugar, and apparently we haven't used the bottle in
04:45quite some, some time, but it has, like, an, uh, extra depth, you know?
04:49No extra depth.
04:50I'll be right back.
04:53Whatever.
04:53So, clean your bottles, uh, because the sugar gets, uh, in it.
05:00It's so true.
05:01There are certain, um, liqueurs that the sugar content is so high, if you don't, if you don't
05:09clean...
05:09I am this many years old that we have one of these.
05:12If you don't clean the, uh, the tops with a, you know, sort of a warm cloth afterwards.
05:17It gets sticky.
05:18And then you don't use it for a while.
05:20It gets sticky.
05:20Like maple syrup.
05:21You got it!
05:22Okay.
05:23Okay, but we got that off.
05:24You wanna...it just smells so good.
05:27It does.
05:27It smells so good.
05:29That's beeping in the background is our neighbor's plow guy.
05:33I'll, I'll shut the door.
05:34It's fine.
05:35Who cares?
05:36This is real life.
05:37It's happening right now.
05:38Yeah, I know.
05:39But I hate this stuff.
05:40Okay.
05:40So, uh, half ounce.
05:46Here I come.
05:49Half ounce of the Grand Marnier.
05:52We're gonna clean the top of that bottle.
05:54Good idea.
05:55So it doesn't get stuck again.
05:57It's okay.
05:58What?
05:59What?
05:59And now, you have your choice of...it calls for sweet vermouth.
06:05You have your choice of the...
06:07Dolan.
06:08Excellent choice.
06:09We have some Martini Rossi and some Dolan.
06:11Both are good.
06:11I just like Dolan.
06:12Different, different flavor profiles.
06:14Yeah.
06:15So you drink, literally depending on the type of vermouth you use...
06:18Oh, okay.
06:19Your drink's gonna taste different!
06:22What are you...you know, we're not kindergartners.
06:24We have, we're over 21.
06:26Oh yeah, okay, wait.
06:27I think it's like a Mr. Rogers show of cocktails.
06:29I want that one.
06:31Oh, see?
06:32You're choosing the Martini Rossi.
06:33Yeah, I am.
06:33For the Italian that's next to me.
06:36Great.
06:36Okay.
06:38And that's also half ounce, so.
06:40So we're balancing here.
06:41We got, so half ounce of the Grand Marnier, half of the sweet vermouth, equaling one.
06:46And it's kind of a two to one ratio with the gin.
06:49See how that works?
06:51See, it's all about...great cocktails are all about balance.
06:54And math.
06:56And that's why I don't do it.
06:57That's why I stand here and judge.
07:00And now, of course, we have some lemons.
07:03We're gonna, fresh lemon, we're gonna squeeze some of that in there.
07:06Beautiful.
07:07Dave broke his favorite knife this weekend, trying to get a bottle of wine.
07:10This is one dash.
07:11Just...
07:11One dash of lemon?
07:13Really?
07:14Well, just put a little in there.
07:15How the heck does that work?
07:16We'll just...maybe it was lemon.
07:17One dash of lemon juice?
07:19I'm just gonna squeeze...whoop!
07:20There.
07:21We'll count that as a dash.
07:22Okay.
07:24Alright, now...
07:24I'm gonna get some ice while you vamp.
07:26Yeah, Dave broke his favorite knife opening a bottle of mine this weekend.
07:29He's real mad.
07:31Who opens a bottle of mine with a knife?
07:33I'm really disappointed about that knife.
07:36I'll find you another one.
07:38I think I got it at a trade show when I was working at the Herald.
07:41That's how old it is.
07:42Like, 17 years old.
07:44Dead.
07:45Gone.
07:45Nice.
07:46And I gotta put some ice in here.
07:48Okay.
07:49Now?
07:49Yeah, it was...had the orange handle and everything.
07:52I'll get...I'll find one.
07:53I'll find one.
07:53It was a ceramic knife.
07:54It was ceramic.
07:56It was.
07:58You wanna do the honors?
08:05Wow!
08:07Oh, we did glass.
08:08But it spilled it!
08:10There's one right here.
08:14Oh, it's cold.
08:16And we forgot to chill our glass.
08:18But in any event...
08:19Can we see that?
08:20Yeah, sometimes you don't get to chill your glass.
08:22Sometimes you just don't have the opportunity.
08:24Sometimes you just want to...
08:25Nice job.
08:25Oh, that's nice.
08:26I know.
08:26It hurts my hands to do that, you know.
08:28I have Raynose Syndrome.
08:30That's when you can't feel...
08:32Oh.
08:32I was talking about my disease.
08:36You interrupted me with cocktails.
08:38Sorry.
08:39Most people don't like this.
08:40And we're going to double strain that into the glass.
08:44That's a funky color, huh?
08:46Yeah.
08:48Interesting.
08:49Interesting.
08:52Interesting.
08:53And no garnish doesn't call for garnish.
08:56I like a simple drink.
08:57I like a simple...
08:58Should I?
08:59Let's do this.
09:00Because that is kind of an interesting color, isn't it?
09:03It's like an orangey yellow.
09:06Look at that.
09:07Look at that LBF.
09:08I like it.
09:10Here.
09:10Try.
09:11Try that.
09:13Okay.
09:13Be very careful.
09:14This is like...
09:14Very shaky.
09:16Pack and punch.
09:17Because it's...
09:21I bet it's good.
09:23You don't like it?
09:24No, I like it.
09:25It smells good.
09:26I feel like it needs a little more lemon.
09:29Probably.
09:30I don't want to just say I did.
09:31Well, this shows you that you can adjust.
09:33You can do whatever.
09:35It needs lemon.
09:36It needs more lemon.
09:37It needs more lemon.
09:38It needs more lemon.
09:39You probably do a half ounce of lemon.
09:42Wait.
09:43Okay.
09:44So you drink that, right?
09:45And you're like, oh, it needs more lemon.
09:48Would you pour it back in here and add more lemon?
09:50Or would you just add more lemon and stir it with your finger like I would?
09:56Because that is exactly what I would do.
09:58No.
09:59And also, I am known to take my reading glasses off and stir my drink to make it a little
10:04more
10:05Yeah.
10:05You are known to do that.
10:06You know what I would do?
10:07What?
10:07You'd start over.
10:08I would drink that and then make a new one.
10:11With the proper amount of lemon.
10:13Okay.
10:14But in any event, it's a fine drink.
10:16It's a leap year drink, so it's unexpected.
10:19Yeah, you only drink it once every four years, which is why it's not super possible.
10:23I don't even know if that makes sense, but...
10:26I actually...
10:27It's actually good.
10:28It's bright.
10:28Can I just do this?
10:30It's cold.
10:32Wait, why is this?
10:34Don't...
10:35This is not how you're supposed to do...
10:38That's not how you're supposed to do it at all.
10:40I mean, I'm not going to stick my finger in my mouth because I'm up.
10:43I'm not...
10:43I'm civilized.
10:47A little better.
10:48It needs a little bit better.
10:50Probably needs a little more juice.
10:53Cheers.
10:54In any event.
10:55Nice job.
10:56Well, cheers.
10:58Bottoms up.
10:58Wait.
11:00Bottoms up.
11:01Bottoms up.
11:02LBF.
11:02LBF.
11:04Cheers.
11:04Cheers to the short, long weekend.
11:08No.
11:08No.
11:09To the non-leap year weekend.
11:11I've obviously had too much gin.
11:13Cheers.
11:14Cheers.
11:14I don't know what you're talking about.
11:17Oh my god, you better lie.
11:20Actually, that's pretty good.
11:21It is.
11:22I don't...
11:22Yeah, I don't mind that at all.
11:23I still think...
11:24Well, yeah, it's clean.
11:25It's good.
11:26It does...
11:27It does the trick.
11:28I feel like it needs like a...
11:31Something...
11:31Like a...
11:32Like a...
11:33Like a cherry.
11:34Okay.
11:35Well, we got those.
11:36The cherry could be good.
11:36Can I try this cherry?
11:37Sure.
11:38There's some new cherries I got from...
11:40Albero Doro.
11:41My friend, Deb, sent them to me.
11:43Thank you, Deb.
11:44Wow.
11:46Oh.
11:48Oh, that's...
11:49Hold on.
11:50I've got a little spoon.
11:51We're not animal.
11:51Oh my god, it smells so good.
11:53Sticky.
11:53Look at this.
11:55Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:56I got a little syrup in there.
11:57The tomatoes, that's...
11:58I don't know.
11:59Oh, did it...
11:59They're not...
12:00Don't...
12:01That's what the...
12:03Fine.
12:03I appreciate them.
12:05They're great.
12:05I'm just saying.
12:09Mmm.
12:11That tastes good.
12:12Oh, yeah.
12:14These are great.
12:16Okay.
12:17Add a little cherry in there.
12:19Yeah.
12:20Yeah.
12:21Yeah, that's good.
12:22That actually is.
12:23Nice job.
12:24Nice job, Lauren.
12:25Thanks, guys.
12:26Next time, we're going to do a crazy, like, Muppet cocktail.
12:29Why don't I just take things and start mixing them up like that crazy scientist with a beaker.
12:35Beep, beep, beep, beep.
12:37All right.
12:38Are we finished?
12:39We're never finished.
12:40Stop.
12:42Hoping, man.
12:45Anquet.
12:45Oh, no.
12:45That's a, the same we did.
12:46You remember...
12:47умните there.
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