The Tootsie Roll Cocktail

Last night Pete decided to debut a new cocktail in his arsenal of libations. He pulled the Kahlua from the shelf and in a glass full of ice, he poured it almost half way with a slightly larger portion of orange juice. He gave it a nice shake and said "This is a cocktail from the 1950's called the Tootsie Roll". Now I looked at this cocktail rather skeptically. Somehow the thought of Kahlua (which is a Rum and Tequila based Coffee Liqueur) mixed with orange juice doesn't jive.

Now for those of you living under a rock, Tootsie Rolls are an old school American chocolate candy chew that can trace its history back to 1896 to the small New York City candy shop of Leo Hirshfield who was an Austrian immigrant. If you want to read more about Leo Hirshfield and an apparent Tootsie Roll conspiracy theory (of sorts) click on this link: Tootsie Roll Tragedy: The Real Leo Hirschfeld Story by the Candy Professor. Back to the cocktail.

So here is the recipe for the cocktail Pete made:

Tootsie Roll #1

Tootsie Roll #1
2oz Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
3oz Orange Juice

Pour in an ice filled highball glass. Shake to blend.

Echoing the sentiment of my friend Katy (for whom Pete had taste the cocktail), it is sweet. Very much a dessert drink. It was pretty sweet and surprisingly it actually tasted like a Tootsie Roll. Now I was curious to see when this concoction was created.

Now I started to look online and in my trusty Mr. Boston: Official Bartender's Guide and my recently acquired The Savoy Cocktail Book (thanks Barry), to see if there is any mention of a Tootsie Roll cocktail. I found bupkis. My online search for an origin to the Tootsie Roll cocktail was also futile. But what I did find was a slew of variations on the Tootsie Roll cocktail.

I saw one that called for Orange Juice and Dark Creme de Cacao, Orange Juice, Grand Marnier and Dark Creme de Cacao, Orange Juice, Kahlua, and Dark Creme de Cacao. I even saw a variation with Tia Maria, Dark Creme de Cacao, and Frangelico. One that I saw fairly often was the following recipe:

Tootsie Roll #2

Tootsie Roll #2
1/3 Kahlua
1/3 OJ
1/3 Vodka

Build in a highball full of ice. Shake to blend. 

As with the first cocktail, the second one was sweet but I found that the inclusion of vodka in the second one gives the cocktail a less sweeter taste. I find the second one to be a more drinkable cocktail for my palate. Perhaps another kind of coffee liqueur, possibly something not as sweet as Kahlua might give a better/different result.

I have an idea on who or whom might like this cocktail (yes Ari, that means you). Thanks Pete for the new cocktail to add to the repertoire. Time to go back to the lab.

Until Then Happy Drinking,
Sisco Vanilla