The June Havoc Almond Cocktail has been on the “to test” list for a while as she is in not one, but two episodes of Murder, She Wrote. The first is a truly remarkable one for film buffs. The Days Dwindle Down (1988) has a star-studded cast that includes Harry Morgan, Martha Scott, and Jeffrey Lynn as well as June and Angela.
Much of the storyline is told using flashbacks, using clips from a 1949 film called Strange Bargain starring all of the aforementioned stars (apart from Angela) in their heyday. So I’m going to suggest a double bill in the Murder, She Cooked book, with a whole menu of recipes from the various stars, kicking off with June’s cocktail.
Anybody have any idea how the hell you smash a peach stone? I tried, I really did, but it wasn’t having it.
I soaked it anyhow with the almonds
Verdict? Mr Rathbone said, “It’s a bit rude to June, but it’s a bit like a fancy Thunderbird.”
Wine in a cocktail did indeed seem odd and I think the first sip tasted like an extra boozy glass of pimped-up wine or sherry. After a couple of sips, I grew to like it more and got a few layers of flavour. I see from a scribbled note in Mr R’s handwriting that I said, “It tastes very French to me”, and I really want to try this again with an effectively crushed peach kernel. Does anyone have any tips?!
Good heavens, don’t do that any more! Peach pits, along with a lot of other seeds (apple, plum, pear) contain cyanide. A dozen crushed pits can kill you! (swallowing them whole should be all right, but who wants to do that?)
Oooh, this could have been a Murder, She Wrote plot! Perhaps I can find some kind of peach kernal essence and use drops of that instead – haha!
Yeah, peach kernals aren’t good for you, but I think substituting a 1/4 – 1/2 oz of amaretto would do the trick? Maybe leave out the powdered sugar if you do that as amaretto is quite sweet. it’s an odd cocktail for sure.
Now THAT is a genius idea! Also, gives me an excuse to buy some Amaretto (which I LOVE). Brilliant, thanks for stopping by and suggesting this, I never would have thought of it xx
Whoa ! Can you imagine if her and Mary Astor ever got together to host a cocktail party !? They’d all be blind for a week, those that survived of course. Don’t serve with out a first aider in the house.
Hahahah – you’ve given me an idea – a dream movie star cocktail party – who would be there?! Jx
Well definitely Mary, Stanley’s negroni of course . Martin Landau’s Martini and we’d have to have VP’s Bloody Mary. Ron’s Gimlet and Don Ameche’s good Bourbon and Ice for those who want to keep it a little simpler ! … That’ll do for starter’s, do you think !?
I am intrigued by “Ron’s Gimlet” – have a missed a movie star special somewhere along the line?! I was given a bottle of Pimms recently and might try what is knows as a Pimmlet – a Gimlet with some Pimms thrown in…
I’ve just mixed it up a bit from Ron Leibman’s Hoo Ha chicken blog. You talk about them in that and I’ve just mis-remembered them as his Gimlet, whereas technically it would be his wifes as it was her having the ingredients for a Vodka Gimlet to hand that seems to have inspired the recipe ! And I wonder if swooshing a little of that Vermouth around the glass before pouring would make it a Gimletinni !! Hmmm…
Ahhh yes! I can’t really think about cocktails at the moment due to Covid but when I DO feel like one, I might start with a gimlet!