Vintage Cocktails: The Pegu You’ve probably never heard of the Pegu. Unless you were kicking around Rangoon back in the 1920’s, or bellying up to the bar at London’s Savoy Hotel in the 1930’s, there’s no reason you should have. Too bad, too, for the Pegu is one of the finest aperitifs ever created. The Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930, a collection of drink recipes from the Savoy Hotel’s legendary bartender Harry Craddock, calls it “The Pegu Club Cocktail.” Harry describes it as “the favourite cocktail of the Pegu Club, Burma, and one that has traveled, and is asked for, round the world.” Indeed, the Pegu was the signature drink at Burma’s Pegu Club, an elegant oasis for army officers and foreign travelers. The club was either located in the small town of Pegu, a good fifty miles outside of Rangoon, or in Rangoon proper, depending on which accounts you read. Rudyard Kipling wrote about his visits to the club between March and September 1889, and described it as a place that “seemed to be full of men on their way up or down.” Kipling refers to the club as being in Rangoon, but perhaps Greater Rangoon circa 1889 extended as far as the little town of Pegu. At any rate, there seems to be no record of when the Pegu cocktail was created, though it must have been in existence in the 1920’s if Craddock had calls for it at the Savoy in 1930. World War II put an end to the Pegu Club, unfortunately, and the delightful Pegu Club Cocktail was temporarily forgotten. Several recently published cocktail cookbooks have helped remind people of the Pegu’s charms, thank goodness. Unfortunately, you probably won’t find a bartender who’s ever heard of it. That’s why we insist you try making one for yourself at home. Here’s how: In a shaker, combine 1 1/2 ounces of gin, 1/2 ounce Cointreau, 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice, and two dashes of Angostura bitters. Add plenty of ice and shake until your hands are painfully stuck to the shaker, then strain the icy libation into a chilled cocktail glass. Now imagine yourself in need of refreshment after a hot afternoon in the Burmese sun, and prepare your palate for a wonderfully brisk and bracing sensation. The Pegu’s taste, admittedly quite a sophisticated one, is reminiscent of an invigorating bitter-grapefruit sorbet. Not for the timid or faint of heart, the Pegu, a sublime combination of bitter, sweet, and sour, is without question one of the most delectable and inspiring aperitifs you’ll ever have the pleasure to know.