Unlike most years, July 15th, 2020 is tax day. Like everything else, COVID-19 has given us something strange to contend with and fundamentally altered routine life as we know it. If you’re looking to turn back the clock, then perhaps you might visit the Income Tax Cocktail.
The Income Tax Cocktail is actually a Bronx Cocktail with bitters. Not that you’d be expected to know either. Pre-World War II, the Bronx had some popularity thanks to the use of fresh orange juice and vermouth not having been kneecapped by the subsequent decades. In fact, a broad range of borough named cocktails and variants existed. Among them was the Bronx and, by adding bitters, the Income Tax Cocktail. Unfortunately for both, they were absolutely reliant on fresh orange juice, and the demise of these once popular variants were pushed off into the great unknown by the predominance of pre-packaged and concentrated orange juice – with which – they taste awful.
The Income Tax Cocktail
The Income Tax Cocktail is just alright. The herbal notes of the gin and vermouth leverage with some of the spice of the bitters. The orange adds another level of flavor that really shows up at the start. That muddles with the vermouths and changes the texture and acidity a bit. The finish is complicated and less orange forward then the body, with a bit of the pithiness.
Overall – this cocktail is kind of like income tax. I know that it exists, and it doesn’t mean I want to go out of my way to pay for it.
Drink Notes & Recommendations:
Ranges on Orange Juice are from ¼ oz to 1 oz. The recipe printed by Haigh in his book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails* calls for a ¼ oz orange – which is variant on your orange. I’m not sure how much I think that the range of ¼ – ¾ makes a difference here, but feel free to experiment.
Due to the muddled nature of the Income Tax Cocktail – I recommend using what you have on hand instead of trying to find dedicated ingredients.
- Gin – I used Beefeater here, but you could also try an Old Tom Gin to soften things up. Despite being the backbone of the Income Tax Cocktail, it doesn’t seem like a gin drink.
- Sweet Vermouth – I utilized both Lustau and Carpano here. Lustau might have an edge as it gives the drink less to compete with, but this will all end up as preference.
- Dry Vermouth – I utilized Dolin Dry Vermouth – this is my house vermouth.
- Bitters – Angostura is called for here. You are likely to see some significant variation in outcome by changing these.
- Orange Juice – Make sure it’s fresh squeezed.