Do the Bunny Hug (or maybe don’t)

It is not unusual to see The Savoy Cocktail Book on a shelf behind the bar in a craft cocktail establishment. Many of these cocktails aren’t made in bars anymore (and one wonders how often they were made at the Savoy.) Some of them, like Bunny Hug Cocktail, have humorous notes following them:

The exact same recipe is listed later in the book with a different name and note:

How could I resist?

Right away I could tell this wouldn’t be well balanced. The combination of gin and whiskey in a cocktail raises an eyebrow and absinthe is as dominant an ingredient as Fernet Branca.  But still, I had to try it.

Bunny Hug (or Earthquake) Cocktail
3/4 oz gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz whiskey (Evan Williams Single Barrel)
3/4 oz absinthe (Kübler)
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

It’s not terrible, though it is very dry.

The gin and whiskey pretty much disappear in the absinthe. I figured the whiskey would get lost at a mere 86.6-proof to the absinthe’s 106-proof. If I was to make this again, I’d use a cask strength whiskey.  I might also try it with Scotch since the Savoy is in England and the recipe doesn’t specify.

As for the gin, I would try something either Navy strength or perhaps an Old Tom to counter the dryness of the absinthe. Or maybe try genever, though probably not with Scotch.

While I probably won’t try it again, it was an interesting experiment. For science!