Episode 51: Taking Down the Chatham – The Chatham Hotel Special

Monster in a Glass

The Chatham Hotel Special is pretty mysterious because it is not altogether clear where the recipe for this cocktail even came from. We had a hard time even finding any mentions of this drink anywhere, so it made it a little difficult to discuss something that doesn't seem like it really exists. But that didn't stop us from talking about this cocktail that resembles a heavy dessert. There isn't a tremendous amount of information on the history of the hotel either. We had a name of a place at least, so we took a look at this New York hotel that might have been overshadowed by other fancier hotels of the time. In our research we found that the hotel got in a little trouble serving during dry periods of prohibition, was somehow in a legal suit with Bacardi, and most interestingly might have been the home to the first Moscow Mule. Join us as we try to figure out more about the Chatham Hotel Special, which doesn't seem to be all that special.

The drink itself was definitely more on the fluffy side, using cream and chocolate liqueur.

• 1 1/2 oz brandy


• 1/2 oz ruby port


• 1/2 oz cream


• 1 dash dark creme de cacao

I would also like to add that this episode features a little more of Michael Donnelly, our Brixton bartender, working his magic and talking about how the ingredients are working together in this cocktail. Thank you Michael!