FINDING THE EL MOROCCO

By Dan Sabo *This article first appeared in “El Morocco ‘No News’ Vol. 1, Issue No. 1 2025”

The history of cocktails and their provenance is both extremely rewarding and wildly frustrating, especially once you realize a hard truth; most stories are as soaked in liquor as the cocktail itself making most of them less and less likely to be true the more you dig in. These unlikelihoods range from very practical unlikely (ie: The Sbagliato was created when a bartender “accidentally” grabbed a bottle of prosecco instead of soda water) to factually impossible (ie: The Manhattan was created at a party hosted by Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston Churchill, at the Manhattan Club in New York in 1874 for a party thrown by Dr. Iain Marshall, except that Lady Randolph Churchill was in England with her newborn son in England at the time of this documented party). So why do they persist? Well, likely because they’re fun, because we will never know the real truth as this point for a majority of these classics, and because it gives us something to discuss with our guests and friends, or to argue with our fellow bartenders.

The search for a proprietary “El Morrocco” cocktail did not reveal such a revelatory story that needed to be proved or debunked. As a Speakeasy’s menus are often hard to come by, there’s not much available from Elmo besides the photos, the locations, and the knowledge of generally what folks were drinking at the time. A deeper dive brought me to a classic bar tome, The Gentlemen’s Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book (or, Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask) by Bon Vivant and period drink writer extraordinaire, Charles H Baker, who wrote frequently for Esquire and Gourmet magazines in addition to his own cocktail books. Here he was the first to share, in print, specs for the “El Morocco.” He states he learned of the drink “from a trusted friend on a Mediterranean cruise in 1938” and describes a cocktail of 1 pony jigger each (about 1 oz.) of cognac, red wine port, and ripe pineapple juice, shaken along with teaspoons of grenadine, orange curaçao and two teaspoons of lime. We can see the story and why it would be “El Morocco,” with classic French and Portuguese ingredients mixing among tropical fruit to create something entirely new and novel and unique. Whether directly tied to the club or not, the time of publishing puts it very close, and without a competing recipe around, it’s not crazy to think that the El Morocco would have been served at the El Morocco.

To wit, the drink is also mentioned in print by famed Head Bartender and author of The Savoy Cocktail Book, Harry Craddock, but in a different context and notably not in that book. When discussing the El Morocco, he states, “This cocktail should immediately be poured down the sink before it is too late.”

Which brings us to the other challenge with cocktail history and old recipes; it is rare these should be executed to the letter of these traditional books. I say this for two reasons. First, the quality of product has changed drastically for the better in our time, and therefore the drinks will taste differently based on the change to the way many of the base products are made themselves. Juices at the time were sometimes used in excess to cover bad quality booze, for example. Secondly, the collective palate has expanded and altered, and how we taste and relate to cocktails is certainly different than it was in 1939, or 1956, or 1874. So, some tweaking is always necessary, though, per Craddock, that might have been the case all along.

In my update to the El Morocco, I wanted to keep that spirit of upper crust flair mixed with tropicality, adding some modernity to it both in balance and style. I substituted Reposado Tequila for the cognac and made it a formal base for the drink with a larger pour. I couldn’t fathom the sweetness of the port, or maybe it was just how passe it felt, so I swapped for the very chic and modern lambrusco to add some fizz as well. Further modifications were made to the volumes of the ingredients, including the full omission of the grenadine and Cointreau to be replaced by an orange-ginger syrup, and some clove forward bitters to push it towards Moroccan flavors, plus a “Moroccan Spice” blend for the rim.

The result is a modern take on the “El Morocco” cocktail, that pays homage to the history of the drink while bringing it into the 21st Century so we can actually drink it.

As in 1939, it is still best enjoyed on a Zebra banquette with your closest Hollywood friends.

Cheers.

DS

El Morocco (2025)

2 oz. Reposado Tequila

.5 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

.5 oz. Cold Pressed Pineapple Juice

.5 oz. Ginger-Orange Syrup

.25 oz. Lambrusco (Float)

2 dash Angostura Bitters

GARNISH: Moroccan Spice Salt Blend** Rim, Pineapple Frond, Lime Wheel

GLASSWARE: Collins

DIRECTIONS: Add all ingredients (except Lambrusco) to a mixing tin, add ice and shake vigorously. In a Collins glass rimmed with the Moroccan Spice Salt Blend and half filled with crushed ice, strain the cocktail. Top off the drink with more crushed ice to fill the glass, then gently add the lambrusco float. Add one more scoop of ice to create a mound, then add the pineapple frond by tucking into side of glass, then add lime wheel on the inside of the frond. Add straw and serve.

Ginger-Orange Syrup*

8 oz. (By Weight) Rough Chopped Ginger

8 oz. (By Weight) Cold Pressed Orange Juice

8 oz. (By Weight) Superfine Sugar

DIRECTIONS: Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until fully incorporated. Strain through a mesh sieve to extract all ginger fibers, then strain syrup into a bottle before use. Refrigerate after

Moroccan Spice Salt Blend**

1 tsp Brown Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Ginger

.75 tsp Paprika

.5 tsp Cumin

.25 tsp Cayenne

8 oz. Kosher Salt

Directions: In a nonreactive container, add all ingredients and shake to fully incorporate. Use for garnishing purposes. key to making things happen isn’t waiting for the perfect moment; it’s starting with what you have, where you are. Big goals can feel overwhelming when viewed all at once, but momentum builds through small, consistent action. Whether you’re working toward a personal milestone or a professional dream, progress comes from showing up — not perfectly, but persistently. Action creates clarity, and over time, those steps forward add up to something real.