Welcome to Day 8 of the Advent of Cocktails 2025! Today's cocktail is...

Pauline

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History

The Pauline is a vintage rum‐based cocktail first recorded in early 20th‑century mixology literature. It appeared in Nina Toye and A. H. Adair’s London‑published “Drinks—Long & Short” in 1925, calling for three glasses each of rum and sweetened lemon juice, a touch of wormwood (absinthe) bitters, and grated nutmeg for six servings (inside.pub). Its inclusion in Harry Craddock’s influential The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) cemented its legacy, offering the same proportions with an absinthe bitters twist and nutmeg garnish.

The Pauline gives us a window into the state of cocktail culture in 1930 London: Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book didn’t only consolidate flashy, novel drinks — it also catalogued simpler, drinkable cocktails that perhaps were more common at back-bars or in modest establishments, not just luxury hotel bars.

It reminds us that the “classic cocktail canon” we think of today is only a small slice of what was being mixed; many cocktails (like Pauline) were likely workhorses — quick, easy to make, suited for after-dinner sipping or casual rum-and-citrus drinking — and so didn’t necessarily survive the test of time.

The 1930 book itself is now a historic relic: one of the most influential cocktail books ever published. It helped define modern mixing and preserved — for future generations — both the glamorous and the everyday cocktails of its era.

Though resembling a daiquiri in structure, the Pauline distinguishes itself by using lemon instead of lime and adding the aromatics of absinthe (or orange bitters in modern takes) plus a finishing dusting of nutmeg—resulting in a subtly spiced, citrus‑bright, and aromatic rum sour (inside.pub).

This once‑obscure cocktail has enjoyed a recent revival as bartenders rediscover The Savoy Cocktail Book’s sleeper gems. One bartender described the Pauline as evoking “waking up to a surprise dusting of snow”—its briny rum, bright citrus, anise note, and nutmeg provide a crisp winter sensibility (inside.pub).

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Pauline

• 1½ oz (45 ml) light rum
• ¾ oz (22.5 ml) fresh lemon juice
• ½ oz (15 ml) rich simple syrup (2:1)
• 1 dash orange bitters (or absinthe bitters)
• Salt: 2–3 drops saline solution (optional)
• Absinthe rinse (optional)
• Nutmeg to grate

1. If using, rinse a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass with absinthe rinse and discard excess.
2. Add rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, bitters, and saline (if using) to a shaker.
3. Add ice and shake until well‑chilled.
4. Fine‑strain into the prepared chilled glass.
5. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top as a garnish.

Pauline (6 people) (The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930, page 120)

• 3 Glasses Rum
• 3 Glasses Sweetened Lemon Juice
• 1 Dash Absinthe Bitters
• A little Nutmeg, grated

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass

The Gibson’s Pauline (from Punchdrink.com)

When on the hunt for a lesser-known rum classic, Jewel Murray and her team workshopped several cocktails from The Savoy Cocktail Book until they found a winner: the Pauline. Bartender Daniel Sanchez spearheaded the development of the spec, which leans on an unusual Haitian rum that combines two clairins and an unaged rum. The wormwood bitters of the original recipe are here replaced by a combination of absinthe and orange bitters

• 1 1/2 ounces unaged rum, preferably San Zanj Haitian rum
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• 4 dashes absinthe, preferably Kübler Original
• 1 dash orange bitters, preferably Regans’ or Fee Brothers
• Garnish: freshly grated nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add ice, seal and shake to chill.
3. Strain into a chilled coupe.
4. Garnish with nutmeg.

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Variations

Several modern riffs reinterpret the Pauline. One adapts it with a split between light and dark rum—1 oz light rum, 1 oz dark rum—for added depth, with lemon juice, rich sugar, a dash of absinthe, an absinthe rinse, and nutmeg garnish (reddit.com).

Other riffs explore spirit substitution or flavor accenting. For instance, some bartenders choose Jamaican aged rum for a richer, warming profile—or blend Haitian clairin for grassy, rustic notes—blurring the line between the Pauline’s daiquiri roots and old‑style rum punches (reddit.com).

These variations showcase the Pauline’s flexibility: whether highlighting citrus clarity or rum complexity, the essential aromatic interplay of absinthe/pastis and nutmeg remains its defining character.

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Previous December 8 cocktails

• AoC 2020: Sazerac
• AoC 2021: Smokescreen
• AoC 2022: Cloister
• AoC 2023: Rosito
• AoC 2024: East Village Athletic Club

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Ingredient heads-up: Ginger beer and Velvet falernum will be called for tomorrow

NB! Variations and your own riffs are encouraged, please share the result and recipe!

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