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Cocktail History
The Hoop La is a classic cocktail that was created by Harry Craddock and was first published in his 1930 recipe book The Savoy Cocktail Book. Named for the British ring toss game often seen at the fair, the original recipe called for brandy, triple sec, lemon, and Kina Lillet, but the quinine-flavored liqueur was discontinued in the 1980s, so bartenders now substitute it for Cocchi Americano instead.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Cognac: This is a type of brandy made in Cognac, France with distilled white wine. The recipe calls for Cognac, but we used Driftless Glen Distillery 5 Year Reserve Brandy because it has a rich taste with notes of cherry, vanilla, and caramel. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative in place of the brandy.
Triple Sec: This is a liqueur made with bitter oranges, lemons, sugar, and alcohol. We used Cointreau because it’s one of the highest quality orange liqueurs on the market. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Orange Sec Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the orange liqueur.
Cocchi Americano: This is an apéritif made with wine, citrus, honey, spices, sugar, and alcohol. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Apéritif Dry in place of the Cocchi Americano.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Lemon Twist: This is the peel of a lemon that has been twisted into a corkscrew shape.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. We used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.
Tasting Notes
The Hoop La featured scents of orange and Lillet Blanc plus a delicious citrusy taste at first. Then when swirled around in the mouth, the taste of the brandy really comes through, while the other flavors compliment it nicely in the background, followed by notes of Lillet Blanc and brandy after swallowing.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: This is one of those cocktails that made us wonder how we’d gone our entire lives without hearing about it. Although not extremely complex, this equal parts cocktail is very tasty and would certainly be refreshing on a warm summer day.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Art of Vintage Cocktails by Stephanie Rosenbaum.
Add brandy, triple sec, Cocchi Americano, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Add brandy, triple sec, Cocchi Americano, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative in place of the brandy, Lyre’s Orange Sec Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the orange liqueur, and Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Apéritif Dry in place of the Cocchi Americano to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Brandy Cocktails
If you like this brandy-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Enchantress: A brandy cocktail made with ruby port wine, orange curaçao, lemon juice, and a lemon peel
Cold Brew Brandy Alexander: A brandy cocktail made with cold-brew coffee liqueur, dark crème de cacao, heavy cream, and coffee beans
Elephants Sometimes Forget: A cherry brandy and gin cocktail made with lemon juice, dry vermouth, orange bitters, amaretto liqueur, and a lemon twist
French Toast Flip: An Oloroso sherry, Scotch, and apple brandy cocktail made with maple syrup, allspice syrup, egg white, egg yolk, orange and fig bitters, and ground cinnamon
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