A Snow Cone-Like Cocktail from the 1950s Gourmet

Gourmet has been running favorite cocktails from the 1940s to today, and this one (from November 1959) caught our eye immediately. Big surprise, huh? It looks like a rainbow slushy. But don't be fooled. This heavy-hitter is for adults only...

The cocktail is called a madras, but it's not the normal orange juice/cranberry/vodka drink we're familiar with. This is a mix of EIGHT different liqueurs (eight!), and that's not the only hitch. You also need shaved ice to create this beauty.

• Get the recipe: Madras Cocktail

The instructions call for delineating seven different sections on the top of your shaved ice dome and pouring in a teaspoon each of seven liqueurs (things like apricot liqueur, green chartreuse, and créme de cacao). Then, in case that's not enough, you pour a teaspoon of cognac over the whole thing.

The effect is really spectacular, though. Maybe you could do something similar with fewer ingredients? Or, who knows? Maybe you've got a full liquor cabinet and are up for a challenge. Anyone ever made a drink like this?

(Image: Romulo Yanes for Gourmet)

Comments (8)

i could see myself dumping the ice out on myself trying to drink it

This looks insane.... going to have to try it...

I've made fruit flavored granitas which i dump into a glass with some vodka and a little club soda but nothing as lethal as this concoction. Also a HUGE fan of mint juleps...

This might just rock my summer...

I recall my dad making drinks like these in the 70s. I think they had some of the more obscure liquors hanging around in their liquor cabinet until they moved from my childhood house a few years ago.
My dad also had a very cool ice crusher; I think that gizmo was essential to getting the correct ice for different drinks.

That looks like something I would try on a whim one day, and emerge battered and bruised, swearing never to attempt it again, but probably enjoying the drink all the same.

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You have to drink it fast, before the ice melts.

It needs little straw and a parasol

A local, old school soda shop starts to serve adult drinks after 10 pm until 11 pm. They have been serving these for years.

Their spin on a purple cow is a white russian with grape soda. Clever