The Triple Sec Vodka Cocktail from the Playboy Gourmet

An adult creamsicle
The Triple Sec Vodka Cocktail: vodka, triple sec, cream, orange juice, lemon juice

Last time you heard me rave about Thomas Mario’s 1961 book of awesomeness, The Playboy Gourmet: A Food and Drink Handbook for the Host at Home.

Today, we try the first cocktail. And it’s a winner.

The Triple Sec Vodka cocktail is, well, aptly named. To make one, combine with ice:

  • 1 oz vodka
  • 1/2 oz triple sec
  • 1 teaspoon heavy cream
  • 1 oz orange juice
  • 1/2 oz lemon juice

and strain into a chilled cocktail glass without a garnish.

It sounds like a terrible drink, but it’s anything but. I can’t find anything that’s quite like it in my cocktail books, so if you know of anything similar, do comment, please.

If it were written about today, it would probably use whipped cream flavored vodka and have a lot more cream in it. And probably more orange juice. In other words, it would be stupid. But this one isn’t.

Not some stupid modern cocktail, this one uses hints of ingredients to make something bigger than its individual parts.
Not some stupid modern cocktail, this one uses hints of ingredients to make something bigger than its individual parts.

It uses basic vodka. And just a hint of cream. And it works. It’s not overly sweet or sour. I am totally baffled by it, in fact. Anything with vodka is suspect in my book, and this one adds cream and juices. It must be stupid.

It’s kind of like the first time someone told me about a Blood and Sand cocktail. Scotch and orange juice? You must be out of your mind! But it works. And this one does, too.

Yes, I am wrong, and Playboy is proven right. Curse your drinking prowess, Hugh Hefner!

2 thoughts on “The Triple Sec Vodka Cocktail from the Playboy Gourmet”

  1. Judge me if you will, but I’ve always wanted to put vodka in an Orange Julius and this recipe reads like a less sweet version of my mall impulses. More significantly, all of these ingredients are available in Spain so I plan to give this a try.

    1. Hello Man in Spain! Thanks for reading.

      Putting vodka in an Orange Julius seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Methinks there’s something about the addition of the ice and blender, though, that makes it seem more reasonable.

      To just make it cold and then drink it up? That sounds less reasonable. Would you put cream in a Screwdriver and drink it up? Sounds like a disaster to me. Or some weird hangover cure.

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