The Million Dollar Cocktail Is Priceless

Last year, when Brian Evans was in Tokyo with a group of spirits experts, they all ended up at Bar High Five in the Ginza. One of his travel companions, cocktail historian David Wondrich, told him he had to try the bar’s White Lady and a Million Dollar Cocktail—a gin sour made with vermouth, pineapple, grenadine and egg white. The former, Evans had, naturally, heard of, but the latter was new to him. Evans says the fluffy cocktail “had a lot of the same flavor components as a Singapore Sling,” with its “cherry-hinted,” tropical flavor profile.

Fast forward to this past spring, when Evans, who is the director of bars for Sunday Hospitality, was in the midst of opening Teruko in the Hotel Chelsea. The program there focuses on classics, often made with Japanese spirits, and many of the drinks showcase umami flavor in some form. Having encountered the drink in Japan, the Million Dollar came to mind as a potential option for Teruko’s opening menu.

The Million Dollar Cocktail’s connection with Japan goes back at least a century, possibly to the 1890s. Some sources cite Louis Eppinger (of Bamboo fame) as its originator at the Grand Hotel Yokohama. Others, perhaps because of its similarities to the Singapore Sling, date it to the 1910s and Ngiam Tong Boon of the Raffles Hotel. It appears in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, but is given a bit more context in Charles H. Baker’s Gentleman’s Companion, published in 1939. In this entry, Baker credits the recipe to Shideaki Saito, “No. 1 Bar Boy” at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. It features pineapple syrup instead of juice, plus lemon and cream. There’s also a slightly different version by a different “No. 1 Bar Boy” called Nomura, at the Tor Hotel in Kobe.

For his version of the drink, Evans turned to Teruko’s excellent selection of Japanese spirits. He chose Nikka Coffey gin for the base because of the variety of Asian citrus fruit flavors (including yuzu) and the sansho pepper note that pops out. The other gin in his recipe offers an entirely different profile: Moletto, an Italian-made spirit, brings distinctive tomato and thyme notes, delivering the savory touch that Evans likes to work into the drinks at Teruko.