Skip to content
514 Shares

This rosy coup holds a drink from Cocktails de Paris, a book of cocktail recipes from Paris, published in 1929. (It’s available to download* for free here.) I was attracted to it because it called for Cherry Rocher, a French liqueur produced by a distillery that was founded in 1704 and is still making it today. Coup de roulis translates to “strong blow,” referring to the strong sway or roll of a boat. My guess is that maybe it got its name because it has four different spirits in it? No matter, I needed a strong drink last week when my apartment sprung a fuite d’eau, causing a flood.

The Paris cocktail book is an excursion back in time, as was the leak, harkening back to other, um…issues I’ve had with my apartment. In the pages, there are words used, such as Angustura (with an alternative spelling that may be from days of yore) and ‘focking,’ a term I’d never heard of either, and when I searched Google for “cocktail focking,” let’s just say most of the search results were adult-only…and I don’t mean in the cocktail department.

When listed as an ingredient in the book, Courvoisier always included the tagline “the Brandy of Napoléon,” which suggests sponsored posts aren’t exactly new**. And most drinks are measured in proportions rather than ounces or milliliters, and at the end of the book there are ten pages listing Les Grands Bars in Paris, which all sound like pretty swell places to have a libation back in the day.

This Coup de Roulis won the Prix d’honneur du Championnat de Cocktail des Artistes de Paris for Nyna Myral and Robert Burnier, and I feel like there must be a prize for me, who seems to have gone through the worst with my apartment. I presented this cocktail in an Instagram Live Apéro Hour video with Romain while the water was rising underfoot. Fortunately, this time the plumber was a hero, unlike in L’Appart, where the plumber neglected to put drains where water is supposed to drain, like, under a sink.

After a couple of visits, he discovered a serpillière (water towel) clogging the main drainpipe of the building, which was redirecting a good portion of the drainage water from the roof into my apartment. It would be my pleasure to give the easy-on-the-eyes fellow a prize for his competence, and he has my phone number in case he’d like to meet up for a drink, or anything else.

For this drink, I used Guignolet, a cherry liqueur and apéritif that I made from the recipe in Drinking French, which you can spice up with a little cinnamon or star anise if you make it, and used that in place of the Cherry Rocher. You will need fresh cherries to make it, however if you can’t wait, frozen cherries would do. Otherwise I offer a few other alternatives in the headnote before the recipe. With all the stuff going on at the moment, here and there, you might be finding yourself in need of a strong blow, too. If so, give this one a try.

Coup de Roulis cocktail

Adapted from Cocktails de Paris (h/t to Cocktail Slut) I used homemade guignolet using the cherry apéritif recipe in Drinking French, although you can also buy guignolet, which may be a bigger challenge outside of France that it is within the country. Cherry Heering, Cherry Rocher, Maraschino, Maurin Quina or another cherry-based liqueur or brandy, could fill in in its place.
Servings 1 cocktail
  • 1 ounce gin
  • 1 ounce dry vermouth
  • 1/2 ounce triple sec, such as Pierre Ferrand Curacao, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier
  • 3/4 ounce guignolet or Cherry Rocher, (see headnote for other substitutes)
  • dash orange bitters
  • orange twist
  • Add the gin, vermouth, triple sec, guignolet or cherry liqueur, and bitters to a cocktail mixing glass.
  • Fill two-thirds full of ice and stir briskly until well-chilled, 15 to 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Hold the orange twist over the glass, colorful side down, and squeeze the zest over the glass so the oils spray into the drink. (I don't put the zest in the glass to garnish it afterward, but you could if you wish.)

*The book download is from a reputable site at the time of publishing this post, which is subject to change. As anything downloadable off the internet is, make sure to take any appropriate precautions and ensure you’re downloading for a trusted website.

**One thing that has changed, however, is that cookbooks and recipe books no longer have ads in them. Cocktails de Paris is illustrated with beautiful art deco-style ads for liquors, spirits, as well as cocktail bars, cafés and restaurants in Paris.

514 Shares

32 comments

    • Jennie K Hollister

    Can you use Luxardo for the guignolet?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I haven’t tried it but a viewer of the IG Live told me they used maraschino (they didn’t specify the brand but Luxardo is a good one), and said it worked very well – cheers!

      • Maria Gonzalez

      Yes. I just did and it works really well. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry. Cheers

    • Evie

    I want to see the plumber, while I sip this cocktail. Photos, please!

    • Kathleen

    I’m making this cocktail tonight. Looking forward to it! I downloaded the cocktail book and love the illustrations. However, my French is too rusty to understand the text ☹️

    • Joan

    Hi from Milan,
    I’ve just downloaded the pdf: really fascinating, thank you! and I’ve solved the enigma of Focking: it should be “focking”, the name of a long-establishe Dutch company of spirits and liqueur makers.
    https://wynand-fockink.nl/

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks for finding that! It’s spelled fockink, as mentioned in your link. But you (and I) aren’t alone and the book has a number of spelling inconsistencies and gaffes. Glad you liked the download – it’s interesting to see a a beautiful example of Paris cocktail history.

    • Maisie

    coup de roulis = turbulence, perhaps?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      It seems to apply to boats, at least from what I’ve read. I’ve asked Romain and he had never heard of it.

        • Emma

        Absolutely, the roulis is the move from left to right (or from port to starboard in marine language), and the tangage is the moment from front to back, and if you mix both you are in for a good seasick !

    • Becky

    What do you think about garnishing with one of those very delicious Luxardo Maraschino cherries?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      You could certainly do that. They may not have used candied cherries in cocktails back in the 1920s but times and tastes change, so you could certainly add one and see if you like it.

    • Kristen

    Hi David,

    This cocktail sounds great!

    I really love your book, Drinking French, and love your apero hours on instagram live. I wasn’t on instagram and joined because of you lol.

    You and Romain are delightful. I enjoy when you both parlent français parce que j’apprend le langue depuis deux ans.

    You have inspired me to make drinks of my own…although, definitely not always as good as yours lol

    Santé!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks so much & glad you’re enjoying Drinking French. It was a lot of fun to write and I’m glad that the IG Live Apéro Hours have been a hit with me. We like doing them too!

    • Anne Epstein

    I love anything made with cherries. And gin.

    Slainte mhath and L’ chayim

    • Marilyn

    This cocktail sounds lovely. I’m so happy to have learned about Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao from your apero hours and Drinking French. (Same for Maison Ferrand cognac and Citadelle Gin.)

    Glad to hear you have your plumbing problem fixed. Water leaks are the worst!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Glad you found them, and liked them as well. The Ferrand Dry Curaçao is really delicious, and less costly than other French orange-based liqueurs, so it’s become my go-to orange spirit around here.

    • Lian Williams

    Hi David,
    I’m so happy to hear your plumbing problems are solved!
    In this cocktail, would Luxardo work as a substitute for the Cherry Rocher? I have some at home already.
    Thanks,
    Lian

    • REGINA

    I love your cocktail recipes. I will try using the syrup I have left over from a jar of homemade Cointreau cherries for the Cherry and Triple Sec part of this recipe. Some months ago, I tweaked your breakfast cocktail recipe some months ago. Had a bottle of ginger vodka on my counter, so I substituted it for the Gin and used lime instead of lemon juice. It is now weekend standard at our house!

    • Lia

    The drunk is lovely, but where is the picture of this attractive and competent plumber???

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I wish! I don’t put pictures of people online unless I ask them and that’s a tough “ask”…if you know what I mean ; ) So I’ll have to leave it to your imagination…

    • liz suozzo

    I asked a clerk at my local copy shop to print Cocktails de Paris, but she said the file is secured. Would it be possible to obtain an unsecured file?

    Love your blog!

    • Christina

    Hello David! As a healer living in California near your old stomping grounds, I would like to suggest, if you haven’t done so already, that you completely clear the energy in your apartment. Too bad I’m not in Paris, because I would come and do it for you! This will raise the vibration and prevent catastrophes, the energy of which was there before you moved in, clearly. (I read your book!) There are probably many good energy and space healers in Paris. May I suggest bringing one in and then you report to us on it!

    • Joyce

    I love getting Goodreads’ “Updates from Authors You Follow.” Something deadly serious by Cal Newport (“On the Neurochemistry of Deep Work”) is always followed by something delightfully frivolous and cocktail-y from you (“The Hanky Panky”). Thank you for perking up my mornings, and my evenings!

    • Catherine

    Hi David.
    Love the cocktail and comments regarding the plumber! LOL!
    Where can we purchase that glass? I see it in other recipes and LOVE it!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      It’s vintage and a flea market find (with no markings) so not sure how or where to find a similar one…unfortunately!

    • Marc

    Just bought Drinking French and am looking forward to diving into it! I am about to make this and am curious if you think Combier Rouge would be an acceptable guignolet/Cherry Rocher substitute?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Hi Marc, I haven’t had Combier rouge so can’t say. I know they make a Guigonolet (d’Anjou) so if that’s what you have, yes, you can swap it out here.

A

Get David's newsletter sent right to your Inbox!

15987

Sign up for my newsletter and get my FREE guidebook to the best bakeries and pastry shops in Paris...