Cold Deck

A balanced stirred cocktail combining brandy with sweet vermouth and white crème de menthe for a refreshing mintiness.

The Cold Deck Cocktail takes its name from one of the most colorful expressions in American gambling slang. A cold deck is a pre-arranged or marked deck of cards that a cheating player substitutes for the legitimate deck in progress — the deck has been cooled or kept separate from the warm, in-play deck, hence cold. The term was in active use in American saloon and gambling culture throughout the 19th century, when card sharps and faro dealers were as familiar a presence in frontier and river-town bars as the bartenders themselves. Saloon culture and gambling culture were deeply intertwined in 19th-century America: the same establishments where whiskey and brandy were poured across a bar rail also hosted poker tables, faro banks, and the various other games of chance that occupied a significant portion of American working men's leisure time. The Cold Deck Cocktail's formula — cognac with sweet vermouth and white crème de menthe — belongs to the family of brandy-vermouth drinks enriched with a mint or herbal liqueur accent. White crème de menthe provides a clean, sharp peppermint note that cuts through the sweetness of the vermouth without adding color, producing a pale, elegant drink. The Stinger, made with the same two spirits, is the Cold Deck's better-known relative, and the Cold Deck can be understood as a Stinger modified with sweet vermouth to reduce the spirit intensity.