Friday Happy Hour: Cocktails

We're going to go to school this week for Happy Hour. Oh, and we're going to have some cocktails, too. But, what is a cocktail? The handsome illustration above, from Oscar Haimo's Cocktail and Wine Digest, circa 1945, has a trio of libations being served in stemmed glasses that are synonymous with cocktails (albeit that the bowls are more "U" shaped than "V" shaped, as we have come to expect in contemporary times). Oscar Haimo further explains more of his cocktail philosophy in the following page in his book:

Well, you don't have to remark on what a convivial party this scene depicts (complete with accordion player!) to convey what a buoyant atmosphere any cocktail hour gives. But, he notes that his cocktail recipes are each 3 ounces, and then curiously states that "for all other drinks . . ." What does he mean by "all other drinks"? Nowadays, "cocktails" means any kind of mixed drink; or, even, any alcoholic drink at all. Time was, however, when "cocktails" were a very specific kind of drink. Take, for example, this index from our Repeal-era Mohawk Liquor recipe booklet:

The first -- and biggest -- category is the cocktails. But, they have drinks like "collins" and "coolers" and "fizzes" and "flips" and "frappes" and "juleps" and ... well, you get the idea. It was customary to think of drinks as one of several kinds, and by ordering a cocktail, you were ordering a specific kind of drink, with a pretty regular combination of ingredients. Originally, a "cocktail" was a drink involving a spirit and bitters -- and perhaps some sugar and/or a liqueur. A cocktail glass (or what we sometimes call a Martini glass) was the customary glass used for a cocktail (although they could be served on the rocks in a "rocks" or "old fashioned" glass). In other weeks, we're going to cover some of these other drinks they refer to. While we're talking about all these other old-style drinks, consider this index from another of our Repeal-era recipe booklets:

This one has similar, and even additional, categories of drinks. Here's how the Drink Master describes a cocktail:

In reviewing the "cocktails" in the indexes we showed you, many of these drinks stray from the narrow concept of spirits and bitters; in fact, several of them do not include bitters as an ingredient. So, what's different about these "cocktails" and all of the other categories of drinks? They don't have any carbonation (no seltzer or soda water); their garnishments are pretty much limited to twists, olives, and cherries (no sprigs of mint or anything elaborate); and virtually all of them can be served in a cocktail glass. Common examples of "cocktails" that have stood the test of time include the Manhattan, the Martini, and the Old Fashioned, as well as some of our Rogers Park Retro favorites such as the Bronx, the Jack Rose, the Pink Lady, and the Orange Blossom. Please consider yourselves invited to order any of these classic drinks in honor of the vintage drink known as the "cocktail" at Happy Hour this weekend. We'll circle back to the cocktail in the future -- after we've discussed some of these other vintage drink categories -- and compare notes on what we've learned.

But, meanwhile, cheers!

Friday Happy Hour: "Traditional After Five Happy Hour"

The five o'clock whistle just blew -- now let's wet our whistle! Our dear friends from Southern Comfort bring us this week's Friday Happy Hour, via their 1968 recipe booklet on themed happy hours. This week, we feature the "traditional after five happy hour" and -- as you've seen -- we're hoisting our Happy Hour flag!

Happy Hour is a place to met friends and relax after a hard week! With Southern Comfort, you can even try some interesting variations on your favorite drinks! Here are some other "best sellers":

They have all of our favorites! See you at Happy Hour! Cheers!

Friday Happy Hour: Vermouth

Before ordering our drink today, let's talk about a common ingredient: vermouth. This charming 60s-era advertisement from Martini & Rossi calls to mind several drinks made with vermouth. What is vermouth, exactly? Here's a short explanation from Playboy's Host & Bar Book:

Okay. Maybe you're familiar with the difference between sweet vermouth and dry vermouth. Basically, one is clear(ish) and one is dark red/brownish. In Martini & Rossi's advertisement above, they feature 6 different options: an Americano, a Negroni, sweet vermouth on the rocks, dry vermouth on the rocks, a Martini, and a Manhattan. Before we get to the recipes for these drinks, let's consider for a moment the idea of vermouth on the rocks. Whether dry or sweet, would you consider it for a drink order? It's an aperitif -- and it's definitely an acquired taste, one which RPR doesn't have. Still, some old ladies might still order a vermouth on the rocks. Good for them. With some courage, they might also work their way up to an Americano:

This is a little light, a little sparkly! How about a Negroni:

A little more substantial. On to a Manhattan:

And the granddaddy of all cocktails:

So, vermouth (both sweet and dry) makes a lot of great drinks possible. It marries very well with spirits. Vermouth by itself, though -- well, give it a try and see if it's for you. But, the real point of drink mastery is best illustrated (again) by Playboy's Host & Bar Book:

Suddenly, it seems like the vermouth is merely incidental. Cheers!

Friday Happy Hour: An Intimate (and relaxed) Supper

Aren't we all breathing a sigh of relief now that the hectic holiday season is over? But, still, don't we miss some of the warmth and togetherness we had? Maybe we'd like a little of it, but not as much of ... well, everything. Here's the solution, brought to us by our friends at Wolfschmidt Vodka:

As you can see, your guests are flocking to you eagerly! And all you had to do is throw together a few simple dishes. Here are two other easy dishes to round out the menu:

And, of course, we can't forget the specialty drinks we have lined up for our little, no-muss, no-fuss soiree:

A nice variation on this otherwise familiar drink! And:

Interesting! (Actually, this is really a wet vodka martini)

Cheers!

Friday Happy Hour: Orange Blossom

Once again, we reach into our goodie bag of "old and forgotten drinks" for this week's happy hour. The Orange Blossom appears to have been a very popular drink once upon a time, but it's obscure even to us.

Why do we say that it was popular? Well, from our own anecdotal experience, we'd have no basis to say so, because it's not a drink we encounter at all, or even hear referenced. But, there's some evidence we have uncovered in our frequent expeditions to estate sales (read about them on our sister blog, estatesalestories.blogspot.com) that hint at the history of this drink.

First, we acquired this charming glass that goes with a shaker at one estate sale:

The photo may not very clearly depict the graphic, but the side of the glass features recipes for some classic drinks: a Martini, a Manhattan, a Bronx, a Daiquiri, and .... an Orange Blossom? Okay, the Bronx is a little obscure nowadays (as we have duly noted several times in prior happy hour discussions), but those other drinks are old standards. Why would an Orange Blossom be included in their company? Was the Orange Blossom a quiet favorite that everyone was gulping down 50 years ago, but never mentions anymore? Here's another piece of evidence we uncovered in an estate sale purchase:

This is a handwritten recipe that was tucked into a cocktail booklet we picked up at a sale. This was written down sometime in the 1950s, which we know because it's written on the reverse side of a time sheet from someone's job where they had to fill in the date, and the year was provided as "195___". So, some archaeological clues, we suppose. The fact that this person wrote out the specific recipe seems to indicate how important this drink was to them -- and the instructions ("shake till shaker gets frosty") offer a charming glimpse into this person's bartending technique.

Here's a recipe from Oscar Haimo's "Cocktail and Wine Digest: Encyclopedia & Guide for Home & Bar" from 1946:

Another point that we need to discuss in relation to this drink is how much diversity there is in its ingredients. So far, we see that it, at minimum, takes orange juice and gin. The proportions of the gin and orange juice vary widely. Some recipes call for sugar to be added. The recipe on the side of the glass called for nutmeg. Here's a recipe from the 1964 edition of "Famous New Orleans Drinks And How to Mix 'Em":

Well, they kind of explain it there, don't they? To prove their point, here's the recipe from our 1933 edition of "The Drink Master":

Instead of Peychaud's bitters, they call for Angostura bitters, and instead of sugar (or grenadine or honey), they call for maple syrup. Yeah, just like the topping for your pancakes. Oh, and be sure you don't miss the little detail that this recipe is supposed to serve two. We don't know about you, but not in our household!

Next, we have a recipe from a 1960's era Fleischmann's booklet:

Here, they take the drink down to its basics: just a 1:1 ratio of OJ and gin.

But, wait .... now this drink is kind of sounding familiar .... like something we've heard of .... oh, a Screwdriver, except with gin instead of vodka! As we've commented on in the past, gin is a spirit that is slightly out of vogue (to put it mildly, and lamentably). So, maybe the Orange Blossom is as popular as ever, except that it changed its name and got a few nips-and-tucks and transformed itself into a Screwdriver? In the era when the Orange Blossom evidently had its heyday, vodka was not readily available -- could it be that as vodka came onto the market and became so popular the Orange Blossom just modernized and changed with the times?

Well, something to ponder. Regardless, here's to keeping up with the times! Cheers!

Friday Happy Hour: The Bronx

Each of the five boroughs of New York City has a cocktail named after it, except for Staten Island. Poor Staten Island. Of course, the most celebrated cocktail named for a borough of New York is the Manhattan. A close second, however, is the Bronx. Even though everyone has heard of a Manhattan, you'd be excused if you haven't heard of a Bronx. It has fallen out of fashion, but it is a truly vintage cocktail with a genuine pedigree.

In an old recipe booklet from the Mohawk Liquor Company, circa 1930s, their receipe goes like this:


















Of course, it's nice that they offer a 'dry' version, as well. We should add that so-called "French" vermouth is what we call dry vermouth now, and "Italian" vermouth is sweet vermouth. Also, we should add that this booklet specifies that a jigger is 1 ounce. So, yes, with this recipe you end up with a 1 ounce drink. Hope you're not thirsty. Or, just order a triple. I guess people back then didn't have the iron constitutions we have now.

Here's a recipe from a Fleischmann's Liquor booklet from 1947:














This recipe is interesting because it calls for muddling the orange. The ingredient of the orange brings up a topic that often vexes us: recipies that call for "juice of half a lemon" or "juice of one lime" or, as we saw in the Mohawk recipe above, "1 piece orange." This recipe calls for "several small pieces of sliced orange." I guess this is supposed to test the savvy of the bartender to figure out how much of the ingredient to add. Odd, since the measurements of the spirits are precise. Just sayin'.

Anyway, here is a recipe with some of its own comentary, from a book called "Famous New Orleans Drinks and how to mix 'em" in its 1964 printing:











Some interesting local color thrown in there .... but, note that they, too, call for measurements adding up to 1 ounce (minus whatever orange juice "1 thick slice" adds).


Here's a recipe from a 1957 edition of Mr. Boston's ("Old Mr. Boston's DeLuxe Official Bartender's Guide"):



















They also throw in some interesting variations:


























Egg yolk ... yum!

Friday Happy Hour: A Perfect Manhattan

What was the first drink you ever ordered?

If you said "a Manhattan" then we have something in common.

Once upon a time, each of the boroughs of New York City had a famous drink named after it (except Staten Island). The only one left that people still order is the Manhattan -- although if you scratch the surface a little, you'll uncover how popular the Bronx was not too long ago into the past.

Maybe the Manhattan remains popular -- although a little grandfatherly -- because of its classic ingredients: bourbon and sweet vermouth. It can also be made with rye. Both bourbon and rye are venerable American spirits. Bourbon is a whisky made from at least 51% corn, a native North American crop. Rye, as you might suspect, is whiskey based on rye. George Washington, the father of our country, was a rye distiller.

The Manhattan is thus associated by its ingredients with Americana, by its name with sophistication and urbanity, and by its taste with clubby masculinity.

A Manhattan is 3 parts bourbon (or rye), 1 part sweet vermouth (a/k/a "Italian" vermouth), and a dash of bitters. It's garnished with a maraschino cherry.

Now let's talk about a "Perfect" Manhattan. A friend of ours tells a funny story about this: a lady at a restaurant orders a Perfect Manhattan. The waitress hustles back to the bar and orders "a Manhattan, and it has to be really good!"

The name Perfect Manhattan is misleading because it isn't a commentary on its quality, although it is really good. In a Perfect Manhattan, the 1 part sweet vermouth is substituted with half sweet vermouth and half dry vermouth. That's it -- that's the big secret behind a Perfect Manhattan. Maybe it's called "Perfect" because it's not too sweet, and not too dry -- maybe it's called "Perfect" because it is.

Perfect Manhattan

3 oz bourbon or rye
.5 oz sweet vermouth
.5 oz dry vermouth
dash of bitters

Stir (or shake) and serve with a maraschino cherry.