Adventures in Mixology: The Churchill

Only six individuals have been named Honorary Citizens of the United States: French General Lafayette, British Prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, Swedish Diplomat and Holocaust savior Raoul Wallenberg, Mother Teresa and William & Hannah Penn. Of these six individuals, only one (too my knowledge) has a drink named after him/her and that’s obviously Sir Winston.

Legendary bartender Joe Gilmore worked at the Savoy Hotel’s American Bar for 36 years and served as Head Barman for 21 of those years. During this period he invented cocktails for many politicians, royals and entertainers including this created on one of Churchill’s many visits to the bar.

The Churchill

• 1 1/2 Ounces Whiskey (Preferably Scotch)
• 1/2 Ounce Lime Juice
• 1/2 Ounce Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 Ounce Triple Sec

An interesting side note: Gilmore would later make cocktails to celebrate Churchill’s 80th and 90th birthdays. Additionally, it was at a banquet hosted by Churchill’s mother that the Manhattan was created.

Adventures in Mixology: The Mary Pickford

There were very few major stars in the early days of Hollywood. Mary Pickford was the first. Amongst her notable achievements, the Canadian actress won the 1929 Best Actress Oscar for her role in Coquette. She was married to Douglas Fairbanks and the two of them, along with Charlie Chaplin and D. W. Griffith formed United Artists Studios. This brilliantly colored drink is a tribute to one of Hollywood’s original First Ladies.

The Mary Pickford

• 1/2 Ounces Rum
• 1 Ounce Pineapple Juice
• 3 Splashes of Grenadine

Adventures in Mixology: The Algonquin

During 1920s, America’s greatest literary and drinking society was the Algonquin Round Table. This collection of wits would meet daily for lunch at the Algonquin hotel and make quips that would be later repeated in their own newspaper columnists. Amongst some of the more notable members were Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker, Edna Ferber, George Kaufman and Robert Benchley.

Despite it being Prohibition, the group had many cocktails named in their honor. Most of them are not worth discussing, but there is one that has stood out over time. Although the Round Table being more of a highballs and martinis gang, this is an up cocktail. It’s a little sharp, which fits, considering the pointed wits of the table’s regulars.

The Algonquin

• 1 1/2 Ounces Whiskey
• 1/2 Ounce Dry Vermouth
• 1 Ounce Pineapple Juice

Stir the ingredients with ice and then strain the drink into a chilled cocktail glass. Some enjoy shaking this drink, but this will cause the pineapple juice to foam, so watch out. Garnish the cocktail with an orange peel.

Adventures in Mixology: The Godfather, An Offer You Can’t Refuse

There are some great drinks that unfortunately don’t have an origin story. The Godfather is one of these drinks. It was quite popular in the 1970s and was probably created as a tribute to the film and book of the same name. It’s a nice, basic mix of scotch and amaretto on the rocks.

The Godfather

• 1 and 1/2 ounces scotch or bourbon
• 3/4th ounces amaretto
• Pour the ingredients into an old fashioned glass over ice and serve.

Adventures In Mixology: The Sidecar

The Sidecar is my favorite drink. It is a drink surrounded in mystey, as we do not know where it originated from, nor do we know the original recipe. There is reason to believe that the drink originated at either the Ritz in Paris or Harry’s New York Bar, also in Paris. There is however, one origin story that is agreed upon.

Sometime after the 1st World War there was an American Army captain who would frequent the bar of a rather nice hotel of the day. The captain would always ride up to the bar in the sidecar of his motorcycle. Now, on one rather cold night, the captain comes to the bar and asks for something to warm him up. The bartender knows that Cognac or Brandy could take out the chill. However, those were traditionally after dinner drinks and the captain was asking for an apperitife. The bartender then had a brilliant idea, he would give the captain a drink that would warm him up and would also be a socially acceptable pre-dinner drink.

The ingredients and measures though, have been a hotly debated topic. Some say that any brandy is acceptable, while others say that only cognac should be used. There are those who say that Cointreau is the only acceptable liqueur for the drink, although people have pointed out that Cointreau is nothing more than a higher end brand of triple sec. Finally, there is debate over whether orange juice or lemon juice is to be mixed into the drink. The one thing that all of the recipes agree on is that the cocktail glass should be rimmed with sugar. It is acceptable to shake or stir this drink with ice, but not both.

Here are a collection of Sidecar recipes:

The Sidecar (French School, Orange Juice) This is how I drink them.

• 1 Ounce Brandy (or Cognac)
• 1 Ounce Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• 1 Ounce Orange Juice
• Splash of Lemon Juice

The Sidecar (French School, Lemon Juice)

• 1 Ounce Brandy (or Cognac)
• 1 Ounce Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• 1 Ounce Lemon Juice

The Sidecar (English School, Orange Juice)

• 3/4th Ounce Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• 3/4th Ounce Orange Juice
• 1 1/2 Ounce Brandy (or Cognac)
• Splash of Lemon Juice

The Sidecar (English School, Lemon Juice)

• 3/4th Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• 3/4th Lemon Juice
• 1 1/2 Brandy (or Cognac)

Preperation for all Sidecar recipes:

Shake or stir with ice, pour the drink into a chilled cocktail glass that has been garnished with sugar.

Adventures in Mixology: The Vesper Martini or Why James Bond is an Idiot

President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet: Can I tell you what’s messed up about James Bond?

Charlie Young: Nothing.

President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet: Shaken, not stirred, will get you cold water with a dash of gin and dry vermouth. The reason you stir it with a special spoon is so not to chip the ice.  James is ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it.

-“Stirred” The West Wing.

In Casino Royale, Bond goes to the bar and orders a martini, but not just any martini. He gives the barman the following recipe: “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel.” Bond soon explains the basis of his drink to American agent Felix Leiter.

“When I’m…er…concentrating,” he explained, “I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I can think of a good name.”

By the end of the novel, Bond names the drink after his lost love, the double agent Vesper Lynd. Despite the mystique that has surrounded getting a martini “shaken, not stirred,” there are those like President Bartlet and American mixologist David Wondrich that maintain that 007 is an idiot as far as drink mixing is concerned. According to Wondrich, Bond only checks off half of the requirements he set up for the drink he desires. It is certainly large and strong, but drinks are colder stirred than shaken. It is debatable as to wheter or not it is a very well made drink, as the vodka and Lillet do little to cut the sharpness of the gin and leaves the drinker with a very dry drink. It is worth noting that Ian Fleming never wrote about Bond ordering another Vesper.

As for ingredients, since the 1960s, the recipe for Gordon’s has changed. In Bond’s day, it was about 94 proof and has since dropped to below 80 proof. It has been suggested that Tanqueray should be used in place of Gordon’s, as it is still 94 proof. Additionally, Kina Lillet is no longer produced and many now use Lillet Blanc in its place.

The Vesper

• 3 Ounce London dry gin
• 1 Ounce vodka
• 1/2 Ounce Lillet Blanc

Adventures In Mixology: The Picasso Martini

• Pablo Picasso was probably one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. So, what better way is there to pay tribute to him then to name a martini after him? Now, the martini should never be messed with, one should stick to gin and vermouth. OK, you could make a vodka martini if gin’s not your thing. So, how do you create a truly special martini in tribute to a great Cubist artist? It’s simple, just think cube.

Colin Peter Field invented this cocktail in 2000 when he was bartender at the Ritz in Paris. In this recipe, the vermouth is added to the gin via an ice cube made from distilled water and dry vermouth.

The Picasso Martini

• 2 and a half ounces chilled gin.
• 1 cube dry vermouth

Pour the gin into a cocktail glass. Lightly drop the vermoth ice cube into the glass.

Adventures in Mixology: The Bronx

 Over the course of this summer, I’ve been going through bartending books looking for interesting exciting new and old drinks. From time to time I’ll write here about new cocktail discoveries.

Back in the olden days, there was a cocktail for every bourough of New York. Okay, there wasn’t one for Queens…or Staten Island, but I don’t think they cared. The Brooklyn has been lost and we all know the Mahattan, but what about the Bronx? Well, one afternoon Johnnie Solon, the Waldorf-Astoria’s chief bartender, was challenged by a patron to create a new cocktail on the spot. It was a hit and Solon gave it the name Bronx after his visit to the Bronx Zoo a few days prior.

The Major League Baseball All Star Game is being played at Bronx’s Yankee Stadium this year, so might I suggest this little number while watching?

The Bronx:

2 ounces London dry gin

1 ounce orange juice

1/2 teaspoon Sweet vermouth

1/2 teaspoon Dry vermouth

Shake the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and the strain into a cocktail glass.