The Saturday Seven: Delicious Vintage Cocktails

As I mentioned in my prior post, last night I went to dinner at The Tropicale restaurant in Palm Springs. They have a wonderful drink menu, with all sorts of fun vintage cocktails. I couldn't resist having one...and wow did it pack a powerful punch! But it sure made for a fun evening. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a heavy drinker, so there's no need to call Betty Ford for an intervention-but I do enjoy a cocktail once in awhile. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite recipes. This brings me to another scintillating edition of:

The Saturday Seven: Delicious Vintage Cocktails
************

#1 The Gimlet

Popular legend says that the Gimlet cocktail was created by a Royal Navy officer, Surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette in the 1940's. The Gimlet's sharp taste starts sour and finishes sweet, never suffering from the gin's juniper bite. It's the cocktail's syrupy lime juice that keeps the drink on an even keel. In fact, as far as we're concerned, Rose's Lime Juice is the essence of the Gimlet. It's one of the world's great man-made inventions, ranking just under polyester.

How to make it:

2 1/4 ounces Bombay Sapphire gin

3/4 ounces Rose's lime juice.

Shaken, served straight up with a wedge of lime.

************

#2 Singapore Sling

The Singapore Sling was invented by a man named Ngiam Tong Boon for the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in the early 1900's, and caught on as a popular drink.

How to make it:
Prepare and serve in 10 oz glass

Fill 1/2 full shaved ice. Place sliced red and green cherries alternately around inside of glass. Add juice of 1/2 lime or 1/4 lemon

1 jigger Distilled Dry Gin

Fill balance of glass with shaved ice.

Add 1/2 jigger Cherry Liqueur

Dash of Benai Liqueur

Garnich with slice of Torange, Cherry, and peel of cucumber

Serve with straws. Do not stir, or shake.

************

#3 Pink Lady

A Pink Lady is a classic gin-based cocktail with a long history. Due to its name, color, ingredients, and texture, the Pink Lady is traditionally thought of as a very feminine drink choice, known as a "girly" drink. It is traditionally made with plymouth gin which has a stronger flavor of herbs compared to the standard gin. The egg-whites and cream mixed in create a foam that floats on top of the drink as well as giving it a unique texture.

How to make it:

Fill a bar glass with 3 or 4 pieces of cracked ice and white of 1 egg

1/4 Jigger Apple Jack

1 Jigger Distilled Dry Gin

2 dashes Grenadine

Juice of quarter of a lime

Shake well

************

#4 Tom Collins

The Tom Collins is closest to a Gin Fizz, using "Old Tom Gin" (somewhat sweet) and served in a larger glass over ice. Commercial sweet and sour mix is commonly used as a replacement for the sugar and lemon juice. It can be made with either Distilled Dry Gin or Sloe Gin.

How to make it:

Muddle 1/2 Lemon with 1 teaspoonful sugar

3 or 4 cubes of ice in glass glass

1 1/2 jiggers of liquor

Fill glass with Seltzer or small bottle Club Soda. Stir gently with spoon. Garnish with a cherry and 1/2 slice of lemon and serve.

************

#5 Honeymoon Cocktail

This is a true original American cocktail, created at Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant back in the 1930's, traditionally garnished with a lemon peel.

How to make it:

3/4 oz apple brandy

3/4 oz benedictine herbal liqueur

1 tsp triple sec

juice of 1/2 lemons
Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

************

#6 The Zombie

The Zombie is an exceptionally strong cocktail made of fruit juices, liqueurs and various rums, so named for its perceived effects upon the drinker. It first appeared in the late 1930s at Hollywood's Don the Beachcomber restaurant. It was popularized soon afterwards at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It was heavily promoted with the intriguing warning ‘Limit two per customer.’ Tell people they can only have two, and of course they want even more.”

How to make it:

1 oz Light Rum
1 oz Dark Rum
2 oz Orange Juice
2 oz Lemon Juice
Dash of Grenadine
1/4 oz Cherry Brandy
Pour over ice in that order into a Sling Glass or a Zombie Glass and garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

************

#7 Manhattan

It has been called a drinking man's cocktail, strong, urbane, and simple. It has also been called the "king of cocktails. I remember as a kid being at some one's house and they drank pitchers of these. Whew! A Manhattan is made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. Proportions of whiskey to vermouth vary, from a very sweet 1:1 ratio to a much less sweet 4:1 ratio. The cocktail is often stirred with ice and strained into a cocktail glass, where it is garnished with a Maraschino cherry with a stem. A Manhattan can also be served on the rocks in an "old-fashioned (lowball) glass".

How to make it:

3/4 oz sweet vermouth

2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 maraschino cherry

1 twist orange peel
Combine the vermouth, bourbon whiskey, and bitters with 2 - 3 ice cubes in a mixing glass. Stir gently, don't bruise the spirits and cloud the drink. Place the cherry in a chilled cocktail glass and strain the whiskey mixture over the cherry. Rub the cut edge of the orange peel over the rim of the glass and twist it over the drink to release the oils but don't drop it in.

************

Bonus entry: Marlene Dietrich Cocktail
Marlene Dietrich, of course is a Hollywood legend from the 1930's to the 70's. She was known for playing a sultry temptress role in many of her films with other legends like Cary Grant. This cocktail named after Miss Dietrich has whiskey, bitters and curaçao, which play their own sultry roles.

How to make it:

3 oz rye or Canadian whiskey
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes curaçao
orange and lemon peels
Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes.
Shake well.
Strain into a wine glass.
Squeeze orange and lemon peels on top

************

What are YOUR favorite vintage cocktails? Since it is the holiday season, ALL COMMENTS ARE FREE TODAY!

-Rick Rockhill