Fan Fiction Sneak Peek: Here's How!

Ending With ‘Party Mixes’

All the creations of the drink mixer’s skill placed before up to now have been for solo portions, one joy producer for one man. But there are many occasions when a liquid structure that will withstand the attacks of ten or a dozen or even fifty of your thirst maddened friends must be prepared.  

Browse among these generously planned liquid masterpieces — you will find them more interesting and far more tempting than the solo variety. Here’s happy days!

W.C. Whitfield, Here's How

We’ve gone through Here's How and chosen eight cocktails we think are the cat’s meow, so stay tuned to the blog for swell sneak peeks of what we’ll be slinging at our next Fan Fiction fête on Monday, February 4th, 5pm-2am. That's tonight!

Fan Fiction Sneak Peek: Here's How!

Food for Drink — Not Thought

“The next family of drinks with which you are likely to have a convivial acquaintance is distinguished by the fact that it offers food values as its principal reason for existence."

“Perhaps a very considerable number of their prtisans use their egg and milk content simply as an excuse for getting the hard liquors that go along, but this will always be a moot question. However, many mild drinkers really like the smooth blandness of the egg and milk concoctions, furthermore, the medical fraternity is prone to plug for them as ‘builder-uppers’ in disguise. And so they will always ‘go over big’”

W.C. Whitfield, Here's How

We’ve gone through Here's How and chosen eight cocktails we think are the cat’s meow, so stay tuned to the blog for swell sneak peeks of what we’ll be slinging at our next Fan Fiction fête on Monday, February 4th, 5pm-2am.

Fan Fiction Sneak Peek: Here's How

Some “Well Dressed” Drinks

“The ‘four hundred’ of the mixed drink world, the ‘real Bon Tons,’ might be said to include the Juleps and the Punches (the singles, or bachelors). They are classed as the elite of spiritual society because they are the swellest dressers. Whenever they appear at parties they are invariably all ‘dolled up’ in bright colors and trimmed in the fresh fruits of the season. And do they hand out the icy stares? They fairly freeze you!” 

W.C. Whitfield, Here's How

We’ve gone through Here's How and chosen eight cocktails we think are the cat’s meow, so stay tuned to the blog for swell sneak peeks of what we’ll be slinging at our next Fan Fiction fête on Monday, February 4th, 5pm-2am. 

Fan Fiction Sneak Peek: Here's How

Under Highballs — The Collins & Rickey Families — And Some Others

“Only a general effort has been made to marshall the various drinks into clans whose principal characteristics are similar, mainly with the idea of helping the searcher after new alcoholic thrills find something that his cellar will enable him to try.”

—W.C. Whitfield, Here's How

We’ve gone through Here's How and chosen eight cocktails we think are the cat’s meow, so stay tuned to the blog for swell sneak peeks of what we’ll be slinging at our next Fan Fiction fête on Monday, February 4th, 5pm-2am.

Fan Fiction: Here's How!

Our February edition of Fan Fiction will visit another vintage cocktail manual that takes a lighthearted approach to the art of mixing drinks: the 1941 edition of Here’s How by W.C. Whitfield. The writing and illustrations are engagingly quirky and the drinks appropriately delicious.

Did you know you could make powdered sugar out of regular sugar? Neither did we, until we took a closer look at this fun-spirited (get it?) cocktail book. (For those with an aversion to pre-packaged, pre-powdered products, just put sugar in the blender and boom! Powdered sugar.) While powdered sugar isn’t an ingredient you see often in modern cocktail books, it appears to have been a staple of the everyday home bar a mere 70 years ago.

We’ve gone through and chosen eight cocktails we think are the cat’s meow, so stay tuned to the blog for swell sneak peeks of what we’ll be slinging on Monday, February 4th, 5pm-2am.

Fan Fiction: Tonight's The Night!

The day has finally come! The day that we taste our way through the Ds, Es, and Fs of Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Are you as excited as we are?!

Diki Diki, Fish House Punch, Fred Collins Fizz, French 75,
Delicious Sour, Ford Cocktail, Fogcutter, East India Cocktail

Please be sure to join us for Fan Fiction: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails (D, E, & F) on Monday, December 17th (HEY, THAT'S TONIGHT!), from 5pm-2am. Let it be your holiday gift to yourself!

Fan Fiction Sneak Peek: East India Cocktail and Fogcutter

Our final peek at tomorrow's menu is at the Fogcutter and the East India cocktails, the latter of which is 'a very, very old cocktail,' according to Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh:

Left: East India Cocktail (Brandy, Raspberry Syrup, Angostura Bitters, Curaçao, Maraschino Liqueur)
Right: Fogcutter (Eldorado 3 Year Rum, Gin, Brandy, Lemon, Simple Syrup, Cherry Brandy Float)

This is another very, very old cocktail, and the recipe is one of many versions. The original, in Harry Johnson's Bartender's Manual of 1882, used pineapple syrup instead of raspberry, and some used both, but this is still a venerable variation, and I think preferable. 

Please be sure to join us for Fan Fiction: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails (D, E, & F) on Monday, December 17th, from 5pm-2am. Let it be your holiday gift to yourself! 

Fan Fiction Sneak Peek: Fish House Punch and Fred Collins

The weekend won't stop us from getting you hyped about Monday night! That's when Fan Fiction returns with eight stellar recipes from Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Here are two to look forward to: the Fish House Punch and the Fred Collins Fizz.

Fish House Punch - Appleton Jamaican Rum, VSOP Brandy, Peach Brandy, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur,  Green Tea, Lemon,  Powdered Sugar, Champagne

Fred Collins Fizz - Rye Whiskey, Curaçao, Lemon, Simple Syrup, Soda

In his book, Ted Haigh cites an anecdote from the 1885 edition of Bacchus & Cordon Bleu's New Guide for the Hotel, Bar, Restaurant, Butler, & Chef:

The Celebrated Collins Drink is fizzing stuff, only I should be glad if our caterers would agree to what it is to be perpetually named. One barkeeper calls it a John Collins, another Tom Collins. There are also Harry and Fred, all members of the same family. I prefer to call mine the Fred Collins Fizz. 

Please be sure to join us for Fan Fiction: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails (D, E, & F) on Monday, December 17th, from 5pm-2am. Let it be your holiday gift to yourself!

Fan Fiction Sneak Peek: Diki Diki and French 75

Fan Fiction is but a few days away (Monday night!), and we're got two more of the evening's featured cocktails to share with you! 

Diki Diki - Calvados, Swedish Punsch, grapefruit

French 75 - London Dry Gin, lemon, simple syrup, cava

In regards to the French 75, Ted Haigh tells us:

Named after the French 75-mm field gun, a model of 1987 (and companion shell). This bit of heavy artillery was the mainstay weapon of World War I, and its recoil system made for a soft, smooth operation. It was really the first technical weaponry advance of the twentieth century, and its use continued into World War II.  

The parallels between it and the cocktail named for it should be obvious... smoother, yet packs a wallop. Still, the drink itself is rather counterintuitive. Who would imagine combining gin and Champagne? Yet with the addition of a bit of sugar and a soupçon of fresh lemon juice, it is a refreshing delectation. 

Please be sure to join us for Fan Fiction: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails (D, E, & F) on Monday, December 17th, from 5pm-2am. Let it be your holiday gift to yourself!

Fan Fiction: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, Part 2!

For this Monday's Fan Fiction, Danny will continue his exploration of Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Last time he visited this book, you may have noticed the menu stuck to the ABCs—so naturally, we'll continue on with the DEFs!

Your first sneak peek of Monday's menu are of the Ford Cocktail and the Delicious Sour:

Left: Ford Cocktail (Hayman's Old Tom Gin, Benedictine, Dry Vermouth, Orange Bitters)
Right: The Delicious Sour (Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy, Peach Brandy, Lime, Egg White, Sugar, Soda)

Ted Haigh has been quoted as counting the Ford Cocktail among his all-time faves. Of the Delicious Sour, he writes:

One of the better drinks from the 1892 book The Flowing Bowl by William "The Only William" Schmidt, Schmidt liked to be different. Many of the drinks in his book were unquestionably of his own creation. He liked to use ingredients no one else used, but this often resulted in drinks containing things like red wine and rum with a plop of vanilla ice cream. Here, and every now and again, he'd ring the bell and get a clear note.

Please be sure to join us for Fan Fiction: Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails (D, E, & F) on Monday, December 17th, from 5pm-2am. Let it be your holiday gift to yourself!