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Posts Tagged ‘Applejack’

An International Toast to Broads!*

Posted in Broads, Weekly Dig, tagged , , , , , , on March 8, 2012| 1 Comment »

*Originally published in DigBoston

by Pink Lady

International Women’s Day is upon us, dear readers! The March 8th holiday isn’t something we celebrate with much gusto here in the states, but it’s celebrated heartily in other corners of the world. We first learned about Women’s Day from an ex-pat friend who lives in Italy, where Italian regazzi give their ladies yellow mimosas as they gather for women-only dinners and parties. Anyone who’s seen an episode of Sex and the City or ever happened across a huge group of girls at the bar finds this commonplace, but in Italy, ladies night is not so. In Poland Women’s Day is similar to American Mother’s Day; in Pakistan it’s a day to commemorate the struggle for women’s rights.

Women’s Day arose after an important protest on March 8, 1908, when 15,000 women took to the streets of New York, marching for voting rights, shorter hours, and better pay. The Socialist Party of America declared National Women’s Day to be February 28 the following year.

Women’s Day went global in 1910 when the delegates to the 2nd Annual Working Women’s Conference in Copenhagen unanimously approved an International Women’s Day. The first International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 19, 1911, with more than a million men and women attending rallies around the globe, campaigning for women’s rights to vote, work, and hold public office. The holiday was moved to March 8 two years later and has been celebrated then ever since. In 1975 the holiday received official sanction from the U.N. and has been an officially sponsored holiday ever since.

This International Women’s Day, why not celebrate with a cocktail from the “Lady” category? White Lady, Chorus Lady, Creole Lady – there are several but a Pink Lady will always be my go to.

Pink Lady

1.5 oz Plymouth gin

.5 oz applejack

.5 oz fresh lemon juice

.5 oz grenadine

1 egg white

Combine ingredients without ice in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Fill the shaker with ice and shake shake shake until frothy and delicious.

Cin-cin!

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What We’re Drinking: The Widow’s Kiss*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged , , , on September 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

*Recent ruminations from LUPEC Boston, as originally published in The Weekly Dig.

by Pink Lady

Though it won’t technically be fall for another week, we’ve already begun to seek stronger, spicier cocktails made with dark spirits for September sipping. One of our favorite potations among these is the bewitching blend of applejack, Yellow Chartreuse and Benedictine, called “The Widow’s Kiss.”

Invented by George J. Kappeler while he was head bartender at the Holland House hotel in New York City, The Widow’s Kiss combines the storied herbal liqueurs, Chartreuse and Benedictine, with applejack, likely America’s oldest distilled spirit. Both Chartreuse and Benedictine trace their origins to monastic orders in France (the former in the French Alps, the latter in Normandy) and both are made from closely guarded proprietary recipes that were nearly lost during the French Revolution. Perhaps you’ve overlooked the Chartreuse and Benedictine bottles on the back bar in favor of more aggressively marketed sweeteners, but these august brands have been produced for over 400 and 500 years, respectively. They’ve outlasted many a drinking fad, and many more enthusiastic drinkers.

The Widow’s Kiss was such a hit during Kappeler’s reign at the Holland House, it made it into all the major cocktail books, including his 1895 volume, Modern American Drinks. It also exemplifies a trend that began around the 1880s of American mixologists reaching beyond the maraschino, curaçao and crème de noyaux bottles for complex herbal liqueurs to build new palates of flavors as they created innovative recipes. That tradition lives on in a new generation of American bartenders today.

We’ll drink to that.

THE WIDOW’S KISS

1.5 oz applejack

0.75 oz Yellow Chartreuse

0.75 oz Benedictine

2 dashes angostura bitters

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, as you recklessly break the cardinal rule of stirring cocktails that contain nothing but booze; strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

CIN-CIN!

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What We’re Drinking: The Hawaiian Room*

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

*LUPEC Boston’s latest ruminations, in case you missed ‘em in this week’s Dig.

by Pink Lady

Regular readers of our column or blog are well aware of LUPEC’s mission to “breed, raise and release endangered cocktails into the wild,” spreading great stories, lore and cocktail history whenever we can. But another main initiative of this group is to give back to our community. Fabulous as we may be, most members of our little club will never be in a position to donate a wing to a local hospital or community center. Instead, we fundraise in the best way we know how: by throwing dress-up cocktail parties. We’ve raised over $20,000 for local women’s charities this way since our group’s inception in 2007.

Our first event was a 1920s-themed speakeasy held on a clandestine riverboat permanently docked in the Boston Harbor, and it benefited Jane Done Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. Last year, we threw a 1940s-themed USO-style variety show with swing dancing, burlesque and live comedy to benefit women at the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. This year, we’re planning a tiki bash of epic proportions.

On November 14th, we will transform the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts into a 1950s-themed tiki party featuring retro libations and canapés provided by Toro, Green Street, the Franklin Café and more. Island Creek Oysters will be on-hand shucking delicious “Duxbury pearls” and the Boston Derby Dames will skate around with sweets provided by Taza Chocolate. Through the Keyhole Burlesque, ukulele master Uke Springsteen, DJ Brother Cleve and other live acts will entertain. Tickets, a wallet-friendly $35 in advance/$45 at the door, are on sale now.

Why tiki in November? Why not? With exotic décor and whimsical cocktails, a night at Trader Vic’s or Don the Beachcomber’s offered un-ironic escapism in its heyday, a flavor-packed counterpoint in the era of vodkatinis and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. As tiki expert Jeff “Beach Bum” Berry told the Washington Post earlier this year, “A tiki bar was where the mid-century Organization Man went to escape his white-collar job, his big mortgage and the threat of nuclear annihilation.”

With a long cold winter on the horizon, we Bostonians could use a little escapism, too.

THE HAWAIIAN ROOM

FROM THE HAWAIIAN ROOM OF THE HOTEL LEXINGTON, NYC, CIRCA 1940S

ADAPTED FROM JEFF BERRY & ANNENE KAYE’S BEACHBUM BERRY’S GROG LOG

0.5 oz fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz unsweetened pineapple juice

0.5 oz Applejack

0.5 oz triple sec

1 oz light Puerto Rican rum

Shake well with plenty of ice cubes. Strain into a cocktail glass.

CIN-CIN!

PURCHASE TICKETS TO THE LUPEC BOSTON TIKI BASH ONLINE AT THEBOSTONSHAKER.COM, GRAND IN SOMERVILLE, TORO IN THE SOUTH END, DRINK IN FORT POINT, TRINA’S STARLITE LOUNGE IN SOMERVILLE, OR BUCKAROO’S MERCANTILE IN CAMBRIDGE. CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS.

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