Broads | Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails

Posts Tagged ‘Broads’

Jean Harlow*

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Broads, Cointreau, cream, Jean Harlow, Light Rum, Platinum Blonde, Women's History Month on March 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

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

March 3rd marks the birthday of blonde bombshell, Jean Harlow. Born Harlean Carpenter but affectionately known as “the Baby,” the actress would have turned 100 this week.

Harlow’s career started as a happy accident when she drove a friend to an audition at Fox shortly after she moved to California with her first husband. Though fascinated by the studio environment, 17-year-old Jean had no desire to become an actress—even after her friend returned to the car with three Fox executives in tow, who produced a letter of introduction to the head of casting after laying eyes on the beauty. Weeks later she took them up on the offer just to win a bet.

Known for her on-screen persona as a vampy sex object, off-screen Jean possessed a naiveté and complete lack of guile about her considerable physical attributes. “When we walked down the street, she would literally stop traffic,” a high school classmate of hers remembered. “Men would climb out of their cars and follow her.”

Frank Capra was the first director to take an interest in cultivating Harlow’s talents as an actress when they worked together on Platinum Blonde, and his efforts paid off. Her next film, Red-Headed Woman, elevated her from sex goddess to comedic actress and was, in Harlow’s words, “the first chance I ever had to do something in pictures other than swivel my hips.”

Baby Jean’s career came to an untimely end when she died from kidney failure in 1937 at just 26 years old. With over 40 films already under her belt, many believe she might have gone on to become one of the most accomplished actresses in American cinema. Here’s to Baby Jean.

PLATINUM BLONDE

1 1/2 oz light rum
1/2 oz cream
1/2 oz Cointreau

Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

CIN-CIN!
FOR MORE GREAT COCKTAIL RECIPES VISIT LUPECBOSTON.COM.

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Naughty but Nice

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged brandy, Broads, Cointreau, Gin, Grand Marnier, history, Italian Vermouth, Latin Quarter, lemon juice, Lou Walters, Sonja and E.M. Loew on February 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

*The latest ruminations from LUPEC Boston, in case you missed them in The Weekly Dig.

by Pinky Gonzales

One of America’s most famous 1940s-era cabarets once glittered in our very own backyard. The Latin Quarter stood on quiet Winchester Street in the tiny Bay Village neighborhood, a cherry pit’s throw from where the old (and doomed) Cocoanut Grove nightclub once sparkled.

The Latin Quarter was known for its elaborate, “naughty but nice” revue. Featuring 6-foot-tall showgirls dubbed “long-stemmed roses,” national acts and Golden Era cocktails, this Parisian-inspired nightspot aimed high and ruled the roost for over two decades, spawning the big shows of Las Vegas. When owners Lou Walters (Barbara’s dad!) and Sonja and E.M. Loew (Loew’s Theatres) were bringing in half a million dollars per year, they redirected profits into building an LQ Miami, then the now-legendary LQ Times Square.

But after the Cocoanut Grove burned down in ’42, a damper was put on Boston’s nightlife. Officials temporarily closed LQ and 51(!) other area establishments to ensure they were up to code on fire inspections.

A happy remnant of this nearly forgotten place has been preserved for us today: 176 cocktails, once poured by their bartenders, recently reprinted as Latin Quarter Souvenir Book of Cocktails & How to Mix Them by Halliwell Hobbes, an LQ historian. The book serves up both sterling classics and festive sips like Diamond Fizz, Americano, Bosom Caresser, Honey Bee, Harvard, Marconi Wireless and the potion we give you here. Thanks, LQ.

ANTS IN THE PANTS

1 1/2 oz gin

3/4 oz Grand Marnier

3/4 oz Italian (sweet) vermouth

Dash fresh lemon juice

Shake with cracked ice, strain into a cocktail glass and ornament with peel of a lemon.

Also on the list of libations at the Latin Quarter:

BETWEEN THE SHEETS

1 oz Brandy (or Cognac)

1 oz Cointreau (orange liqueur)

1 oz Gin

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

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What We’re Drinking: The Gail Collins*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged angostura orange bitters, blanco tequila, Broads, Gail Collins, John Collins, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur, sloe gin, Tom Collins on August 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

by Hanky Panky

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

After a damp start to summer, afternoons by the pool and furloughs to the beach are upon us. When the dog days of summer come barking at my door, this LUPECer likes to put down her Hanky Panky and pick up a Collins. This classic tall drink is the perfect refresher for an afternoon on the patio.

The Collins is a tall variation of a classic punch. The most common Collins is the Tom Collins, a mixture of Old Tom Gin, lemon juice, sugar and soda water. According to David Wondrich’s Imbibe, the Tom Collins was born as the John Collins and shared its moniker with the headwaiter at Limmer’s Hotel in London. We aren’t certain how the drink made the jump from John to Tom, but most likely it was related to the drink’s use of Old Tom Gin. After the switch took place, the name John Collins became used for a bourbon Collins.

I enjoy both the Tom and John Collins, but in true LUPEC fashion, I would like to throw my hat in the ring with the Gail Collins. In 2001, Gail Collins became the first female editor of the editorial page of the New York Times. She also penned one of my favorite books on women’s history, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines. The Gail Collins features the current hot spirit tequila and forgoes simple syrup by using maraschino liqueur as a sweetener. The sloe gin and lemon provide refreshing tartness and balance. Grab your ice trays and build yourself a thirst-quenching Gail Collins.

GAIL COLLINS

1 oz blanco tequila

1 oz sloe gin

0.5 oz maraschino liqueur

0.5 oz lemon juice

2 dashes angostura orange bitters

soda water

Build in a Collins glass over ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

CIN-CIN! LUPECBOSTON.COM

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BIRTHDAY SHOUT-OUT to MARY PICKFORD

Posted in Rum, Weekly Dig, Women's History, tagged Broads, Mary Pickford on April 8, 2009| 4 Comments »

by Pinky Gonzales

still from The Mender of Nets, 1912

Mary Pickford, Hollywood producer, philanthropist, Oscar-winning actress, imbiber, was born April 8, 1892 and we salute her! Apparently she was much better at the first three, but she got a cocktail named after her all the same. She did a lot of work helping struggling actors during the Depression years while making over a hundred films, eventually leading to an Honorary Oscar in 1976 – only one of eight women in Academy history to receive such. We also mentioned her in a recent Dig column.

Here are a few cocktails which with to toast her, bearing the names of her silent films Ramona (1910), and Rosita (1923):

THE RAMONA
This drink is credited to esteemed L.A. bartender Vincenzo Marianella, who works in the same town as the The Mary Pickford Foundation and Institute ( film education, scholarships, preservation.) Don’t know the story behind the drink’s name, but we found the recipe at TheLiquidMuse.com (thanks Natalie!)

2 oz of premium rum
3/4 oz Marie Brizard Apry
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 bar-spoon Papaya Orange Habanero Marmalade
1 dash Gary Regan’s orange bitters
garnish: 1 jalapeno pepper
Shake ingredients, with ice, and fine strain it into a cocktail glass. Drop a thin slice of jalapeno into the drink. Take the rest of jalapeno and squeeze it over the drink to release the spicy oil into the cocktail.

dramatic moment in Rosita, 1923

ROSITA
The origin of this cocktail is unknown.

1 1/2 oz. silver tequila
1/2 oz. Campari
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir with ice, strain into an iced filled Old Fashioned glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist.

MARY PICKFORD
Created for her by the legendary Prohibition-era barman from Havana, Eddie Woelke – also the creator of El Presidente cocktail. (Version courtesy of J.G.)

1.5 oz white rum
1 oz fresh pineapple juice
.25 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur
.25 oz grenadine
Shake & strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.