Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Maraschino’

Royal Cocktails

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2011| 2 Comments »

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

by Pink Lady

In a few short days, HRH Prince William will marry Kate Middleton, making royal history as can only be done once a generation. What better way to toast this occasion than with a cocktail with a royal pedigree of its own? This Friday, the ladies of LUPEC will be sipping The Prince of Wales’s Cocktail.

The current Prince of Wales is Charles, the longest serving heir apparent in history (he was only nine when he became as such). Prince Albert Edward was once in Prince Charles’ shoes, during which time his Queen Mum Victoria pretty much excluded him from political activity. With all that free time on his hands Edward did “what anybody else would have,” writes David Wondrich in Imbibe: “He got grumpy and he got loose. Mistresses and mischief ensued.”

Prince Albert Edward was something of a playboy, to be sure, and came to exemplify the leisured elite in his day. His accession to the throne ushered in the Edwardian era, the exact opposite of the buttoned up Victorian period: a time of increased social mobility, loosened bodices for women, and scientific and technological innovation. Leisure sports became all the rage with the upper classes, and let’s not forget that ultimate game-changer—the automobile.

In his many years as Prince of Wales, Albert Edward had many occasions to imbibe. We’re thrilled he came up with this, his namesake take on the newly evolving genre of libation: The Cocktail.

The Prince of Wales Cocktail
Adapted from Imbibe! By David Wondrich

1.5 oz rye whiskey
Crushed ice
A small square of pineapple
Dash Angostura bitters
Lemon peel
.25 tsp maraschino
1 oz Champagne
1 tsp sugar

Put the sugar in the bottom of a mixing glass with bitters and .5 tsp water. Stir to dissolve. Add rye, maraschino, and pineapple chunk, fill 2/3 with cracked ice, and shake brutally to crush pineapple. “Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, add the cold Champagne, and deploy the twist. And smile.”

CIN-CIN!

Read Full Post »

What We’re Drinking: The Aviation*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged , , , , on August 18, 2010| 2 Comments »

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

by Pink Lady

Who doesn’t love an Aviation? This drink is a tremendous cocktail that has been thankfully resurrected in recent years by classic cocktail cognoscenti. The drink recipe was first published in How to Mix Drinks by Hugo Ensslin, the German-born head bartender at the Wallick House Hotel in Times Square. His was the last cocktail manual to hit bookshelves before Prohibition begat the great drought in America (and now recently available in reprinted form from Mud Puddle Books.) Many consider this drink one of the last great cocktails to be invented before the Noble Experiment.

The Aviation has made a glorious comeback in the past five or so years and graces the cocktail list of many a fine drinking establishment from coast to coast in 2010. The formula, however, is slightly different than the original mixture. You’ll typically find this drink made following the 1930 recipe that Harry Craddock ran in his tome, the Savoy Cocktail book, which features gin, lemon juice, and Maraschino liqueur.

The aforementioned recipe makes a fine drink, to be sure. But Ensslin’s pre-Prohibition recipe used two liqueurs to give this concoction wings: Maraschino and Crème Yvette. The latter has been unavailable in the states until very recently, making this classic potation’s name a mystery. Add a hint of the new-old violet-hued Crème Yvette recently released from Cooper Spirits (or Crème de Violette if you can’t find it), and the drink takes on a sky blue hue. Aviation was still very new back in 1916 and a hot topic, thus a perfect candidate for a cocktail name.

We suggest you sidle up to any bar that stocks Crème Yvette or Crème de Violette and sample the original recipe today, just because you can.

AVIATION

.75 oz lemon juice

1.5 oz dry gin

2 dashes Maraschino

2 dashes Crème Yvette

Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into your favorite vintage cocktail glass. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

Cin-cin!

Read Full Post »