Orange Juice | Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails

Posts Tagged ‘Orange Juice’

Speed Rack!*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged apricot brandy, brandy, lemon juice, LUPEC NYC, Orange Juice, Speed Rack on October 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

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

by Pink Lady

Who doesn’t love a good race? When it comes to cocktails we couldn’t be happier to discover a bartender who can mix us up a drink cocktail super swiftly. So we are thrilled to announce the next Monday, Speed Rack will be coming to Boston.

Invented by our New York sisters Ivy Mix and Lynnette Marrero, Speed Rack is a national cocktail competition that features top female bartenders in key cocktail markets and puts them head to head in timed challenges as part of a 10-city tour to find the fastest female bartender in America while raising funds for breast cancer charities.

The inaugural Speed Rack competition was held in New York City in May by the local chapter of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails) and raised $3,500. (To see how the girls smoked it and for a taste of what’s to come in Boston, visit http://www.speed-rack.com/.)

Speed Rack Boston will be held Monday, October 10, 2011 at Villa Victoria Center for the Arts (www.villavictoriaarts.org). During the competition small bites from The Citizen, The Franklin Café, The Franklin Southie, Toro, Coppa, Myers and Chang, and Trina’s Starlite Lounge will be served as guest judges Jackson Cannon, of Eastern Standard and Island Creek Oyster Bar, and Misty Kalkofen of Drink and LUPEC Boston President critique the drinks. Ticket price is $20 for this event and includes all food and beverage. You can buy online at http://www.speedrack.eventbrite.com or pay $20 at the door day of. OR, you can order a ticket, a Speed Rack tee-shirt and a Speed Rack Coozie all for just $35. Win, win, win. All proceeds will benefit breast cancer charities.

Ready, set, go! We hope to see you there. In the interim, mix up one of these at home. Time yourself to see how you would stack up.

SPEED

Invented by Laurie Ross

1/3 brandy

1/3 apricot brandy

1/6 orange juice

1/6 lemon juice

Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled vintage cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel.

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Mountains of Ice*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged falernum, Frosty Dawn, ice, Light Rum, maraschino liqueur, NewAir AI-100SS countertop ice maker from Air & Water, Orange Juice on December 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

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

by Pink Lady

Did you know that ice is an American invention? Well, kind of. No one can claim ownership of frozen water, of course, but dropping a cube of it into beverages on a hot summer day was not such an easy luxury in the days before refrigeration. We can thank Frederic Tudor’s Yankee ingenuity for exporting the wonders of the ice-cold beverage to warmer regions of the world.

A well-to-do Bostonian, Tudor dropped out of school at Boston Latin at age 13, spurning a college education at Harvard to pursue fortune in his own inventions. As the story goes, Tudor discovered his calling at 17 while seeking a cold beverage in Cuba without success. He decided then and there to create a business out of “harvesting ice” from the local New England ponds that freeze so solidly each winter.

Tudor’s idea was at first met with ridicule but eventually grew into an empire. He sourced ice from familiar spots like Walden and Fresh Pond and shipped it around the world to Europe, the Caribbean, and even to the British East India Company in Calcutta. Tudor became known as Boston’s Ice King and died in 1864 a wealthy man. He even created an offshoot industry for Maine’s sawmills by insulating his precious cargo with the sawdust they’d previously thrown away.

Let’s raise a glass to Tudor as the holidays – and the many parties that ensue – approach. Several weeks ago, we LUPEC ladies got our hands on a special, modern invention that has satiated our high volume ice needs, the NewAir AI-100SS countertop ice maker from Air & Water. The kind folks in the marketing department offered us a chance to put this toy to the test. We’ve done so at several cocktail parties and found the machine to be true to its promise: it can make up to 35 pounds of ice per day and the first batch of ice cubes are complete in 15 minutes. Set-up and clean-up is delightfully facilement.

You may rarely have need for 35 pounds of ice, and equally little use for the urn you bought that offers coffee service for 45. But if you do enjoy entertaining, or simply enjoy being totally prepared every single time you do, this kitchen gadget may be just the thing for you.

Frederic Tudor would be impressed by how far we’ve come.

FROSTY DAWN

1 1/2 oz light rum

1 oz orange juice

1/2 oz falernum

1/4 oz maraschino liqueur

Shake in iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled vintage cocktail glass.

Cin-cin!

FOR MORE GREAT COCKTAIL RECIPES VISIT LUPECBOSTON.COM.

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Martha Washington’s Rum Punch

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged cinnamon sticks, cloves, dark rum, lemon juice, lemons, Light Rum, nutmeg, orange, orange curaçao, Orange Juice, simple syrup on June 30, 2010| 3 Comments »

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

by Pink Lady + Hanky Panky

In honor of the anniversary of the birth of our nation, the ladies of LUPEC raise our glasses to the original first lady.

Regardless of party affiliation, most of us can agree that our very first president was a relatively stand-up guy, and his wife, Martha (to quote the stoner in Dazed and Confused), “was a hip, hip, hip lady.” And as a couple, George and Martha Washington knew how to party.

Martha took her entertaining duties as first lady very seriously. She hosted lavish parties at the then-capital cities of New York and Philadelphia, and the Washingtons’ estate, Mount Vernon. She wanted our nubile country and government to be on par with our European counterparts, and entertained in a similar formal style. Most of Martha’s affairs began with signature drinks served before dinner, which were likely made with spirits from Washington’s own distillery, one of the largest and most profitable during the colonial era.

According to the Mount Vernon Historical Society, George Washington favored sweet fortified wines like Madeira and port, and was also a fan of Rum Punch. So are we! Here’s Martha’s original recipe (from her notes).

MARTHA WASHINGTON’S RUM PUNCH

4 oz lemon juice
4 oz orange juice
4 oz simple syrup
3 lemons quartered
1 orange quartered
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
3 cinnamon sticks broken
6 cloves
12 oz boiling water

In a container, mash the lemons, orange, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks and cloves. Add syrup, lemon and orange juice. Pour the boiling water over the mixture. Let it cool. Strain out the solids. Heat the juice mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Let it cool and refrigerate overnight.

In a punch bowl, combine:

3 parts juice mixture
1 part light rum
1 part dark rum
1/2 part orange curaçao

Serve the punch over ice. Top with grated nutmeg and cinnamon.

CIN-CIN!

For more stories on Presidential tippling, check out this post-election day post from Nov 2008.

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What We’re Drinking: Oloffson’s Punch*

Posted in Weekly Dig, tagged Combier, Grand Marnier, Haiti, Haitian rum, Hotel Oloffson, Lime, maraschino liqueur, Oloffson's Punch, Orange Juice, Rhum Barbancourt, simple syrup on January 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

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

by Pink Lady

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake; over 1.5 million left homeless; as many as 200,000 dead. The statistics flickering across the television screen nightly about the recent earthquake in Haiti seem improbably tragic, difficult to comprehend from the comfortable vantage point of a barstool.

Restaurant industry colleagues have rushed to donate time and talent to raise money to support relief efforts: Via Matta and Radius will donate 100 percent of dessert sales, servers at Myers + Chang have been donating a portion of their tips, Stella did a mini-celebrity chef dinner, and Upstairs on the Square held a day-long fundraiser offering guests opportunities to dine and donate at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our friends over at Drink offered an opportunity for charitable imbibing via a special menu of tropical cocktails made with Haiti’s famous Rhum Barbancourt, with a portion of proceeds going to Haiti relief. The list goes on an on, and we only hope it will grow.

Generous Bostonians, LUPEC salutes you. We invite our readers to do the same by raising a glass of Oloffson’s Punch, invented at the Grand Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince. The eponymous hotel has been many things since it was erected at the turn of the 19th century: a fancy private residence for the then-ruling family, a military hospital occupied by US Marines, a fashionable tourist destination for glitterati like Mick Jagger and Jackie Onassis, and an artistic hub, a sort of “Greenwich Village of the Tropics.”

The enchantingly decrepit hotel also served as backdrop for Graham Greene’s novel, The Comedians. In his words, “You expected a witch to open the door to you or a maniac butler, with a bat dangling from the chandelier behind him.” The hotel’s “tropo-Gothic gingerbread façade” also inspired cartoonist Charles Addams, creator of the famed Addams Family. LUPEC loves a good story, and the Grand Hotel Oloffson is full of ’em, from tales of an eccentric owner who raised alligators in the hotel swimming pool to the American expat owner who fancied himself a Caribbean version of Rick from Casablanca (weapons scandal and all).

Even as it fell into disrepair in the early ’80s, the Oloffson remained a destination for reporters and aid workers needing a safe place to stay near the heart of the city. Today, it’s where many American journalists are staying as they cover the earthquake that has devastated the country.

LUPEC hopes to partner with member chapters in other cities in the coming weeks to prepare a fundraiser of our own, allowing you to sample some of Haiti’s fine alcoholic heritage, from Rhum Barbancourt to cordials like Combier and Grand Marnier, which source bitter oranges from the tiny republic. Stay tuned for updates, and in the interim, enjoy one of these.

OLOFFSON’S PUNCH

2 oz Haitian dark rum
1 tsp maraschino liqueur
3 oz orange juice
1 1/2 oz lime juice
0.5 oz simple syrup

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker. Strain into a goblet and fill with crushed ice. Serve with straws and garnish with twists of orange and lime.

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A Night at Manderley Bar*

Posted in Events, Weekly Dig, tagged American Repertory Theatre, Annie Darcy Band, cognac, Creme de Noyaux, creme yvette, dark rum, demerara sugar, dry vermouth, English Breakfast tea, Gin, Grand Marnier, grapefruit juice, La Morra, lemon juice, lemons, Lillet blanc, Manderley Bar, nutmeg, Old Etonian, Orange Bitters, orange curaçao, Orange Juice, Plymouth gin, Raspberry Syrup, Rye, Satan's Whiskers, Sleep No More, sweet vermouth on December 16, 2009| 1 Comment »

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

by Pink Lady

As members of LUPEC, we devote a good deal of time, both personally and professionally, to breeding, raising and releasing endangered cocktails into the wild. It’s arduous work, but someone’s gotta do it. Every now and then, we like to take a little break from the cause and diversify our activities. What better way to do so than with a night at the theater?

We were thus utterly delighted when the folks at Manderley Bar invited us to participate in the immersive theater experience Sleep No More. Produced by award-winning British theater company Punchdrunk in conjunction with the American Repertory Theater and La Morra restaurant, this performance has been making headlines since it opened in Boston in October. A cursory read of the details leaves no question as to why:

• The show takes place in an abandoned elementary school in Brookline, where each room has been transformed into that of a 1930s-era home. (Except the bathrooms, where the stalls are still portioned for little people and hark eerily back to second grade.)

• It’s theater … kind of. More precisely, the show is an installation of scenes designed to intimate the story of Macbeth told in the framework of an Alfred Hitchcock thriller.

• The audience dons masks and moves through the set among the actors, experiencing the performance on a sensory level as they choose what to watch and where to go—from pine-scented rooms full of Christmas trees to a hallway that reeks of mothballs, to room after room of props you can actually touch.

• A ’30s-era jazz club, the Manderley Bar, acts as home base for the show, where a swinging jazz quintet, the Annie Darcy Band, performs standards post performance as you mix, mingle, debrief and drink.

• The entire experience is creepy as hell but with Manderley Bar as home base, you can pop in for a tipple at any point during the show, and return to experience more art through a slightly rosier lens.

LUPEC Boston will join the staff at Manderley Bar behind the stick tonight pouring a special cocktail list inspired by the performance, including Satan’s Whiskers (Curled or Straight) and our favorite punch, David Wondrich’s Fatal Bowl, among others. These will be served in addition to the Manderley’s excellent classic menu, which features gems like this one, the Old Etonian. Mix one up at home as you toast the coolest interpretation of Macbeth to hit Boston in some time—and buy tickets online before the show ends on January 3rd.

OLD ETONIAN

1.5 oz Plymouth Gin

1.5 oz Lillet Blanc

Add two dashes each of crème de noyaux and orange bitters.

Shake with ice; strain into your favorite vintage cocktail shaker. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.

Drinks from the LUPEC Boston menu at Sleep No More are below:

SATAN’S WHISKERS (Curled or Straight)
.5 oz gin
.5 oz dry vermouth
.5 oz sweet vermouth
.5 oz orange juice
2 tsp orange curacao
1 dash orange bitters
Shake, strain up, garnish with orange twist. For straight, sub Grand Marnier for curacao.
From Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book, published in London in 1930. “We sip our Satan’s Whiskers curled if it’s still light outside and straight if it’s not.”

BLUE MOON
2 oz Gin
.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz Crème Yvette
Shake and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass
Lemon twist

THE BLINKER
2 oz rye
1 oz grapefruit juice
2 barspoons raspberry syrup
Shake with ice, strain into a chilled vintage cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.
First appeared in Patrick Gavin Duffy’s The Official Mixer’s Manual, circa 1934. Blinker was another term for the blinders worn by working horses to help keep their eyes on the road.

THE FATAL BOWL (aka The Wallop Bowl)
Recipe by David Wondrich
4 lemons
1 cup demerara sugar (or Sugar in the Raw)
4 English Breakfast Tea bags
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 cups Cognac
1 1/2 cups Dark Rum
fresh nutmeg
Remove the peel from 4 lemons with a vegetable peeler, and place in a large punch bowl. Pour demerara sugar over the lemon peels and muddle to release the lemon oils from the peel.
Boil 2 cups of water and steep the 4 tea bags for 5 minutes. Add hot tea (tea bags removed) into the lemon and demerara mixture. Let cool for 20 minutes, if possible.
Add Cognac, Dark Rum, and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Place large chunks of ice, of an ice mold into the punch. Top with grated nutmeg.

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What We’re Drinking: The Painkiller*

Posted in Events, Weekly Dig, tagged Coco Lopez, LUPEC Boston's Tiki Bash, Orange Juice, pineapple juice, Pusser's Rum, The Painkiller on November 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

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

The LUPEC Boston Tiki Bash is this Saturday! To gear up for the big event, we’ve been introducing readers to the fabulous and exotic tiki cocktails they’ll have a chance to sample at our shindig. Guests will have a chance to try the Mai Tai and the Fogcutter, two cocktails that date back to the early days of tiki in the 1940s. We’ll also be serving drinks from the opposite end of the tiki cocktail spectrum, like the Painkiller, which was invented in the 1970s.

As many cocktail aficionados will agree, the ’70s were a pretty bleak time for the American bar. The favored cocktails of the era were little more than spirit, juice and maybe a little liqueur served on the rocks. This was also the era of powdered sour mix and preservative-filled, pre-fab mixers, meaning that many of the delicious tiki drinks invented in earlier decades were declining in quality. But somewhere in the West Indies, a tiny bar accessible only by boat was mixing up a cocktail with a high-test brand of Navy rum called Pusser’s that was particularly popular with sailors, dubbed the “Painkiller.”

The Painkiller was invented by a British gal named Daphne Henderson, who owned the Soggy Dollar Bar, so named because guests had to swim ashore to it, inevitably drenching the contents of their wallets on the way. The bar offered a clothesline on which guests could hang their dollars as they knocked back cocktails. Daphne’s drink was wildly popular, but she was very secretive about the recipe, even to her close friend, a sailor and entrepreneur named Charles Tobias. Frustrated by her secrecy, Tobias took matters into his own hands one fateful Sunday afternoon, and stole away with a drink—through the surf, to his boat and back to his home kitchen on the island of Tortola, where he eventually figured out the recipe.

About a decade later, Tobias obtained the rights and all the blending information, and sought to resurrect the Pusser’s brand. Once issued daily to members of the British Royal Navy, a decree from the Admiralty Board abolished the practice in 1970, leaving the brand dormant until Tobias breathed new life into it in 1980.

You can try LUPEC’s take on this delicious coconut concoction at the Tiki Bash this Saturday. Or give it a run-through at home with Tobias’ recipe.

PAINKILLER

2 oz Pusser’s rum

1 oz Coco Lopez

4 oz pineapple juice

1 oz orange juice

Shake ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain over ice into a tall glass. Garnish with nutmeg.

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. VISIT LUPECBOSTON.COM FOR MORE DETAILS.

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What We’re Drinking: The Fog Cutter*

Posted in Events, Weekly Dig, tagged brandy, fresh lemon juice, Gin, LUPEC Boston's Tiki Bash, Orange Juice, Orgeat, Puerto Rican Rum, sweet sherry, The Fog Cutter, Trader Vic, Weekly Dig on November 8, 2009| 2 Comments »

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

by Pink Lady

Our Tiki Bash is just a few short weeks away, and LUPEC Boston has assembled a class-act event. With hula instruction, burlesque dancers, ukulele-sensation Uke Springsteen reinterpreting “the Boss” on his tiny, tiny guitar, plus cocktail historian/Boston music legend Brother Cleve spinning records, this is an event you won’t want to miss.

It wouldn’t be a LUPEC party if cocktails weren’t the main attraction. In the next few columns, we’ll offer a taste of what’s in store on November 14th to whet your appetite and introduce you to hallmarks of the tiki drinks that inspired the party, considered so delicious in their heyday, they begot a craze that outlasted every cocktail fad before and since.

First, we should note that “tiki cocktail” is a “retro” term. Inventors of these fine concoctions referred to them as “exotic drinks” or “faux tropics” (“faux” because they were invented far from the real tropics, in the continental US). Modern drinkers may feel silly about the umbrellas and the skull-shaped glassware, but for many decades, “exotics” were the height of cocktail chic. Their popularity among the Hollywood set at Don the Beachcomber’s was inspiration enough for Victor Bergeron to rip the moose heads off the walls at his Northwest-themed eatery, Hinky Dinks, transforming it from “lodge” to tropical paradise and himself into “Trader Vic.”

The Fog Cutter, one of two drinks we’ll serve at the LUPEC Boston Tiki Bash, is commonly credited to Trader Vic, though Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh casts doubt upon these origins in Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails. Haigh traces the drink via expert barman Tony Ramos, an original bartender at Don the Beachcomber’s in Los Angeles, who recalls the Fog Cutter as the signature drink from Edna Earl’s Fog Cutter bar in LA. Regardless of who invented it, this potent combination of three unlikely bedfellows—rum, brandy and gin—plus fresh juice, orgeat and sherry—is a memorable beverage. Provided you don’t tipple too many, of course.

If you’ve never heard of or tried orgeat, you’re in for a treat. Originally a health tonic popular among Romans, the early formula for orgeat was simply boiling water, barley and honey for several hours, then straining it (the word derives from the Latin “hordeata” meaning “made with barley”). In its modern incarnation, orgeat is a typically sweet, milky-looking almond syrup (who knows where the barley went?) made by boiling almonds and sugar and adding a little orange flower water or rosewater at the end.

Orgeat appears in many tiki cocktails, including two of Trader Vic’s most famous concoctions, the Mai Tai and the Fog Cutter. You’ll have a chance to sample both at the LUPEC Boston Tiki Bash. Or, try one at home today, proceeding with caution, as this drink is potent. As Trader Vic said, “Fog Cutter? Hell, after two of these, you won’t even see the stuff.”

FOG CUTTER

ADAPTED FROM TRADER VIC’S BARTENDER’S GUIDE, REVISED by Victor Bergeron
2 oz light Puerto Rican rum
1 oz brandy
0.5 oz gin
2 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz orange juice
0.5 oz orgeat
0.5 oz sweet sherry

Shake all ingredients except sherry with ice cubes. Pour into 14-ounce glass. Add more ice cubes. Float 0.5 ounces of sherry on top. Serve with straws.

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Spooky Sip & Shop

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged angostura orange bitters, Bloodbath Punch, Bourbon, Cherry Heering, Cointreau, Corpse Reviver (No. 2), Dale DeG, Dubonnet Rouge, Grand, Hendricks, Jill DeGroff, lemon juice, Lillet blanc, Lucid Absinthe, Orange Juice, Sip & Shop on November 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

by Pink Lady

Thanks to everyone who came out for our spectacular Sip & Shop at Grand yesterday! LUPEC was thrilled to team up with the Boston Shaker store to welcome special guests Dale & Jill DeGroff, who signed many books and shook many hands as we manned the Absinthe fountain and doled out delicious, spooky punch (recipes below.)

Special props to all who attended in costume, as well. We had a tough time deciding on the best one, with Wonder Woman, Quailman, and Jackie Kennedy, and more all strong contenders. The final winner was the Beekeeper, whose attention to detail (real bee carcasses attached to his jumpsuit and his very own bee) put his costume over the top. The Beekeeper was awarded a free ticket to the LUPEC Boston Tiki Bash. We can’t wait to see what he dreams up for that dress-up party.

Relive the moment at home with an individual-sized version of the cocktails we served as punch :

CORPSE REVIVER NO. 2
.75 oz Hendricks
.75 oz Lillet
.75 oz Cointreau
.75 oz lemon
dash of absinthe

Shake with ice & strain into a chilled vintage cocktail glass. Originally a hangover helped designed to help moisten the clay on any given Tuesday.
BLOODBATH PUNCH
1 oz Bourbon
1 oz Dubonnet Rouge
.5 oz Cherry Heering
.5 oz Orange Juice
Angostura Orange Bitters

Shake with ice & strain into a chilled cocktail glass. A riff on the Blood & Sand, only far more ghoulish.

Cin-cin!

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What We’re Drinking: The Zombie*

Posted in Events, Fundraiser, Weekly Dig, tagged Absinthe, angostura bitters, crushed ice, Demerara rum, Don the Beachcomber, Donn Beach, Donn’s Mix #1, Ernest Beaumont-Gantt, Grenadine, Jamaican rum, Jeff "Beach Bum" Berry, lime juice, LUPEC Boston's Tiki Bash, Orange Juice, Tiki, Velvet Falernum on October 22, 2009| 2 Comments »

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

by Pink Lady

Our big fall fundraiser, the LUPEC Boston Tiki Bash, is just a few weeks away, and LUPEC’s thinking Tiki! Last week we discussed the Mai Tai, that simple and delicious blend of dark rum, orgeat, lime, and curacao that was a cornerstone of the Tiki craze. Did Donn Beach invent this drink, or Trader Vic? Who knows. This week, we turn our attention to a considerably more complex concoction, the Zombie. We’re certain Donn Beach invented this one – and took the original recipe with him to the grave.

As the story goes, Donn Beach (née Ernest Beaumont-Gantt) invented the Zombie in the 1930s for an aviophobic friend taking a tipple at Don the Beachcomber’s before a flight to San Francisco…or was it a friend trying to overcome a hangover before an important business meeting? In any case, the guest had three of these high-test concoctions before (presumably) stumbling off for his flight/meeting/what have you. He returned a few days later to report: the drinks made him feel like the living dead for days thereafter. And the Zombie was born.

The Zombie became a signature cocktail at the Hurricane Bar at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City and enjoyed great popularity there. The drink went on to become a staple of Tiki joints that sprang up across the US, such as Trader Vic’s and, of course, Don the Beachcomber’s, where a 2-drink maximum policy was instituted.

Donn Beach was notoriously secretive about his cocktail recipes, creating special mixes for his bartenders that boasted numbers rather than names, keeping even the staff in the dark about his signature drinks. Imitations emerged in other Tiki joints, and Donn himself very likely noodled with the original recipe over time to accommodate new products or lack of available ingredients in certain markets. Countless recipes now exist, making it virtually impossible to pin down an original with which to craft a true artifact version for home consumption.

Tiki expert Jeff “Beachbum” Berry appears to have come the closest in excavating an original recipe through interviews with former staff from Don the Beachcomber’s. Poring over personal notes kept by these waiters and bartenders from their days behind the stick, several are published in his book, Sippin’ Safari. A variation via Dale DeGroff is below.

THE ZOMBIE
Adapted from The Essential Cocktail by Dale DeGroff

1.5 oz medium-bodied Jamaican rum
.5 oz 151-proof Demerara rum
.25 oz Velvet Falernum
.5 oz Donn’s Mix #1
1.5 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
.75 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon grenadine
2 dashes Angostura bitters
6 drops Absinthe
Mint sprigs for garnish

Combine with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker and shake well. Pour into a chimney glass, topping with crushed ice to fill the glass. Garnish with mint.

DONN’S MIX #1

2 parts fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

1 part Cinnamon Syrup (below)

Combine the grapefruit juice with syrup and shake well. Use immediately, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

CINNAMON SYRUP

5 cinnamon sticks, each about 2 inches long

20 oz. bottled or filtered water

1 quart sugar

Break the cinnamon sticks into pieces to create more surface area. Put the cinnamon, water, and sugar in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved, and then reduce the heat to very low and simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool completely, then bottle; keep covered in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes 2 cups.

Cin-cin!

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Who said drinks and cemeteries don’t mix?

Posted in Broads, Events, Gin, Women's History, tagged Forest Hills, Gin, lemon juice, Lucy Stone, Orange Juice on June 19, 2009| 2 Comments »

on the path to find lucy stone (and bring her some booze!)

by Pinky Gonzales

Some of us served drinks at a cemetery on Tuesday. As part of their annual Solstice celebration, the beautiful Forest Hills Cemetery asked LUPEC to serve up a drink of our choice to some odd 250+ attendees. In honor of a Forest Hills “permanent resident”, Lucy Stone, we made Stone Rickeys, and the crowd ate ’em up (and we, er…ran out).

STONE RICKEY
1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice*
1/2 oz simple syrup*
Fill with club soda
Mint sprig or orange slice garnish

Pour the gin, lime, orange, and simple syrup in a highball glass three-quarters filled with ice. Fill with club soda and stir. Garnish with mint or orange slice.

The Stone Rickey was created by Dale DeGroff. The original Gin Rickey (a much drier drink with no sugar) took it’s name from “Colonel Joe” Rickey, a lobbyist in Washington in the late nineteenth century who regularly drank with members of Congress in Shoemaker’s Bar. Colonel Joe also became, interestingly enough, the first major importer of limes to this country. The early Rickey recipe first appeared in Modern Mixed Drinks, by George Kappeler, in 1900. According to DeGroff, the expression “stone” or “California Sour” has come to mean a sour with orange juice added. The Stone Rickey recipe listed here has been adapted by LUPEC Boston (less sweet, less orange, as noted by *) to suit our tastes and to fit the more austere spirit of the revolutionary Ms. Stone.

Lucy Stone was a pioneering suffragist and abolitionist. She was the first Mass. woman to earn a college degree, and the first in the United States to keep her name after marriage (thus the coining of the term “Lucy Stoners” for those who did the same.) She was a leader in organizing the first national woman’s rights convention, held in Worcester, Mass. The speech she delievered there is said to have converted Susan B. Anthony to the suffrage cause… She worked as an organizer and speaker for the American Anti-Slavery Society, and through this included radical speeches on women’s rights. Apparently not content to settle for all the aformentioned “firsts”, Stone went on and became the first woman in New England ever to be cremated.