Here’s looking at you …

From the feedback I have received, ‘Cocktails with a Curator’ from The Frick has proved to be a highlight of the week. While I suspect the reason is the very personable Xavier Salomon, it may also have something to do with sitting back and sipping on a drink while ‘taking us out of ourselves’ as we explore a non-COVID moment.

The ‘cocktail’ is primarily an American development and the first recorded use of the word as an alcoholic drink is in ‘The Balance and Columbian Repository’ (Hudson, New York) from 1806. Initially, cocktails were a mixture of spirits, water, sugar, and bitters, with the addition of a liqueur coming some years later.

Opinions differ about the origin of the word ‘cocktail’. One suggestion is that iit comes from a corruption of the words ‘cock ale’. However, the most probable theory is by Emili Låftman from 1946 which was summarised by the etymologist Anatoly Liberman:

‘It was customary to dock the tails of horses that were not thoroughbred … They were called cocktailed horses, later simply cocktails. By extension, the word cocktail was applied to a vulgar, ill-bred person raised above his station, assuming the position of a gentleman but deficient in gentlemanly breeding. … Of importance [in the 1806 citation above] is … the mention of water as an ingredient. … Låftman concluded that cocktail was an acceptable alcoholic drink, but diluted, not a “purebred”, a thing “raised above its station”. Hence the highly appropriate slang word used earlier about inferior horses and sham gentlemen’.

The first bartender’s guide to mixing cocktails – ‘The Bon Vivant’s Companion’ – appeared in 1862 and this was followed up by the sweetly-titled: ‘Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks’ in 1869. The first cocktail party was believed to be held on a Sunday afternoon by Mrs Julius S. Walsh Jr. in St Louis, Missouri in 1917. I suspect I may have been channelling Mrs Walsh Jr. each week when I suggested watching Xavier Salomon each Sunday afternoon with a drink!

But let’s fast REWIND to Melbourne in the 1860s when our city was one of the ‘Cocktail Capitals’ of the world. There seem to be a couple of reasons for this. First, there was a large influx of goldminers from the Californian goldfields seeking their fortune in the Victorian goldfields who were used to the early version of this drink. As a result, American bartenders were encouraged to join them to service their needs. Second, the Americans and their ‘inventions’ (including the importing of ice from Massachusetts for the drinks) were valued in Australia as part of anti-British sentiment – they had, after all, ‘trounced’ the British and thrown them out of America a century earlier. This apparently appealed to the larrikin spirit of the day.

The first cocktail bar to open in Melbourne was the Café De Paris in King Street in 1859 and it was THE place to get a Sherry Cobbler. Melbourne’s bars prospered and have been prospering ever since. Today, along with New York and London, Melbourne is regarded as one of best places for cocktails in the world.  Perhaps the enjoyment of cocktails is now just part of our DNA.

As we prepare to re-emerge from lockdown, here are some recipes for fortifying drinks, to help with the transition. Each recipe has some suggestions about art that could enhance the drinking experience.

Mint Julep (Bourbon)

The first cocktail is a classic bourbon cocktail and conforms to the original formula. Created in the southern United States during the late 18^th century, it conjures up images of the Deep South, cotton plantations, and ‘Gone With the Wind’ – so perhaps a good place to start to reflect on issues of racism and white privilege which challenge us today. While a traditional cocktail, it is served in a highball glass over crushed ice and garnished with mint.

In the glass, gently muddle the mint and syrup. Add the bourbon and pack tightly with crushed ice. Stir until the glass is frosted on the outside. Garnish with mint and a couple of optional drops of bitters.

Dry Martini (Gin)

The American essayist, H. L. Mencken, called the martini ‘the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet’ and E. B. White (author of Charlotte’s Web) described it as ‘the elixir of solitude’.  The origin of the drink is unknown, but it has been linked with the town of Martinez in California in the late 19^th century, and also with a bartender at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York around 1911/1912.

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice cubes and STIR well. Strain into a chilled martini cocktail glass and garnish.

Somerset Maugham is often quoted as saying: ‘a martini should always be stirred, not shaken, so that the molecules lie sensuously on top of one another’. This is the antithesis of the cocktail enjoyed by James Bond which uses vodka instead of gin and is shaken, not stirred. The proper name for a shaken martini is a ‘Bradford’.

Bellini (Prosecco)

There are not many drinks named after artists, but there is the Bellini which was invented by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice, sometime between the mid 1930s and late 1940s. The pink colour of the drink recalled the colour favoured by the 15^th century Venetian artist, Giovanni Bellini. The drink, which was once seasonal, is now standard.

Pour peach purée into a chilled glass. Add prosecco and stir gently.

There are other versions which change the fruit component and take the names of other ‘creatives’. These include: Tintoretto (pomegranate juice), Rossini (strawberry purée) and Puccini (mandarin juice).

Black Russian (Vodka)

The Black Russian was created at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in 1949 in honour of the American socialite and political hostess, Perle Mesta, who was the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg at the time. Mesta was the daughter of a wealthy Oklahoma oilman, and wife of a Pennsylvania steel manufacturer. When her husband died (after nine years of marriage) she inherited his estate which was worth the equivalent to over one billion dollars in today’s money. Mesta went on to have a political career as a supporter of the Democratic Party in America. She was also the inspiration for Irving Berlin’s musical comedy, ‘Call Me Madam’.  The name of the drink comes from the use of vodka and the colour of the drink.

Pour the ingredients into an old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes and stir gently.

There are many variations of this drink including a White Russian (cream added) or Australian Black Russian (served in a highball glass and topped up with cola) – which sounds somewhat bogan.

Margarita (Tequila)

There are many stories around the origin of the Margarita and many claims as to who invented it. Was it a drink which became popular during Prohibition in America as people drifted over the Mexican border in search of alcohol? Was it invented for Marjorie King, the Ziegfeld Follies dancer who was allergic to most spirits – but not tequila? Or was it created for the singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee using the Spanish version of her name? Wherever it came from, the first publication of a margarita recipe was as ‘drink of the month’ in the December 1953 issue of Esquire. 

Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with salt.

The Margarita subsequently became famous due to Jimmy Buffet’s 1977 song ‘Margaritaville’ and is now claimed to be the most popular mixed drink in America.

Black and Tan (Beer)

It is impossible to leave out a beer cocktail so the Black and Tan gets a guernsey. The first recorded use of the name for the drink was in the American magazine Puck in 1881. However, ‘black and tan’ probably comes from England where local consumers have blended different beers since the 17^th century. In the 1690s, beer blends known as ‘three-threads’ or ‘five-threads’ were drunk. Each thread was a different type of beer and the mixing of threads was to avoid paying taxes, as stronger beers were more heavily taxed. By blending heavier beers with lighter beers, the brewers and ale-houses made more of a profit.

The drink is made as a layered drink. A pint glass is filled halfway with a pale ale and then stout is slowly poured on top to fill the glass. A steady hand, practice, and a specially designed black-and-tan spoon help. The layering is possible due to the lower density of the Guinness.

This drink has created controversy in Ireland due to the association of its name with the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force, nicknamed the ‘Black and Tans’ who were sent into Ireland in the 1920s during the Irish War of Independence. As a result, the Irish version of the drink is referred to as a ‘half and half’.

Blow My Skull Off (Rum)

This is an Australian entrant from the mid 19^th century. In ‘The English and Australian Cookery Book: Cookery for the Many, as well as the Upper Ten Thousand – by an Australian Aristologist’ by Edward Abbott from 1864, we find the following recipe: two pints of boiling water, sugar loaf, lime or lemon juice, one pint of ale or porter, one pint of rum, and half a pint of brandy. This ‘notoriously potent concotion’ was invented by Lieutenant Governor Thomas Davey of Tasmania. Sometimes the drink included Turkish opium – which was apparently very popular among goldminers in the 1850s. As the most famous cocktail created in Australia, it has been adopted in other parts of the world and is sometimes served flaming in a skull-shaped bowl.

Quaratini

And finally, there is the cocktail which was invented for the pandemic – the ‘Quarantini’. This drink targets the health issues raised by the virus, and includes alcohol to kill the germs, honey to soothe the throat, lemon to boost immunity and vitamin C to augment the health benefits.

Place honey and water in a pan and heat to create a syrup. Add alcohol, honey syrup and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker and whisk to combine. Add ice and shake. Strain into a martini glass that has been rimmed with powdered vitamin C. Finish with a twist of lemon.

After two Quarantinis, you won’t remember that COVID-19 exists. Fortunately, there is not a late entrant from America which involves Pine O Cleen!

Stay safe, well and optimistic as we re-enter the world.