Some Americans will lift a glass of egg nog or mulled wine this weekend. Others are planning on breaking out the hard stuff. Jim Meehan is one of them. Usually found behind the bar at speakeasy PDT (Please Don't Tell), Meehan, 32, is one of New York's best-known mixologists. But this Friday is special for him and every other bartender--4:31 pm on that day marks Prohibition's repeal, 75 years ago.
Kind of a funny coincidence -- My wife is planning a holiday party this Friday night at our home for the families of our kids' daytime play group, and she wanted me to make some mixed drinks. Well, we will certainly raise a glass to that special occasion!
In the article, there's also a link to click through a slide show of the various classic mixed drink recipes. I'd have to buy some new stuff to make most of them ... I do not have absinthe, grenadine, or Angostura bitters in my pantry. Maybe I'll make some Sidecars, one of the recipes in the slide show:
The Sidecar
In The Night Club Era by Stanley Walker (1933), he writes that Sidecars weren't made by Prohibition-era bartenders since they were too much trouble to make. The drink enjoyed much of its popularity right before Prohibition, however, and remains a favorite of cocktail geeks today. The main spirit, Cognac, can be substituted depending on personal preference (Armagnac is the same as Cognac, just from a different region of France). Some recipes call for bourbon, others for brandy.
Recipe:
2 parts Cognac or Armagnac
1 part Cointreau
1 part lemon juice
Stir all the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with sugar, and garnish with a piece of lemon rind.
Recipe from The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930.
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