The Skinny -- Drinky Time with the Cocktail Collection

The cocktail collection is officially closed.  Well, supposedly.  She says it is; I keep buying things.  And she keeps buying things, too.

Just like it's her fault I now own this book.  She's the Blackbird that found this amazing little blue book on its shelf in the Salvation Army this week.  Of course I had to buy it.  Duh.

From 1951, The Bartender's Book, written by Jack Townsend and Tom Moore McBride, is a quintessential guide to the best of the best in the world of cocktails.  It's so witty and of the time, that I'm reading it like a novel.  And parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny.

These guys really got into the mind of the American drinker -- from typecasting bar customers to the watering down of classic cocktails through bluster and ignorance.  They also dip into the history of cocktails and their components.

I was slightly miffed that there is no Vodka section -- since I'm personally a vodka drinker.  They focus on gin, rum, whiskey, brandy, applejack, and scotch drinks.  But, really, there's not that many recipes in here overall.  Townsend and McBride liked good, solid, classic cocktails.  They included a list of the top 40 drinks served in 1950, with the survey information provided by the New York Bartender's Union.  The top five were:

1. Manhattan
2. Martini
3. Daiquiri
4. Whiskey Sour
5. Old-Fashioned 

And they didn't believe in all those fancy-schmancy themed cocktails.  There's a section where they harpoon the customers that want them -- called Freak Drinks.  Which oddly enough, contains a drink that has since become a classic cocktail, the Bloody Mary.  Seems it was just a trendy drink when the book was written.

Here's the most jaw-dropping concoction I saw in the Freak Drinks section.  I say to this recipe -- "I will never drink you, because you would kick my ass!"  (You may know about a Zombie -- bear with me, I'm not a rum drinker and have never heard its contents before.)

Zombie
1 oz. amber rum
1 oz. silver rum
1 oz. Jamaica rum
1/2 oz. cherry brandy
1/2 oz. apricot brandy
juice of half lime
1 dash papaya juice
1/2 oz. 150-proof Jamaica rum

Fill a 14 oz Zombie glass half full of finely cracked ice.  Put in the ingredients and stir.  Top with the 150-proof Jamaica rum.  Decorate with a sprig of mint.  Serve with straws.


 

Here's the recipe for their number 1 cocktail, the Manhattan. Thought you might like to know if you're making it right...


Manhattan
2/3 rye
1/3 Italian vermouth
dash of Angostura bitters

Stir with ice.  Decorate with maraschino cherry.

Sounds simple enough!

Cheers!!

(Now where's the vodka...)

Junk Love Monday: What Big Eyes You Have!

The Blackbird cocktail collection is on its way to becoming legendary. An entire row of upper cabinets lost their doors and became cocktail display space when we moved. Shelves on either side of the sink are full of miscellaneous cocktail items. Now, we have to apply an artful technique, with a pinch of creativity and crossed fingers, to fit new items into the kitchen (anywhere--to the untrained eye, all of our surfaces are full). So, it would really be a disservice to the collection to put it all in the same post. There are so many subcategories: swizzles, seltzer bottles, decanters (subdivided into figural, colored, or clear), shot glasses (subdivided by type), mixer glasses, jiggers, pour spouts, napkins, bar towels...okay, so there's a lot.

So, today we focus our junk love super-vision on a particular group of shot glasses, the ones we call "Big Eyes." These whimsical glasses have someone with--you guessed it--big eyes, paired with a witty saying. Usually, the eye is painted on the inside, and the figure on the outside, to give dimension. Who doesn't love a bulging eye?

Allow me to present a classic fish tale, in shot glass form. Here's looking at you, kid:

And Mr. Snarky--If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?:

A trio of fine gentlemen, part of a larger set called "Roving Eyes," but acquired by us one at a time [there is a veiled lady that goes with them, which we haven't come across yet, who demurely says "One's my limit")]:

And some others from Etsy, to tempt you (and us):

"Work is the curse of the drinking class"; from TaterSoup

"Fill 'er up!", from TaterSoup

Roving Eyes with the veiled lady; from MothEatenDeerHead

The Skinny: A Snazzy New Year's Cocktail Party

Don't be boring for New Year's Eve! Throw a humdinger of a party with these tips from Esquire's Handbook For Hosts (1949), and you'll be talked about (in a good way) for weeks to come.

The complete guide to perfect parties!

 I. The Invitations
Can be professionally printed, handwritten, or over the phone, but MUST include the date, time, place, and mention that drinks will be served (alcohol is the Pied Piper of parties). Ideally, your guests should receive the invite 2 weeks prior to the party, so that they have time to cruelly reject all other requests for their time. It is usually good to ask them to R.S.V.P. several days before the event, but we all know that people are lazy, inconsiderate, and far too self-involved to actually do this. Think about how many people you invited, and then cross your fingers that 70% of them show up. If extras come, and you run out of food (or worse, alcohol), then inform them that they should have followed the etiquette of the R.S.V.P. if they actually wanted you to buy enough for them. This is best done loudly, and in front of a crowd. Audiences help people learn from their mistakes.

iwillnotdiet.com

 II.  How Much Alcohol Will Make My Party Swing?
In 1949, three drinks per person. The actual amount should be based on two things: 1. your wallet; and 2. how many drunks you want to have to remove from your house when it's over. To calculate how many bottles to buy, rely on this handy tip from Esquire: a fifth of liquor (in a 25.6oz bottle) contains 17 jiggers of liquid. If you make cocktails that use one jigger each, then you can get 17 drinks out of each bottle. If using brandy or Scotch to make highballs, the same number can be used. Easy, right?

thedailygreen.com

Now for some more easy math: vermouths are to be used in half-jiggers, which gives you 34 cocktails per bottle if it is 25.6oz, or 40 drinks for the traditional tall bottle of vermouth. Champagne yields 6-9 glasses per bottle. (I suppose this depends on the fizziness, as well as how full you pour each glass, and how much you spill on your shoes while doing so.)

At your cocktail party, Esquire recommends that you offer the following variety of beverages to your guests:
          1 standard cocktail (Martini, Manhattan, etc.)
          1 other cocktail (any type)
          Whiskey and soda
          An aperitif (this is where the Sherry comes in)
          A non-alcoholic drink
         
You also need to stock up on maraschino cherries, olives, limes, lemons, oranges, bitters, sugar, chilled sparkling water, copious amounts of ice, and the correct glassware for the drinks you will be serving. Red solo cups are not allowed at this soiree!

fiftieswedding.com

III. Food For The Masses
For a cocktail party, the canape is king. Esquire's guidebook specifies that guests should not be burdened with plates, nor should they be served bites that have been wilting on their trays. Food items should be replenished once per half hour, if possible, so choose items that are easy to make. Here are some ideas:
        Bacon-wrapped olives (Or bacon-wrapped anything, for that matter....)
        Pigs in clover (Guess what? It's a bacon-wrapped oyster.)
        Pate with toast points or crackers
        Stuffed clams
        Caviar
        Canape Marguery (A mixture of hard boiled egg, anchovies, green pepper, tomato, and tuna fish, spread on toast, and topped with Russian dressing and 2-3 drops of Worcestershire sauce. Ummmm. Tasty?)

Olives in bacon!

IV. Entertainment
Of course, live music is great (and there must be dancing!), but in the absence of a band, throw on some vintage vinyl and play party games. It is best to choose games that are 1. fun when you are almost drunk; 2. safe for people who are almost drunk; and 3. unlikely to result in the destruction of property. Esquire recommends lively conversation, card games, riddles, and fortune telling. Fun!

star-spangledheart.blogspot.com

V. A Well-Oiled Machine
How to keep the party rolling smoothly? Plan. Purchase your food and alcohol (and aspirin) the day before. Begin cooking earlier in the afternoon. Shower and dress yourself before the guests arrive. Have a parking arrangement that makes sense. Designate a door greeter, a coat-checker, a kitchen director, and a bartender. Mingle, but stay sober. (A good host is never drunk!) Make the rounds and show you care. Get rid of everybody by 12:30am. (Be sure to check bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, and back seats!) Hire a cleaning crew. Have a drink and reflect on your success. Go to bed and sleep very late. Wait at least 2 months to repeat the process.

Now, party on!

Smoke a Webster cigar while you're at it. Or not.

Junk Love Monday: Are We There Yet?

Long trips are great, but we don't always have the time (or the funds) to play Lewis and Clark. So, we try to take short trips several times throughout the year, usually around 2 to 3 days. We try to achieve a careful balance between planning and spontaneity for these trips to reduce our chances of wasting time and gas. In the week prior to the trip, we make lists and check Google maps and write down addresses and phone numbers (because we like to make sure that we're driving to places that actually still exist and function as retail locations). Then, we throw a couple of duffel bags in the back, and decide as we travel whether we want to stick to our original path, or stop in that cute little town and see what's there.

We usually have better luck when we stick to the lists, but sometimes it's the unplanned stops that end up being junk gold mines. This brings to mind one trip in particular, which shall always be known as That Time We Almost Went to Georgia.

The Blackbird girls are infamous for being slow travelers. What should be a three hour drive becomes an eleven hour event, because we are basically children with bank accounts. We stop. Often. An hour on the road makes us squirmy, and two hours becomes Are We There Yet? The bright side of this is that neither of us is particularly worried about checking into a hotel at midnight, as long as we got good junk along the way.

We decided to go to Georgia for two nights. We made our lists, threw in our bags, and hit the road. An hour later, because we were already itching for a fix, we had to make a quick thrift store stop to stretch our legs. It was an auspicious beginning. Within the first five minutes, I found the love of my life (one of many, I admit):

Ahh, globes....

We made it across the border to South Carolina, stopping here and there as the inspiration hit us, finding all sorts of little thrift stores and independent junk shops. And it was good junk, so we had to keep looking, right? Otherwise, we might have missed this:

Part of the ever-growing cocktail collection

By the time 6pm rolled around, we were still in South Carolina. In the northern regions, actually. Just barely across the border. The thing about 6pm is that most smaller junk shops close at 4, 5, or 6pm. Salvation Army thrift stores close at 5pm or 6pm. Goodwills may close at 6, 7, 8, or 9pm, depending on the region. So you have a choice: do you keep driving, knowing that you might not find any more stores open, or do you stop for the night so that you can hit them all during early business hours? Nothing is more depressing than driving past closed thrift stores for hours at a time. Like I said, we have short attention spans when it comes to car travel. So, we found a hotel, got some food, and decided to continue to Georgia the next day.

We got up early-ish (thrift stores tend to open at 9am, so there's really no rush), and came upon a couple of shops within 5 or 10 minutes of the hotel. Thirty minutes later, we were repacking the car in the parking lot. Then we found another shop. And another. Then what happened? It was 6pm again, and we were STILL IN SOUTH CAROLINA, and we had repacked the car TWICE to accommodate the stuff. So, we stayed another night. At this point, Georgia was a distant dream, because we only had one more day, and that was supposed to get us back home.  Also, the car was almost full.

We decided to make a loop, rather than retrace our route, because it was unlikely that all of those shops had fully restocked in the last 48 hours, and we might as well keep looking for junk. And...we found more stuff. We pulled off to a deserted end of a parking lot and repacked the car again. It took us the whole day, but we finally made it back home. In a straight drive, it would have taken us 5 hours to get to our first planned destination in Georgia. In our entire three day trip, we were never more than 3 hours from home.

This trip, like most others, happened in a Toyota Yaris hatchback. (I acquired an SUV a few months ago, so we now have double the cargo space.) The Yaris is a small car. Some would call it tiny. But I happen to excel at maximum utilization of a space. In other words, I am the Master Packer of our duo. Here is a picture of the car when we got home (and technically, we could have stopped a few more places--notice that there's still room in the car):

The next morning....

I recently discovered a list of our purchases from that trip (the only time we've bothered to make one), so here's the breakdown of what the Yaris brought home:
-mid-century lamp w/ vintage shade
-2 metal cupcake displays
-tin litho globe
-breakfast tray
-2 stretched fabric pictures
-3 framed needlepoints
-2 embroidered throw pillows
-7 vintage plaid wool blankets
-crochet blanket
-large plaid suitcase
-small floral suitcase
-3 ice buckets
-Strawberry Shortcake bedspread
-wicker wall shelf
-small wicker bookcase
-tin litho recipe box
-3 pcs. vintage fabric
-unframed needlepoint
-wooden tabletop book rack
-6 vintage purses
-12" metal display stand
-2 ceramic clowns
-3 sconces
-3 bird plaques
-vintage recipe binder
-vintage curtain panels
-vintage wall-mount tie rack
-7 scarves
-4 neckties
-embroidered wall hanging
-wall-mount clothing rack
-4 tea towels
-bucket
-jar
-floral runner
-Teddy Ruxpin bear
-1939 Atlas
-metal magazine rack
-vintage coffeepot
-2 sets vintage fondue plates
-5 patterns
-2 framed watercolors
-framed Navy class photo
-vintage ornaments
-pie keeper
-swizzle sticks
-6 vintage tins
-nesting doll
-misc. dishes, S&P, mugs
-misc. restaurantware
-large Atlas
-2 nut dishes
-men's tweed hat
-Turkish bottle
-amber hobnail egg plate
-vintage mail holder
-12 records
-giant metal fork & spoon
-sm. red desk lamp
-lg. framed Eiffel tower print
-wire egg basket
-2 vintage board games
-metal tray
-38 books
-5 vintage planters
-2 humans, 2 suitcases, 2 pillows, various snacks

We probably could have ventured a little farther in South Carolina, but once the car is packed to a certain point, it's risky to continue putting home base farther behind you. Even now, when we talk about That Time We Almost Went to Georgia, we get sidetracked by all the junk we found in such a small area, and we want to do it again. Sorry, Georgia. Maybe next time. Or maybe we'll plan a trip to Florida (wink wink). That should at least get us to Savannah before the SUV fills up and we have to turn around.