Happy Birthday, Clara Bow!

Today is actress Clara Bow’s birthday!

She was born July 29, 1905 in Brooklyn and went on to become a star of the screen in Hollywood. 

She died in 1965 at the age of 60.

Her role in the movie It earned her the nickname “The It Girl,” and for many Bow came to personify the roaring twenties.

  

More movie work info:

She appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It (1927) and Wings (1927).

She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930.

Want to know more about Clara Bow? Click here.

Thirsty for a drink? Read on…

  
About This Cocktail:

The Clara Bow cocktail was created at Rye House in New York City in 2009. There are also other recipes for Clara Bow cocktails online, but this appears to be the first. I found out about the drink from the site Serious Eats.

Ingredients:

•​1 1/2 ounces bourbon
​•3/4 ounces lemon juice
•​1/2 ounce grenadine
•​1/2 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur
​•Mint leaves

Preparation:

Shake all ingredients over ice and then double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with mint — or mint and a cherry as I did.

Also, in the Rye House’s recipe on Serious Eats, their Clara Bow is made with Bulleit Bourbon.

  
Still Thirsty For More?

— Read the Serious Eats piece on the Clara Bow cocktail.

— Here’s another site that mentions the Rye House’s drink.

Pics From National Tequila Day

 My Paloma:

 

And a shot:

  

National Tequila Day

It’s National Tequila Day today! And it’s not even May!

Well, any reason to celebrate a spirit is reason enough for me! Bring on the salt, citrus and agave syrup!

  
I found the above picture by searching National Tequila Day in Google’s images.

And now for some drinks:

• Anejo Old Fashioned — (Link)
• The Matador — (Link)
• Tequila Mockingbird — (Link)

For my money though, the drink of the day should definitely be the Paloma!

You can build this drink to taste, like you would any other highball or Collins/Rickey because the ingredients are sort of similar — tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda.

But here’s the basic building blocks:

Ingredients:
•2 oz tequila
•1 splash lime juice
•1 pinch of salt
•3 to 4 oz grapefruit soda

Preparation:
Grab yourself a Collins or highball glass and pack it full with ice. Next add 2 oz of good tequila. Add a bit of lime juice, whether it be pre-squeezed or simply a good-sized wedge you squeeze and drop in. Then top off the glass with the grapefruit soda!

For more about the Paloma, visit Liquor.com or Imbibe Magazine or The New York Times or Serious Eats or Esquire.

THIRSTY FOR MORE?

— Check out Good Spirits News for more about National Tequila Day and a list of quality tequilas.

AND ONE LAST THING:

Who makes up all these “National” holidays? Where do they come from? Why are they legit?

— Here’s some info explaining just that.

— A second story about the calendar.

Customer Appreciation Post — Irish Handcuffs

I appreciate it when people appreciate the drinks I make for them, especially when they post about ’em on social media:

  
Both of those drinks are the same thing — a variation on the French 75 with Absolut Peach in place of gin, as well as a little peach liqueur to balance the brut champagne.

Later I made a “grilled” peach version of this drink with a smoked sugar simple syrup and a Laphroiag rinse.

Remembering Hemingway

Yesterday was Hemingway’s birthday, and we celebrated it appropriately at the bar where I work:

  

Bar Notes ‘Cocktail of the Day’

The Bar Notes crew made my write-up of Nick Jarrett’s “Prizefighter #1” their cocktail of the day!

Get the recipe for the Prizefighter #1 by clicking here.

 

I’ve previously been mentioned for my New York Sour! Check out the post by clicking here and here!

Happy Birthday, Ginger Rogers!

Today is the birthday of old Hollywood actress Ginger Rogers!

She was born on this day, July 16, in 1911!

  

Sometimes when searching a drink, I end up finding dozen different recipes from as many websites, blogs and cocktail books.

And although there are surely cocktails with more variations to their name, searching for a Ginger Rogers drink did result in a couple different recipes.

For the Ginger Rogers recipe I’m writing about today, I pulled info from Cocktailia and Post-Prohibition.

About This Drink:

A gin and ginger ale drink made extra-fancy with mint, lime juice and more!

From Post-Prohibition:

This recipe was created at Portland’s Zefiro in 1995 by Marcovaldo Dionysos. It gained its popularity at Absinthe Brasserie and Bar in San Francisco where it was one of the most ordered drinks. It’s also the cocktail that inspired the book The Art of the Bar.

Ingredients:
•2 oz gin
•1/2 oz fresh lime juice
•1/2 oz ginger syrup
•8 to 10 mint leaves
•op with ginger ale
•Garnish with a lime wedge

Preparation:

Shake all ingredients except the ginger ale over ice and double strain into a chilled Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with ginger ale and garnish with mint and a lime wedge.

  

Other Recipes:

1. Imbibe Magazine calls for a whiskey sour with gingerbread flavor.
2. This classic recipe calls for dry vermouth and apricot brandy, among other ingredients. Read more about it here.
3. Immediately below is a recipe from Liquor.com which uses Campari and then further on down this post is another recipe from Maker’s Mark which used mango nectar:

From Liquor.com:
Ingredients:
•1 Strawberry, sliced
•5 Clementine segments
•2 oz Campari
•3 oz Orange Juice
•1 pinch Ground ginger
•1 splash 7UP

Preparation:
In a shaker, muddle the strawberry and clementine. Add the remaining ingredients and fill with ice. Shake well and strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with an edible pansy.

From Maker’s Mark:
Ingredients
•2 parts Maker’s Mark
•2 & 1/2 parts mango nectar 
•1/2 part fresh lime juice
•1/2 part ginger beer
•Dash Angostura
Preparation
Pour the Maker’s Mark, mango nectar, lime juice and bitters into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for about 25 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass or serve over ice. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with 3 cubes of mango spiked on a wood skewer.

Satan’s Whiskers

Following up on yesterday’s Grand Marnier post, I figured I’d share these photos of the Satan’s Whiskers cocktail I made:

  

A recipe for the Satan’s Whiskers cocktail taken from Imbibe Magazine:

•1/2 oz. gin
•1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
•1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
•1/2 oz. dry vermouth
•1/2 oz. orange juice
•Dash orange bitters

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

 

The cocktail first appeared in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, and there were actually two versions, “Satan’s Whiskers (straight)” and “Satan’s Whiskers (curled)” — with curacao in place of Grand Marnier in the latter.

Thirsty For More?
— This post on Cold Glass has a thorough assessment of the drink.

A French-Themed ‘Double Whammy’

Today is France’s national holiday. It’s also National Grand Marnier Day.

I wrote about France’s July 14th holiday last year, but I didn’t know then that the day is also our National Grand Marnier Day!

An ad for Grand Marnier.

So, technically, I guess it’s Bastille Day, but this article says we’re not supposed to call it that.

Still, it’s a double-whammy of a day to be imbibing French-themed drinks — especially if those drinks have Grand Marnier in them.

First some ideas not related toGrand  Marnier:

• French 75
• French Martini
• St. Germain & Champagne
• Chambord & Champagne

What Is Grand Marnier?

Grand Marnier is an 80 proof, orange-flavored cognac.

It was created by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle in 1880.

Grand Marnier is comprised of Cognac brandy, distilled essence of bitter orange, and sugar.

Satan’s Whiskers

A recipe for a Grand Marnier cocktail taken from Imbibe Magazine:

•1/2 oz. gin
•1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
•1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
•1/2 oz. dry vermouth
•1/2 oz. orange juice
•Dash orange bitters

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Thirsty For More?

— Read this post on Good Spirits News for more Grand Marnier history and a pair of drink recipes.

Deschutes Brewery’s Fresh-Squeezed IPA