Drink Matron

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  • The Sidecar

    Of all the basic drinks listed in David A Embury’s Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, the Sidecar has the most dubious of back stories.


    Paris

    It is said that in Paris during World War I, an American Army captain often traveled around in a motorcycle sidecar. One day, when he was under the weather, he requested a libation that would help him to feel better. The bartender, trying to find something suitable to pair with the “medicinal” brandy, added Cointreau and lemon juice as a source of Vitamin C. The drink was named “Sidecar” as a tribute to its original patron, and the rest is history.

    London’s Buck’s Club

    Many believe that the Paris story is a very big myth, and that the true invention of the Sidecar can be traced back to the London’s famous Buck’s Club in the 1920s. The creation is most often credited to Pat MacGarry, one of the Buck’s Club’s most popular bartenders.

    Or Not

    Another possibility is that the Sidecar is itself a variation of the Brandy Crusta, a cocktail made with the same ingredients and which also sported a sugar rimmed glass. The most notable difference is that the Sidecar is made with Cognac rather than standard Brandy.

    French School vs. English School

    While the origin of the drink may not be of any consequence to the drinker, the exact proportion of what goes into the drink may be very important. While everyone agrees that the three main ingredients are Cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice, the debate about just exactly how much of each goes into the drink has spawned two schools of thought: the French School and the English School.

    The French School maintains that the drink should consist of equal parts of each of the three ingredients. The English School believes that the cocktail should consist of two parts Cognac for every one part Cointreau and lemon juice. While this may not seem like it should make a difference, the taste of each of these mixes is drastically different, and can cause quite an issue when a you’re expecting your drink to taste a specific way.

    The Sidecar

    French School

    • 1 oz Cognac or Armagnac
    • 1 oz Cointreau
    • 1 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice

    English School

    • 1 1/2 oz Cognac or Armagnac
    • 3/4 oz Cointreau
    • 3/4 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice

    Combine ingredients in a shaker half full of ice. Shake until very cold, and strain into a cocktail glass (preferably chilled). If preferred, rim the cocktail glass with sugar before straining. Garnish with a twist of lemon or orange.

    No matter how you like your Sidecar, it’s certain that what you’re getting is something classic and pleasant. Please remember to always drink responsibly and know your limit.

  • The Gin Craze

    When I think about gin, my mind takes a trip to Dickensian London where the streets are filthy, the people filthier, and everyone drinks gin like it was water.  There is a reason for this imagery coming so readily to many people’s minds: The Gin Craze.

    England vs France

    The Gin Craze began as a result of the history of bad blood between England and France. At the end of the 17th century, when William the Orange took power in England, several acts were passed to thwart French influence in England. These acts made it more difficult to import French brandy, and at the same time encouraged the production of local gin. Further, the London Guild of Distillers was essentially neutered and new distillers were encouraged to start producing gin. Licensing requirements to produce or sell the spirit were completely dropped. On top of all of that, the government put a considerable effort into encouraging the population of London to imbibe this locally produced gin.

    These reasons alone would be enough to start a whirlwind of popularity for the distinctly flavored liquor, but other factors caused it to spin out of control.

    The Industrial Revolution

    By the 1720s, the Industrial Revolution was starting to pick up steam and people were being encouraged to leave their rural communities for the hustle and bustle of the city. London started to get overcrowded far beyond what the infrastructure could handle and the factories could employ. Having this overabundance of potential workforce meant that business owners could demand longer hours for less pay from their employees (if you complained you could be easily replaced). Miserable, unsafe work conditions became the norm. Couple that with the dreadful and unsanitary home conditions meant that life was desolate without any hope of getting better. Any one of working age (6 years old or older) wanted to find a way to just forget about how miserable their lives were. Lucky for them, there were more gin shops in the poor areas than any other shop in London (most of which were unlicensed, selling gin made in the back room).

    During this time, food prices also started to drop, meaning that the working class (aka the dirt poor) had a little more money in their pocket, which to them equated more drinking money.

    “Gin Lane” and the end of the Gin Craze

    By the 1730s, gin consumption had reached an average of two pints per week per Londoner and would only increase from there. The best illustration of just how terrible it had become was an engraving by William Hogworth entitled “Gin Lane” which depicted a street piled with lazy and careless drunks, including a woman allowing her child to fall to its death.

    The Gin Craze started to fizzle around 1751 and is attributed to the passing of the Gin Act of 1751, though the rising price of grain probably contributed to it as well.

    While I have no evidence to support it, I’m quite sure that the reason that gin remains such a prevalent and popular spirit is partially to do with the Gin Craze.

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  • Rum Runners

    The Prohibition era was an interesting time for the liquor industry in America.  In the short time in which booze was illegal in the States, it didn’t stop Americans from drinking it. In fact, black market spirit sales sprang to an ultimate high, making way for money to be made from illegal booze. And the rum runners made a killing.

    Rum runners were smugglers who specialized in bringing alcohol into the United States via boat. What started with Caribbean rum (hence the term rum runner) eventually moved to include Canadian whiskey and English gin.  Rum runners would go to any number of Caribbean islands, buy enough rum to fill their boats and head back to a U.S. port. Originally, they traveled from Bimini to southern Florida, but as authorities started tightening down on booze smuggling, ships would make runs up and down the entire eastern seaboard.

    Rum was inexpensive to procure, but the rum runners couldn’t turn much of a profit on it because rum was so inexpensive.  Typically, runners employed “profit enhancing” techniques such as watering down the rum or putting expensive brand labels on cheaper or unmarked rum. One of the more famous rum runners, Captain Bill McCoy, made a name for himself by never stooping to these “cost cutting” tactics.  This is where the term “The Real McCoy” comes from.

    McCoy was also known for the Rum Line.  In order to avoid the crack down on the major ports by federal authorities, the runners had to use mid-sized boats to transport the rum and other spirits. After running rum for a while, the intrepid captain realized that they could make most of the trip in much larger boats and then move the cargo to smaller boats offshore and make more profit per trip.  Utilizing this model, they could use even smaller boats to make landfall, allowing them to use smaller ports or even beach access points. Once they started implementing this, making the cargo transfer five miles from the U.S. coast (where International waters begin) the idea took hold.  The large vessels coming in would sit in a long line just outside of U.S. waters and wait for the smaller vessels to pick up the rum, eventually earning the name, “The Rum Line.”

    Rum runners brought in roughly $200,000 in product per week when the average American was making $50 per week.  It was a highly lucrative business for the few short years that alcohol was prohibited in the U.S.  After prohibition was repealed with the 21st Amendment in 1933, rum running became far less profitable, and fell mainly to less boisterous smugglers. The golden era of the rum runner was gone.

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  • The Controversial History of the Mai Tai

    Like any good cocktail, the Mai Tai begins with a good old fashioned controversy over who really invented it. The story of the Mai Tai begins in Oakland, California in 1944, when Victor Bergeron, also known as Trader Vic, claimed to have invented the cocktail at his restaurant.

    Trader Vic stakes his claim as Mai Tai Inventor

    According to the Trader Vic website, Bergeron was looking for a way to mix a bottle of his 17-year old Jamaican rum, J Wray Nephew. He wanted to mix it with something that would accentuate the flavor rather than over power it, so he mixed the rum with fresh lime, orange curacao and Rock Candy Syrup with a splash of French Orgeat and poured it over shaved ice.

    Naming the cocktail was easy, Vic said in a 1970 statement posted on the Trader Vic’s restaurant website.

    “I stuck in a branch of fresh mint and gave two of them to Ham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti, who were there that night. Carrie took one sip and said, ‘Mai Tai – Roa Ae!’ In Tahitian this means ‘Out of This World – The Best.’ Well, that was that. I named the drink ‘Mai Tai.’”

    Don the Beachcomber says the Mai Tai is his

    However, although Vic claimed to have invented the drink, his rival, Don the Beachcomber, jumped on the bandwagon to claim that it was actually him who had invented the exotic cocktail. While Don had invented a similar drink, it was vastly different from Trader Vic’s in both ingredients and taste.

    Legacy of the Mai Tai

    For years after its invention, the Mai Tai enjoyed a large amount of popularity and was featured in Trader Vic’s restaurants as well as other Tiki themed restaurants. It was also famously shown in the Elvis Presley film “Blue Hawaii.”

    Today, the Mai Tai continues to maintain its popularity at Tiki-themed bars and restaurants. Variations on the drink have always been around, but most Mai Tai fans prefer to drink it as Trader Vic originally intended.

    Because of the popularity of the Mai Tai, the original rum used to make the drink was soon unavailable, and was replaced with other long-aged rums. Today, it is recommended that the drink be made with Jamaican rum aged either 8 or 15 years.

    Old style Mai Tai

    Ingredients:

    • 1 oz Fine Jamaican Rum (aged 15 or 8 years)
    • 1 oz Martinique Rum
    • 1/2 oz Orange Curacao
    • 1/2 oz Orgeat Syrup
    • Juice from one freshly squeezed Lime

    Add ingredients together in a shaker and shake vigorously. Pour in a cocktail glass over ice. Garnish with lime and sprig of mint, if available.

     

  • The Mojito: A Caribean cocktail with a centuries old history

    The mojito is a refreshing summer drink that is sure to cool even on the most sweltering of days. But what many do not know is that its history begins with pirates.Made famous in modern times due to Ernest Hemingway’s love for the drink, and seeing a new surge more recently due to the Bacardi Company’s new ready-to-make advertising campaign, the mojito has a surprisingly long history.

    Pirate Origins

    According to The Mojito Company, the story of the mojito begins in the mid 1580’s on pirate Francis Drake’s ship when his associate, Richard Drake, the crew “doctor” would use aguardiente, a predecessor of rum, with sugar, lime and mint as a medicinal cocktail. Many on the crew would enjoy the drink during their pillaging of the Cuban islands, and because of this, the cocktail became popular throughout the Caribbean world. Drake named the beverage El Draque, the dragon, after Sir Francis.

    In the 1800’s, when rum became popular, it replaced the aguardiente, and the mojito was born.

    Another story states that the mojito was invented by slaves working Cuban sugar cane fields in the 1800’s. This story shares similarities with the origin of the daiquiri; however, and many believe the stories have become confused over the years.

    Hemingway and the Mojito

    It is not surprising then, that a cocktail that originated in the Caribbean would become the ideal summer cool down. Ernest Hemingway adored the drink and was said to have enjoyed it at La Bodequita in Havana, Cuba. He is said to have written, “I drink my mojitos at la Bodequita and at La Floridita,” on the wall there.

    The Mojito

    Ingredients and hardware:

    • 10 – 12 mint fresh mint leaves
    • 2 Tablespoons simple syrup
    • 2 oz. light rum
    • 1 lime, sliced
    • Club Soda
    • Lime wedge and mint sprigs for garnish
    • Muddler

    In a highball glass, gently crush the mint leaves and the sliced lime with a muddler. Add syrup, and fill glass with ice. Add rum and top with club soda. Stir to mix. Garnish with lime wedge and a few sprigs of mint.

    Recipe variations

    Like many summer cocktails, people experiment in order to get exactly what they’re looking for. In the case of the mojito, many different flavors can be added to the original recipe to spark new taste sensations. In order to add more flavor, one can either add the desired fruit (raspberry, mango, strawberry, etc) to the lime and mint during the muddling process. One can also replace the lime with these fruits if desired.

    Another way to get more flavor is to use flavored rums. Rum flavors range from raspberry to watermelon to orange.

    No matter how you enjoy your mojito, remember, drink responsibly. Always have a designated driver and remember to know your limits!

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  • Bosch Brewing Company

    For nearly a century, Keeweenaw Peninsula residents enjoyed beer produced locally by the Bosch Brewing Company. So prevalent was this brand that even after its demise, it remains a large part of the Keeweenaw’s history and culture.

    In 1874, Joseph Bosch founded the Torch Lake Brewery in Calumet (then known as Red Jacket) where it started ingratiating itself into the community. Joseph Bosch sold his leftover malt to local farmers and would give them free beer while they waited for the malt to be loaded into wagons.

    Copper mining was a huge industry in the Keeweenaw in the mid to late 1800’s, giving it the nickname the Copper Country. The industry brought in waves of people to work in the mines, who also enjoyed a good beer. These miners were a major part of the success of the Bosch line of beers.

    In 1894, Joseph Bosch bought his partners out and renamed the brewery to Bosch Brewing Company, growing his business to become the second largest industry in the Copper Country. During this time, Joseph commissioned a German artist by the name of Rohrbeck to produce murals to be placed in the brewery.

    Sadly, this story ends like most tales of small breweries in the U.S.  Bosch was forced to close its door in 1973 due to the overwhelming competition by the big label beer companies. The last keg was sold to Schmidt’s Corner Bar in Houghton, and the sad occasion was documented by the local paper. The bar filled beyond capacity with loyal Bosch drinkers who not only wanted to get one last taste of their beloved brew, but to commiserate with one another.  It was the end of an era in the Keeweenaw.

    Not all was lost when the brewery shut down, however. Rohrbeck’s murals were purchased locally, and can still be seen in the Ambassador Restaurant in downtown Houghton.

    After the brewery was closed, the brand was sold to Jacob Leinenkeugel Brewing Company, who continued to produce Bosch (even hiring Bosch Brewmaster Vincent Charney) until 1986, when weak sales forced them to quit manufacturing the line. In recent years it has been rumored that, with the resurgence of the microbrewery, Leinenkeugel’s might restart the Bosch brand.

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  • The man behind Old No. 7

    America’s most famous distiller, Jack Daniel made a name for himself by bringing a new kind of American whiskey to the forefront.

    Born in Lynchburg, Tennessee sometime in September (recorded as the 5th) possibly in the year 1850, or maybe 1846, depending on the source, Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel was one of 13 kids born to Calaway and Lucinda Daniel.

    Becoming a legend

    As a young boy, Jack left home and went to live with a family friend, Lutheran minister Dan Call.  Call also ran a local store and had a stillhouse on his property right outside of Lynchburg. It was through Call that Jack learned the art of distilling whiskey.

    In 1863, after receiving pressure from his wife and congregation to decide between his ministry and the distillery, Call decided to devote his life to the church and sold the distillery to Jack. In 1866 Jack registered the distillery, making it the oldest register distillery in the US, as it is so clearly stated on every bottle of Old No. 7.

    Old No. 7

    The stories of how Jack Daniels came to be labeled Old No. 7 are vast and include everything from lucky number 7, to the barrel shipping number, to the possibility that it was the seventh recipe. The world will never know, he took that secret to the grave.

    A family business

    Daniel never married, although he is rumored to have had seven girlfriends (not sure if this was at the same time or throughout his life). Because he had no children, he took his nephew, Lem Motlow as his apprentice, teaching him the ins and outs of the whiskey industry.

    An accident leads to death

    While it was clear that Motlow would take over the distillery eventually, Jack stayed in charge until his death in 1911. Known to forget the combination on his safe, he became angry one morning after not being able to remember it, and kicked the safe, breaking his toe. The break became infected and eventually led to blood poisoning, eventually leading to his death.

    It’s hard to imagine what American whiskey would be without the contributions of Mr. Jack, but it’s safe to say it’s better off because of him.

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