| Libations
Vintage Cocktails
For
a dose of classic American culinary quality with a twist of kitsch,
there’s nothing like vintage cookbooks and entertaining guides
from the ‘50s.
Those were the days of the after-work cocktail party (no food included!),
the impress-the-boss dinner party, and the Cheever-esque, we-owe-the-neighbors
patio party—all popular entertainments in post-war suburbia.
We especially like those guides intended for the not-yet (but soon-to-be!)
married guys, recently home from the war or just out of college,
such as Trader Vic’s Kitchen Kibitzer (Doubleday
& Company, 1952) and Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts
(Grosset & Dunlop, 1949). These books aimed to help even the
most unsophisticated country boy feel like Cary Grant when entertaining
the ladies.
We’ve culled a few classic cocktail recipes and present them
to you here. Try them out and let
us know if they still work to wow the gals (or guys)
in your life.
In
several of his books, the late Trader Vic (San Francisco’s
famed Victor Bergeron, bon vivant and founder of the chain of Polynesian
restaurants that still bear his name) wants to convince the fifties
male that not only do real men entertain, but it’s also not
that complicated.
To this aim, he includes several punch recipes in Trader Vic’s
Kitchen Kibitzer, most of which are based on white rums, gin,
or vodka, because “at Trader Vic’s,” he writes,”
. . the most popular drinks with women are the ones in which you
can’t taste the liquor.”
Here are a couple we’ve enjoyed from the chapter, “Why
Make Drinking So Complicated?”:
Tiki Punch
[Great for supercharging a summer party! – CF]
(serves 12 to 15)
8 oz. Triple Sec
8 oz. gin
3 oz. fresh lime juice
2 fifths chilled champagne
Mix Triple Sec, gin, and lime juice and pour over large pieces of
ice in a punch bowl. Stir and let stand about half an hour. At serving
time, add chilled champagne.
Tonga
Punch
[Note that in Trader Vic’s words, “This mixture is for
an informal, fun-loving group of people, no holds barred.”
This one gets things going—guaranteed! – CF]
(serves 16 to 20)
1 qt. orange juice
2 c. lemon juice
Juice of 8 limes
10 oz. orange curaçao
11 qt. Puerto Rican rum
4 oz. grenadine
Mix ingredients in a gallon jug; pour into a punch bowl over chipped
ice and stir thoroughly about twenty minutes before serving time.
Add large pieces of ice. Float five or six small gardenias.
(From Trader Vic’s Kitchen Kibitzer, 1952, Doubleday
& Company, Inc., Garden City, NY)
Esquire’s
Handbook for Hosts promises “608 Esquire-tested recipes
for the happy home bartender.” Like Trader Vic, Esquire never
heard the word “sexist”, and in its “Something
for the Girls” section, condemns the girls to syrupy concoctions
such as Orange Blossoms and Pink Ladies. But here’s something
from the book we think both sexes can agree on:
Racquet Club
[The citrus undertones and higher proportion of vermouth make this
a delicious, fruitier martini than the standard. – CF]
Dash of orange bitters
1/2 gin
1/2 vermouth
Orange peel
Unlike
today, the martini of the Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts
era called only for gin, and even in the driest martinis, the
vermouth held its own. Here’s a version of Esquire’s
Dry Martini, which an octogenarian we know insists on today whenever
she goes bar-hopping:
Dry Martini
1 part vermouth
3 parts gin
Shake with cracked ice in a cocktail shake until well-chilled. Serve
with green olive or pearl onion in a cocktail glass.
(From Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts, 1949, Grosset
& Dunlap, New York, NY)
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