Episode 67: Southside

• 2 oz gin

• 1 oz lime juice (or lemon if you prefer)

• 1/2 oz simple syrup

• 5 or 6 fresh mint leaves (plus one more for garnish)

Combine everything with ice and shake. Strain* into a coupe glass and garnish with a whole fresh mint leaf.

*Note: I recommend double straining (straining the drink through a fine-mesh sieve) to catch any shredded mint

There are three very different and yet very common origin stories for this prohibition era classic.

One story claims that it was invented in Chicago and named for the South Side neighborhood. Supposedly it was invented specifically to mask the flavor of bad quality gin that was available at the time.

Another story claims that it was invented several years before Prohibition at the Southside Sportsmen’s Club in Long Island, a private club where upper crusty Manhattanites went to hunt, fish and drink Mint Juleps. Some people claim that this cocktail may have evolved out of the mint juleps they served, even though the only thing this has in common with a mint julep is the mint.

Yet another popular origin story says that the South Side was invented at the 21 Club in New York. While 21 definitely poured countless South Sides during prohibition, a recipe for a very similar cocktail called a South Side Fizz appeared in print in 1916 and the 21 club didn’t open until 1922. So, it’s more realistic to say that 21 popularized the South Side but didn’t actually invent it.

As for the South Side Fizz, that recipe is very similar to this one, but it actually calls for both lemon and lime juice, and adds soda water.  The use of both lemon and lime in the Fizz recipe is probably why both citrus juices are used interchangeably today.

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Episode 60: Stinger

• 2 ounces cognac or brandy

• 1/2 ounce white crème de menthe*

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker and fill with ice; shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.**
Garnish with a fresh mint leaf.

* To avoid an unappetizing color, be sure to use the white (clear), rather than the green crème de menthe
** You can also pour it over shaved ice in an old fashioned glass, for an extra refreshing treat.

The Stinger seems to have originated sometime around 1890 and may have been a twist on another popular cocktail at the time called the Judge, which was made with brandy, crème de menthe, and simple syrup. It was immediately popular in New York City, and quickly became known as an upper class "society" drink, reportedly a favorite of Reginald Vanderbilt in the 1920s.

Strong, sweet, and minty, it makes a perfect after dinner night cap, and many people in high society saw the Stinger not as a cocktail, but rather a digestif, only to be served after dinner. Over time though, that changed, and people started drinking Stingers as a cocktail.

The Stinger remained popular during Prohibition because crème de menthe helped mask the flavor of the inferior-quality brandies that were available. It remained popular all through the 1960s, but eventually it begin to lose favor in the late 70s. Today many people have never even heard of it.

Stinger recipes can vary quite a bit in proportion, with some drinkers preferring a drier version made with less crème de menthe, and others preferring it sweeter. Stinger recipes also typically call for the drink to be shaken, which is a bit strange for cocktails made from all spirits. They’re usually served up in a small cocktail glass, but for an extra refreshing treat they can also be served over crushed ice like a julep.

Episode 44: Prescription Julep

• 1 tablespoon (1/2 oz) white sugar

• 1/2 oz water

• 5-6 mint leaves (plus more for garnish)

• 2 ounces cognac

• 1/2 ounce rye

• Garnish: mint sprig and fresh seasonal berries

Add sugar and water to the bottom of a rocks glass or julep cup and stir to start dissolving. Add 5 to 6 mint leaves and gently press with a muddler to release their oils (don’t over-crush them or they can get bitter).

Fill the glass with finely crushed ice and add cognac & rye. Stir to combine and top with more crushed ice to mound over top. Garnish with a bright green sprig of mint leaves, and if desired, a few fresh raspberries or blackberries. Serve with a straw.

The Prescription Julep was created in 1857, and according to cocktail historian David Wondrich, it’s one of the tastiest mint julep recipes he knows.

Rather than using the traditional bourbon whiskey, this julep recipe calls for a mix of cognac and rye whiskey. Wondrich says this combination is “a marriage made in heaven, the cognac mellowing the rye and the rye adding spice to the cognac.” While the used of Cognac & Rye may seem unusual, back in the Julep’s heyday in the mid 1800s, there were several variations, some even using gin or fortified wines like sherry or madeira.

This recipe came from a tongue-in-cheek medical joke made in 1857 in Harper’s Monthly, in a serial called “A Winter in the South”. In it, one doctor “Quackenboss” writes out a prescription, in Latin medical abbreviations, for this julep recipe. When translated into English, the prescription calls for white sugar, spring water, strong cognac, spirits of rye, mint leaves, and powdered ice.

At the bottom of the prescription, he adds a recommendation for dosage,
“Repeat dose three or four times a day until cold weather.”
“Quackenboss, M.D.”

Wondrich recommends using good, old cognac, since it’s the main base spirit, but says there’s no reason to splurge on the rye which is really just there to spice up the cognac. The original recipe doesn’t call for it, but he also recommends topping the prescription julep with some aged Jamaican rum and garnishing with a few fresh raspberries or blackberries.

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Episode 19: The Brandy Smash

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• 1 teaspoon superfine sugar

• 2 teaspoons water

• 2 small sprigs of mint

• 2 oz brandy

• Mint, orange, & berries for garnish (optional) 

Swirl sugar and water together in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
Add mint, brandy, and ice, & shake vigorously until frosty.
Fill a rocks glass to the top with finely crushed ice and strain cocktail into the glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint, an orange slice, and fresh berries if in season.

The Brandy Smash is a classic cocktail that is so classic that it saw its heyday before the Civil War. Though it was likely created sometime in the 1830s, the 'smash' was at its peak in the 1850s, eclipsing even the Sherry Cobbler in popularity.

Made from mint, sugar, and strong spirits, the smash is often compared to the julep because they were both created around the same time, and while the methods are different, the flavor is really similar. Today they’re most often made with bourbon or rye whiskey, but in the mid 19th century they were usually made with brandy. Gin was also used sometimes.

The use of the cocktail shaker rather than a muddler is what sets the Julep and the Smash apart from one another. The cocktail shaker was a relatively new invention and it didn’t take long for bartenders to realize they could skip muddling and just shake the mint into the drink. Vigorous shaking smashes up the mint leaves, which is probably how the drink got its name. The Smash was also sometimes called a Smasher or a Smash-up.

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