Episode 22: National Guard Seventh Regiment Punch

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• 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar *see notes

• ½ oz lemon juice  

• 2 oz Brandy (preferably Cognac)

• 2 oz Catawba wine OR dry rosé wine **see notes

• 1 teaspoon raspberry syrup (recipe below)

• ¼ oz Jamaican rum (optional)

• Garnish: orange, pineapple, fresh berries 

Stir sugar and lemon juice together in a bar glass or rocks glass. 
Add brandy, wine, and raspberry syrup and fill the glass with ice (shaved or crushed preferable) 
Shake well and pour back into glass. 

Top with dark rum and garnish with fruit. Serve with a straw. 

NOTES:
* The original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons, but we found the cocktail far too sweet and much preferred it with only 1 teaspoon after some testing
** The original recipe called for a very sweet wine made from Catawba grapes. If you can’t find Catawba wine, Niagara or Concord grape wine will be very similar, or you could use any sweet white or rosé wine you like. However, we found this punch was far too sweet and much preferred it made with a dry rosé instead.

Raspberry Syrup

• 2 cups of demerara sugar

• 1 cup of water

• 1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Stir sugar and water over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Add raspberries stirring until the berries form a pulp. Strain into a jar and refrigerate. Over time, the pectin will rise to the surface and can be skimmed off.

The “National Guard Seventh Regiment Punch”  was probably around before the 1860s but we don’t know the actual origins. We just know that the recipe was published by Jerry Thomas in 1862.

This drink is named after NYC’s seventh regiment, which used to be the only regiment that made up the national guard at one point in history. They were known as a “silk stocking” regiment, meaning they were mostly made up of fancy fifth avenue blue blood types. 

During the civil war they were on their way to go fight at Gettysburg, but NYC’s draft riots broke out and they were called back. Fighting draft rioters in NYC was actually the only combat they ever saw during the entire civil war. 

This is one of the more unique cocktails we’ve ever had. The original recipe called for a very sweet wine made from Catawba grapes. If you can’t find Catawba wine, Niagara or Concord grape wine will have a very similar flavor, but you could use any sweet white or rosé wine that you like. However, we found this punch to be far too sweet for modern tastes, and much preferred it when we tried a version made with a dry rosé instead. A later reprint of Thomas’ book called for Sherry. 

Catawba grapes are a hybrid of wild grapes native to the East Coast crossed with European wine grapes. Catawba wine can be a bit hard to find today, but 200 years ago it was everywhere in the US. In fact, Jerry Thomas’ book actually has several recipes that feature it. The flavor of Catawba wine is sweet and distinctly grape-y, tasting more like Concord grape juice than wine. Posh wine snobs refer to this flavor as “foxy” and say that it also has a wild, musky, animal smell, but we just tasted juice box.

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Episode 21: Mai Tais Two Ways

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The Original 1944 Mai Tai

• 1 1/2 oz White rum

• 3/4 oz Orange curaçao

• 3/4 oz Fresh lime juice

• 1/4 - 1/2 oz Orgeat Syrup

• 1/2 oz Dark rum

• Garnish: Lime wheel, Mint sprig

Add the white rum, curaçao, lime juice and orgeat syrup into a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and shake to combine.
Strain into a double Old Fashioned glass filled with finely crushed ice (if available). Gently pour the dark rum over the top trying to float it on top.
Garnish with a lime wheel and mint sprig.

1953 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai:

• ½ oz Curaçao Liqueur (Triple Sec)

• 1½ oz Gold/ Amber Rum

• 1 oz Dark Rum

• ¼ oz Lime juice

• 1½ oz Pineapple juice

• 1½ oz Orange juice

• ¼ oz Orgeat syrup

• 1 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice (red) or grenadine for color

• Garnish: Orange slice, pineapple, red maraschino cherry

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and shake to combine.
Strain into a large whiskey glass filled with finely crushed ice (if available).
Garnish with a wedge of pineapple, an orange wheel, and a maraschino cherry. 

Tiki culture and it’s quintessential cocktails all started in 1933 when Ernest Beaumont-Gantt opened a Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant in Hollywood called Don the Beachcomber. The restaurant featured Cantonese food with a decor of flaming torches, rattan furniture, floral leis, and carved tiki masks and wooden sculptures of Polynesian gods.

This was also the first restaurant to ever focus an entire drink menu on mixing rum with flavored syrups and fresh fruit juices, which they originally called "Rhum Rhapsodies", but were later called Tiki cocktails. These drinks were usually served in fancy glasses, hollowed out pineapples, or drilled coconuts, and sometimes even giant fish bowl sized communal glasses with long straws for sharing.

Perhaps the best known and most popular Tiki cocktail ever is the Mai Tai.

It was originally invented by another restauranteur namedTrader Vic in Oakland California in 1944. Don Beach later accused Trader Vic of stealing the recipe from him, saying that his punch, the Q.B. Cooler, which he invented in 1933, was suspiciously similar. But even if it was inspired by the Q.B. Cooler, they’re very different drinks and the Cooler has almost twice as many ingredients. Vic Bergeron later wrote in his book, "anyone who says I didn’t create this drink is a dirty stinker."

The Mai Tai became so popular that within a few years of its invention, the world ran out of the aged rum called for in the original recipe, so most recipes today call for a mix of light and dark rum.

In the beginning, the Mai Tai was a simple and rum forward drink, but In 1953, a cruise company hired Vic Bergeron to oversee their cocktail menus at their hotels in Hawaii. He reworked the drink adding orange juice and pineapple juice to make it feel more Hawaiian and to sweeten the recipe, so it’d be more tourist friendly.

The Hawaiian version became even more popular than the original and now most people think that’s what a Mai Tai is supposed to taste like. Both versions are absolutely delicious, although they’re so different that they probably shouldn’t both have the same name.

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Episode 20: The Whiskey Sour

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Makes 2 cocktails

• 4 oz. Whiskey (I prefer Rye Whiskey)*

• 2 oz. Lemon Juice**

• 1 oz. Simple Syrup**

• 2-3 dashes Aromatic Bitters

• 1 Large Egg White  (1 oz if using pasteurized egg whites)

• Maraschino Cherries for garnish

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker without ice, adding the egg white last. Shake vigorously without ice for about 20 seconds. This is called dry shaking, and it helps to incorporate the egg white without watering down the drink too much.
Add plenty of ice and shake again for 15-20 seconds more. Strain well into coupe glasses. Even if your shaker has a built in strainer, I like to double strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove any shards of ice or egg white.
Garnish each with a cocktail cherry.

*Bourbon is popular for whiskey sours, but I much prefer Rye Whiskey because it’s a bit less sweet and has a slight spiciness that compliments the lemon juice.
** To make simple syrup heat equal parts sugar and water until sugar is completely dissolved. Can be done in the microwave. Cool before use.
You can adjust the ratio of simple syrup and lemon juice in the cocktail to taste if desired.

The whiskey sour has a long history. It was probably developed as a scaled-down, individual version of a traditional citrus and whiskey punch.

Jerry Thomas included a recipe in his book in 1862, but even then the sour was probably a century old or more. His version didn’t include an egg white, but to me, it feels a little too simple without it. At some point people started adding soda to the recipe, but they stopped when they realized shaking the drink flattens the fizz.

The egg white was eventually added because it adds a frothy, creamy mouthfeel that really transforms the cocktail into something special. It goes down smoother and looks nicer in the glass too. We know that adding a raw egg white to a cocktail can make some people nervous, but as long as you’re using fresh, good quality eggs it really is safe for most people. You can also use pasteurized egg whites if you’d feel more comfortable.

After prohibition the whiskey sour waned in popularity for a few decades, but it came back in a big way in the 1950s and 60s. Unfortunately, this was also the era of convenience foods and food-product innovations, and the pre-prohibition era recipe that included fresh lemon juice, sugar, and egg white was replaced with sour mix.

Fortunately, in the late 1990s the craft cocktail movement began, and a vast number of classic cocktail recipes were resurrected. Since then, many bars ditched the sour mix for a recipe much like the one above.

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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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Episode 18: The Whiskey Highball

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• 2 oz Bourbon or Rye Whiskey

• 4 to 6 oz Soda Water

• Ice

• Lemon garnish (optional)

Fill a highball glass (8-10oz tall narrow glass) with ice. Pour whiskey over ice and top off with soda water. Some recipes insist stirring can squelch the bubbles in the soda, so there’s no need.

Garnish with a lemon wheel, wedge, or curl if desired.

This is probably the simplest and easiest cocktail we’ve ever made on the show, but that doesn’t mean this drink doesn’t have a rich and storied past.

Historian Jessica Norris says that “Most folks agree that the Highball started out as a sparkling brandy cocktail with the English gentry in the 1790s, when Johann Jacob Schweppe had just set up his first soda shop in London.”
Some say a bartender named Patrick Gavin Duffy was likely the one who brought the drink to the U.S. in 1895 in the form of a scotch and soda.

As for the name of this simple classic drink, one origin story claims it came from 19th century English golf club bars, where “ball” meant “whiskey” and “high” referred to the tall glass it was served in.
Other people say it may have come from nineteenth century railroad signals. On American railroads, if a globe or ball was raised up high on a signal post, it meant “clear track ahead” and showed the conductor that the train could pass through without stopping. As dining cars started serving cocktails in tall glasses, they adapted the “high ball” signal and attached it to this classic beverage.

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Episode 17: The Martinez

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• 2 oz Old Tom Gin

• 1 oz Sweet Vermouth

• ¼ oz Maraschino Liqueur (we used Luxardo)

• 2 dashes aromatic bitters

• Orange or lemon twist for garnish

Combine all ingredients (other than garnish) in a mixing glass. Add plenty of ice and stir well to chill. Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass and garnish.

The Martinez cocktail is considered to be the precursor to the modern Martini. It was originally created as a gin-based spin on the Manhattan, and it tastes much more like a Manhattan than a Martini.

Old Tom gin is best to use because it has a sweeter and richer flavor than London dry gin and pairs better with the sweet vermouth and luxardo liqueur.

There is some debate about the cocktail’s origins, but most people agree it was invented in the 1880s in Northern California.
Some say Jerry Thomas invented the drink in San Francisco for a customer who was traveling to Martinez California. His recipe wasn’t officially published until 1887 though, so the cocktail is often credited to another famous barman named O. H. Byron. His recipe for the Martinez was published in 1884 with the simple instructions, "Same as Manhattan, only you substitute gin for whisky."
The city of Martinez however, claims that another local bartender invented the drink there.

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Episode 16: The Piña Colada

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• 2 ½ oz white rum

• 1 ½ oz pineapple juice

• 1 ½ oz sweetened coconut cream (We used Coco Lopez)

• ½ oz lime juice

• 2 cups ice

• ½ oz dark rum (optional)

• Pineapple wedge & cocktail parasol (optional)

Combine white rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, lime juice, and ice in a high powered blender. Pulse to break up ice and then blend until smooth, creamy, and free of ice chunks.
Pour into a hurricane glass and top with remaining dark rum if desired. Garnish with a wedge of pineapple and a cocktail parasol for the full gaudy 70s effect.

Makes 1 cocktail

Note: Like a lot of cocktails, it’s hard to nail down the exact origin story.

One story claims that a 19th century Puerto Rican pirate gave his crew a mixed drink with coconut, pineapple and white rum to boost morale on the ship, but historians say this is dubious.

The New York Times noted a similar drink in an article about Cuba in the 1950s.

The most accepted story is that a bartender at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan created the drink in 1954. He said the Piña Colada, “captured the true nature and essence of Puerto Rico”.

Another story places the origins at a restaurant in Puerto Rico in 1963.

Either way, by the 70s, Piña Coladas were blowing up, and In 1978 Puerto Rico proclaimed the cocktail its official drink.

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Episode 15: The Classic Daiquiri

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• 3 oz. white rum

• 1 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

• 3/4 oz. simple syrup (1:1) *see note

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake well to chill and strain into a chilled cocktail or coupe glass.
Garnish with a lime wheel, wedge, or curl if desired.

note: to make simple syrup heat equal parts sugar and water until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool before use.

The daiquiri is said to have been invented in Cuba around the turn of the 20th century by an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox.

They became popular in the United States during and just after WWII because rum was cheap and easy to find, while whiskey was rationed for the troops.

Daiquiri’s are also said to have been JFK’s favorite drink. He’s reported to have celebrated with a daiquiri when he won the election, and Jackie Kennedy is said to have trained the white house staff to make daiquiris just the way they liked them. 

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Episode 14: Benjamin Franklin's Milk Punch

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• 3 cups (1.5 pints) of brandy

• 6 lemons

• 1 cup lemon juice

• 2 cups (1 pint) of spring water

• ½ of a whole nutmeg, freshly grated 

• 1/2 cup (1/4 lb) of sugar

• 1.5 cups of whole milk

Zest lemons.
Squeeze 1 cup of lemon juice.
Steep the lemon zest in the brandy for 24 hours.
Strain out the lemon zest.
Add water, freshly grated nutmeg, lemon juice, and sugar to the brandy, and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Slowly bring milk to a boil. As soon as the milk boils, add it hot to the brandy mix and stir.
The heat, lemon juice, and alcohol will begin to curdle the milk.
Let the punch stand for 2 hours.
Strain the punch through a jelly bag or a cheesecloth lined strainer (or a clean pillow case!) until clear. Serve cold.

*Note: The straining process is slow, but resist the urge to change out the jelly bag or cheesecloth. The liquid needs to strain through the curd to clarify properly. I rushed it, which is why mine looks so cloudy in the photo below.

The idea drinking a punch made from curdled milk may sound kinda weird or gross, but in Colonial America, there were multiple drinks made this way. Along with milk punch, possets and syllabubs were also popular back then.
Possets combined hot milk with ale, wine, or brandy, sugar, and spices. The combination of heat and alcohol curdled the milk, and they were consumed from the spout of a posset cup, which let you drink the whey from the bottom and save the curd to eat later.
Syllabubs combine milk with wine and lemon juice (or other acids); the acid from the wine and the juice curdled the milk, and when served in a glass, the foamy curd of the syllabub was eaten with a spoon first before you drank the punch below.
So don’t let milk punch scare you. It’s tasty we promise!

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Episode 13: Colonial Ale Flip

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• 12 oz brown ale *see note

• 2 oz dark rum (or brandy)

• 1 oz molasses

• 1 whole egg

• grated nutmeg for garnish

Pour the ale into a saucepan and heat over low to medium low heat until warm and steaming, but don’t bring it to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a small pitcher or measuring cup, combine the rum, molasses, and egg and beat vigorously with a fork or whisk until it’s a little frothy looking. Pour the beer into the rum and egg mixture in a slow steady stream, beating with a fork the whole time to prevent the egg from heating too quickly. 
Serve in a large mug (or two smaller mugs) and garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg. 

*note: If you can find English style brown ale or Nut brown ale, it’ll be sweeter and less bitter and hoppy than American style brown ales. This is much more similar to what they would have been drinking 300 years ago. We used a beer called Rouge Hazelnut Brown Nectar with a nutty sweetness that was perfect for this drink if you can find it. If you can only find American brown ale, it’ll be fine but you may want to add a touch more molasses to combat the bitterness of the hops. 

Flip first appeared sometime in the 1690s, and it was wildly popular in colonial America for the next century. George Washington was said to be a big fan. 

Flip was made in a metal pitcher and whipped until warm and frothy with a red hot fire poker (called a flip-dog). They’d usually be served in ceramic mugs or sometimes in special flip glasses.

Sometimes they were poured back and forth between two mugs to make sure they were creamy and well blended. This pouring back and forth gave Flip the nickname “Yard of Flannel” but they also went by the names “Bellow-Stop”, “Hotch-Pot”, and “Crambambull”. 

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