Vintage Cocktails

The Vesper
When one thinks of a Vesper, one thinks of 007, James Bond.
The first Bond book was Casino Royale. Author Ian Fleming
had Bond name the Vesper for love interest Vesper Lynd,
later doomed as a double agent. Alas, in the literary sense,
the drink was doomed with the woman. Bond’s last words
in the book were “The bitch is dead now,” and he never
drank another Vesper. In actuality, Ian Fleming’s favorite
bartender created the drink, and it was a work of genius.
Fleming liked it so well he had James Bond recite the entire
recipe to a bartender at the Casino Royale!
Gin, Vodka, Lillet and a large swathe of lemon peel—shaken,
not stirred

Blood and Sand
A classic story of love, desire, and tragic death gave this
equally classic cocktail its moniker. Alluring as Rita Hayworth,
but this femme fatale kicks like a bull! Originally named
after the 1922 Valentino film, it conjures images of the
1941 remake, starring Tyrone Powers and Rita Hayworth.
A poor boy rises to stardom via his bullfighting career and
the lady who helped him arrive has serious control issues
and other ideas about where he’s headed.
Scotch whiskey, cherry brandy, sweet vermouth and fresh
orange juice served ice cold and up

Honolulu Cocktail
1930’s signature cocktail from Hollywood’s Brown Derby.
The Brown Derby began as the brainchild of Herb Somborn
(the husband of actress Gloria Swanson), Wilson Mizner
(a well known screenwriter), and Sid Grauman (of Chinese
Theater fame). One night in 1925, they were chatting with
Abe Frank, the manager of the Los Angeles Ambassador
Hotel, and Somborn remarked, “You could open a restaurant
in an alley and call it anything, or you could even build it in
the shape of a hat, and if the food and service were good,
the patrons would come flocking.”
Gin, pineapple juice, orange juice, lemon juice, sugar and
a dash of bitters with a sugar rim and lemon twist

The Algonquin Cocktail
Named for the New York hotel that was once home to the
Algonquin Round Table—both the piece of furniture and
the archetypes of the ruthless literary cleverness. Columnists
Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley, writer/producer George
Kaufman and Pulitzer Prize winning author Edna Ferber were
among the latter. The hotel is still there, but alas, the table,
the wits, and the original bar are all long gone.
Rye, Vermouth and pineapple juice—served ungarnished

The Sidecar
The Sidecar was developed during WWI, when a certain
regular customer arrived at the Ritz on his motorcycle
(replete with sidecar), and asked the bartender for a cocktail
that would help take off the chill. The bartender was caught
in a dilemma, a drink to remove a chill would appropriately
be brandy, but brandy was traditionally an after dinner
drink, and his patron was wanting something before dinner.
So he combined cognac, cointreau, and lemon juice to mix
a cocktail whose focus was on the warming qualities of
both the brandy, and the cointreau, while the lemon juice
added enough of a tartness to make it appropriate as a
pre-dinner cocktail.
Equal parts Cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice—chilled and
served straight up

The Pink Lady
At first glance The Pink Lady appears to bear all the
trappings of a “girly” drink—a feminine name and a
pastel hue. It was a favorite of the high society ladies
of the ’30s due to the lovely blush color. But the Pink Lady
is no drink for the faint of heart: its tart-dry flavor is a far
cry from the cloyingly sweet “girly” cocktails we’re wary of
drinking from this era. And its boozy gin and apple brandy
base packs a wallop. As Eric Felten wrote in his Wall Street
Journal column on the topic, “It is a cocktail that is easily
underestimated. After enjoying one or two of these,
I’m sure you’ll agree: ladylike as she is, the Pink Lady
kicks ass and takes names!”
Gin, Applejack, fresh lemon juice and Grenadine

The Rosita
Everyone remembers their first love and their first
shot of Tequila (and many would like to forget their
most recent). Then comes the day when the bittersweet
truth of life shatters the rose colored glasses of youth.
To that, we raise our glass, and dutifully present a remedy.
This heart-breaker pairs silver Tequila with Campari,
sweet and dry vermouth, and, of course, a dash of bitters
over shards of cracked ice and a thick peel of lemon zest

Brandy Alexander
The Brandy Alexander has a long history, being the
more popular stepchild of the gin-based Alexander
cocktail, which first appeared early in the twentieth
century. Popular history holds that the brandy variation
was created for the wedding celebration of Princess Mary
and Lord Lascelles in London, circa 1922, and became
widely known by the middle of the century. Apparently
it was such a household name that Mary Richards asked
for one during her job interview in the pilot episode of
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. (A pre-employment custom
that would be awesome to resurrect!)
Brandy, dark Crème de Cacao, cream and a little nutmeg
for garnish