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| Photo by Bill Dowd |
I recently extricated a few items that belonged to my parents, useful items back in the '50s and '60s but eventually tucked away with their memories and other items from their younger days.
One was a yellowing, hardcover copy of "The Official Mixer's Manual," the 1949 edition of a book originally published in 1934. The other was a cocktail shaker of about the same vintage. Each item brought back a flood of memories.
When I was a kid of pre-legal drinking age, I used to whip up cocktails and hors d'oeuvres for my parents and their friends, a group that enjoyed partying in the days when the men wore suits and ties, the women wore dresses and pearls, and no one could afford hired help. Luckily for all concerned, I enjoyed the work and had a knack for it.
I learned how to make quite a few cocktails from that book, and the recipes printed on the frosted glass of the cocktail shaker were a handy cheat sheet when memory failed me under pressure.
The pertinence of these items today is simply that, in an era in which there is an increasing interest in classic cocktails, they show what was popular back then: The whiskey sour, the Manhattan, the Bacardi, the Daiquiri, the Tom Collins, the martini and the Alexander.
And it was an era before those who made a living mixing drinks decided to give themselves fancy titles and seek out media stardom. And, it was an era before spiky hair-do's, casual-sloppy clothes and a general disregard for the niceties of society became the norm.
Patrick Gavin Duffy was for generations the acknowledged master of the cocktail in much of the world. You still can find copies of his books ("The Bartender's Guide," "The Standard Bartender's Guide," "The Official Mixer's Guide," "The Official Mixer's Manual for Home and Professional Use") through eBay, Amazon, and other online sites.
Duffy said in his foreward to "The Official Mixer's Manual" -- "Bartending is an old and honorable trade. It is not a profession and I have no sympathy with those who try to make it anything but what it was. The idea of calling a bartender a professor or a mixologist is nonsense. ... A good bartender wears a fresh white linen coat, and I personally fancy a carnation."
About his own drink preferences, he noted: "With very few exceptions, cocktails should be stirred and not shaken. A stirred cocktail is clear and fresh and retains its vitality. A shaken cocktail is muddy in appearance and has so much ice diluted into it that it is a very insipid affair."
That tidbit of wisdom is something I've carried with me through the years. That's one reason I was happy with the ground rules of a little impromptu contest with Tony Abou-Ganim, the celebrity mixologist who helped the cocktail culture return nationwide with a rush over the past decade or so.
It was at the T-Bar in Charlie's restaurant in Lake Placid, NY. Abou-Ganim was presiding at a cocktail seminar and invited me behind the bar to compete with him in making a Manhattan.
He laid down the ground rules: The same recipe had to be followed — bourbon (we both liked the sweetness of Maker’s Mark), Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth, Angostura Bitters and a maraschino cherry. The catch was that Abou-Ganim preferred to shake his concoction over fresh ice — which I normally do for a straight-up cocktail — while insisting I stir mine with ice to properly chill each drink.
He shook.
I stirred.
We poured.
The audience voted on the cocktail with the most alluring appearance.
Modesty prohibits revealing the voters results. Let's just say I won't ask for a recount.
Another comment from Duffy:
"It is one of my fondest hopes that the highball will again take its place as the leading American drink. I admit to being prejudiced about this -- it was I who first brought the highball to America, in 1895. Although the distinction is claimed by the Parker House in Boston, I was finally given due credit for this innovation in The New York Times of not many years ago."
That was in 1934, and Duffy's wish came true 25 or so years later. However, he could not have foreseen the boom in vodka consumption that most influences today's cocktail menus. So, in honor of Duffy's memory and fine works, here are recipes for several classic drinks from his book.
• IMPERIAL HOTEL FIZZ
One part St. Croix rum
Two parts whiskey
4 dashes lemon juice
Shake well with cracked ice, strain into a tumbler and fill with club soda or any sparkling water.
• WHISKEY SOUR
4 ounces rye whiskey or bourbon
1 teapon powdered sugar
Juice of ½ lime
Juice of ½ lemon
Place all ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice, shake well and strain into a cocktail tumbler. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.
• PROHIBITION COCKTAIL
One part Plymouth gin
One part lillet
2 dashes orange juice
1 dash apricot brandy
Shake well and strain into a glass. Squeeze a lemon peel over the top and garnish the glass with it.
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