What will they think of next? (June edition)

This month I've collected a trio of recipes for historic drinks of a wide variety. They're perfect for entertaining a cocktail-savvy crowd who think they've heard of everything. You'll show 'em!

• TWILIGHT COCKTAIL

This was a popular drink in the early 20th Century. This version comes from the book "173 Pre-Prohibition Cocktails," taken from the recipe collection of bartender Tom Bullock's 1917 collection.

1 1/2 ounces bourbon
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
Juice of one whole lime

Put ingredients into a shaker with fresh ice, shake well, strain into a Champagne glass, fill with seltzer or club soda and serve.

• FREE LOVE COCKTAIL

Two socially interesting movements battled for the hearts and minds of women in particular from about 1880 to 1920 -- Free Love, an early feminism push to free women from the shackles of male-dominated sexual rules, and Temperance, the anti-alcohol move that led to passage of Prohibition. This pale cocktail gained particular popularity in the U.S. in about 1890.

1/2 of an egg white
3 dashes anisette
1 1/2 ounces of gin
1 ounce of fresh cream

Pour ingredients over a shaker of fresh ice, shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

• THE BLOODY CAESAR

This is purportedly Canada's most popular cocktail, with more than 350 million sold each year. It was created by the late Walter Chell, a bartender at the Calgary Inn (now the Westin Calgary), in 1969 to celebrate the opening of Marco's Italian restaurant and served as an aperitif. He based the drink on the flavors of spaghetti vongole (spaghetti with clams).

1 ounce vodka
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Salt, ground pepper
6 ounces Mott's Clamato Juice
Ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, stir vigorously, serve over fresh ice and garnish with a stalk of celery and a lemon wedge.

[Go here for my archive of monthly cocktail recipe collections.]

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