How the Government Almost Killed the Cocktail

[DawnStorm]

I really wish Reason had come up with a less sensationalistic title but whatcha gonna do? The article also features an interesting history of cocktails, bartending and the like. Plus recipes, which I'm sure none of you will be interested in. /s/


Link: http://reason.com/archives/2017/09/1...t-killed-the-c

[GenYus234]

The classic "old fashioned" is the simplest of cocktails—sugar, bitters, and whiskey, stirred over ice, then served on the rocks with a citrus rind

Pretty sure the Rum and Coke is more simple, only two ingredients and they are listed in the recipe. (Seven and Seven also has two ingredients, but the listing in the name is less clear).

[Lainie]

Interesting article, but I agree the headline is ridiculous. The Federal government didn't change the way the old-fashioned was made.

[DawnStorm]

DH discovered a Seven and Seven several years ago--it's one of his favorite mixed drinks.

[Richard W]

Originally Posted by GenYus234

Pretty sure the Rum and Coke is more simple, only two ingredients and they are listed in the recipe.

Especially given what he says a couple of paragraphs later:

Among its virtues is that it can easily be made at home. I use a rich, brown Demerara syrup, two different brands of aromatic bitters, and a spicy, oaky bourbon like Buffalo Trace or Eagle Rare.

The "simplest" pleasures are the best, right? Dissolving sugar for the syrup is a relatively complex step compared to just pouring different drinks, and as for his "two different brands" of aromatic bitters...

[Psihala]

Originally Posted by GenYus234

Pretty sure the Rum and Coke is more simple, only two ingredients and they are listed in the recipe. (Seven and Seven also has two ingredients, but the listing in the name is less clear).

The Tequila Sunrise is only slightly more complicated (Tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup), and is pretty easy* to make at home.

~Psihala
(*Not to say it isn't also easy to screw up... I've had my share of really bad sunrises over the years.)

[GenYus234]

Originally Posted by DawnStorm

DH discovered a Seven and Seven several years ago--it's one of his favorite mixed drinks.

I just discovered a Rusty Nail. Great drink, I just wish Drambuie weren't so expensive. Though one of the ingredients isn't that common to just have around the house, it is no less common that syrup and bitters.

[Esprise Me]

There are tons of two-ingredient cocktails that are much simpler than the Old Fashioned, from the martini/Manhattan to the highball to the screwdriver, Cape Cod, greyhound, gin and tonic...

Also, tons of sweet cocktails were invented long after prohibition ended and good liquor was readily available. No matter the quality of the bourbon and bitters on offer, some people are going to prefer an appletini.

I heard a rather opposite take once, that prohibition was what really got cocktail culture going, as the limited availability of palatable booze forced people to get creative. I think that perspective is equally valid.

[GenYus234]

The version I heard was that it made spirituous liquors more popular as it was as easy to smuggle a barrel of rye as a barrel of beer and you could sell more servings from the rye.

[erwins]

When the term originated, it specifically referred to a spirit plus bitters. Some enthusiasts maintain the distinction. Spirit plus a single non-bitters mixer is a highball in this lexicon.

[Esprise Me]

That predates Prohibition by decades, though.

[ganzfeld]

What I think prohibition really killed was American beer culture. (Perhaps even literally killed the culture.) At least cocktails could still be made and served in speakeasies. Few if any were serving beer. Also, a brewery takes a lot more know-how and continuity than mixing cocktails (and, per proof, is a lot harder to hide than a still). War with Germany didn't help the survival of the great German beer halls, which were found in nearly all major cities in the US before that, but it's way more reasonable, IMO, to blame their loss - and the loss of good breweries - to prohibition.

[Richard W]

If you read Dickens's Sketches by Boz there's quite a lot about the drinking habits of Londoners in the early 19th century. Spirits were popular (especially gin) and they were mixed with water and sugar. You could have hot or cold water.

So for example you could have "gin cold with" which would be gin, cold water and sugar, or "brandy hot without" which would be brandy and hot water with no sugar. They didn't generally add bitters, so it's a more basic form than the old-fashioned. I don't think they were calling them cocktails at that point, though, since that's an American term.

(eta) Later in Dickens's writings, "punch" seems to be the in-drink, especially for parties and entertainments. That would be made in a bowl with spirits, wine, water, sugar and fruit, I think. Much like a punch these days.

[GenYus234]

Not sure about the UK's version, but I'd don't think mixing wine and spirits is a common drink recipe. There are certainly dozens if not hundreds of recipes that mix wine and spirits, but I would say the "standard" recipes would be one or the other.

[Esprise Me]

Spirits plus wine (plus juice/seltzer and fruit chunks) is how most sangria is made these days.