Read The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook Online
Authors: Rick Rodgers
The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook (33 page)
1 lemon or lime wedge, for garnish
1 tall celery rib with leaves, for garnish
Fill a tall highball glass with ice cubes. Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and hot red pepper sauce to the shaker. Stir well (shaking can make the juice foamy). Strain into the glass. Add pepper to the top of the drink to taste. Perch the lemon on the rim of the glass, add the celery rib, and serve.
MAKES 1 DRINK
Equally tasty as an after-dinner drink or with nibbles at cocktail time, this caffeinated cocktail was enormously popular when televisions were black-and-white and ladies wore foundation garments as a matter of course. For an even richer drink, make a White Russian, as below.
1½ ounces vodka
¾ ounce Kahlúa coffee–flavored liqueur
Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice. Add the vodka and coffee liqueur. Stir well and serve.
White Russian:
Gently flour 1 ounce heavy cream over the drink in the glass.
MAKES 1 DRINK
As you shake this sky-blue cocktail, be sure to move your hips in an Elvis style. At this point in his career, the King was just a crown prince, as the previous generation’s stars, such as Sinatra and Crosby, were the big names, and Presley was for kids. This is the kind of drink that gives tiki cocktails a good name.
1 ounce silver (light) rum
1 ounce blue Curaçao
1 ounce cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
2 ounces pineapple juice
Fresh pineapple wedge, for garnish
Maraschino cherry, for garnish
Fill a large tiki or hurricane glass with ice. Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the rum, Curaçao, cream of coconut, and pineapple juice to the shaker. Shake well. Strain into the glass. Garnish with the pineapple and cherry and serve.
Frozen Blue Hawaiian: Process the liquid ingredients with 1 cup cracked ice in a blender until smooth. Pour into a highball glass.
MAKES 1 DRINK
A drink for people who don’t drink, this cocktail is well on its way to being dessert. (In fact, its flavors can be turned into a pie, as described on
page 158
.)
1 ounce brandy
1 ounce white crème de cacao
1 ounce half-and-half
Freshly grated nutmeg or a sprinkle of cocoa powder, for garnish
Chill a cocktail glass. Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the brandy, crème de cacao, and half-and-half to the shaker. Shake well. Strain into the glass. Top with the nutmeg or cocoa and serve.
MAKES 1 DRINK
The story goes that this drink, which offers the flavors of the Caribbean in every sip, was invented by an American planter in the wilds of Cuba’s Daiquiri mountains in the late nineteenth century. Nowadays, you can make a frozen Daiquiri in a rainbow of colors and flavors, but the original was straightforward in its simplicity.
2 ounces light (silver) rum
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon superfine sugar or 2 teaspoons Simple Syrup (see
page 180
)
Chill a cocktail glass. Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the rum, lime juice, and sugar to the shaker. Shake well. Strain into the glass.
MAKES 1 DRINK
This cocktail has a strong feminine side, with a pretty green tint and a taste that is almost as sweet as liquid Junior Mints.
1 ounce green crème de menthe
1 ounce white crème de cacao
1 ounce half-and-half
Chill a cocktail glass. Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and half-and-half to the shaker. Shake well. Strain into the glass.
MAKES 1 DRINK
Victor Jules Bergeron Jr., founder of the tiki restaurants that bear his nickname “Trader Vic’s,” claimed to have invented the Mai Tai when he had an overstock of rum. When he served it to a guest, the drinker supposedly exclaimed “Maita‘i! roa!”, a Tahitian phrase that loosely translates as “way cool!” Vic’s rival Don the Beachcomber, the eponymous owner of his own Polynesian restaurants, also claims to have invented the Mai Tai, but of course, years earlier. Whoever it was, we thank them.
1 ounce aged or dark rum
1 ounce silver (light) rum
1 ounce triple sec or Curaçao
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon orgeat (see Note) or almond-flavored beverage syrup
1 teaspoon grenadine (optional)
Fresh pineapple wedge, for garnish
Maraschino cherry, for garnish
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Fill a large tiki or hurricane glass with ice. Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the aged rum, silver rum, triple sec, lime juice, orgeat, and grenadine, if using, to the shaker. Shake well. Strain into the glass. Garnish with the pineapple, cherry, and mint and serve.
NOTE:
Orgeat is a flavoring with almond and hints of vanilla and rosewater. Almond flavoring syrup also works well.
Yma Sumac
To make your Mai Tai taste even better and bring Trader Vic’s into your living room, crank up some Yma Sumac. Generational Notes: if you don’t know who she is, she’s an exotic singer whose eerie voice was sampled by the Black Eyed Peas for their song “Hands Up.” While there was a persistent rumor that she was really a Brooklyn woman named Amy Camus (Yma Sumac spelled backward), her claim to have descended from Incan royalty was supported by the Peruvian government.
MAKES 1 DRINK
While many think of the Martini as the ultimate New York drink, this one is the town’s namesake. It has gone through some transformations over the years, mainly in the choice of its primary spirit. Rye was more obtainable in the Northeast (bourbon was mostly confined to the South), so whiskey meant rye. Use bourbon if you wish, or for a Rob Roy, get out the Scotch.
2 ounces rye or bourbon whiskey
1 ounce sweet vermouth
2 or 3 dashes aromatic bitters, such as Angostura
Maraschino cherry, for garnish
Chill a cocktail glass. Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. Strain into the glass. Add the cherry and serve.
Dry Manhattan:
Substitute dry vermouth for the sweet vermouth. Omit the cherry and garnish the drink with a green olive.
Perfect Manhattan:
Use 2 ounces whiskey and ½ ounce each dry vermouth and sweet vermouth. Garnish with a lemon zest twist.
Manhattan, on the Rocks:
Shake the drink and strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.
Rob Roy:
Substitute Scotch whiskey for the rye or bourbon.
MAKES 1 DRINK
The grand lady of Southern libations, many liberties have been taken with her. The drink should be served in a silver cup, which is not a standard item in a Yankee home, so you are allowed to use an old-fashioned glass. The main thing to remember is that mint is used as a fragrant garnish, and not a flavoring.
3 ounces bourbon
½ teaspoon superfine sugar or 1 teaspoon Simple Syrup (see
page 180
)
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Fill a silver julep cup or old-fashioned glass with ice. Pour in the bourbon and sugar. Stir well, without touching the glass, to frost the exterior. Add a splash of water and stir again. Stand a generous amount of mint sprigs in the glass so the tops rise an inch or two above the glass rim. Serve.
