Our friends Brian and Kathleen have long been in the business of keeping us shnockered. They persuaded us to register for crystal Hefeweizen glasses. Their wedding present to us was a beautiful cabinet bar. This year, on our anniversary, they gave us this 1940s bartender’s friend.
You can clearly see that it is awesome. Each drink is numbered; you just dial up what you want. The recipes, being about 65 years old, are a little different. They say that you can date a martini recipe by its ingredients; this one still calls for a fairly hefty amount of vermouth. And what’s a Mamie Taylor? You ever had one? Me, neither.
Since I’m in the public service business, I’ve decided to feature a drink a week from this handy guide. I’ll include a little history of each cocktail and tell you whether it’s worth your time and effort. And the recipe, of course. I know, I know. You can thank me later.
First up: The Earthquake.
1/3 whiskey
1/3 gin
1/3 Pernod
Shake well with ice and strain into glass.
History: The first drink to go by the name “earthquake” was created by the painter Toulouse-Lautrec (at least that’s what Wikipedia tells me). It was a mix of absinthe and cognac. The more modern cocktail is the one listed above.
Review: Quite possibly the worst drink I’ve ever had. Even worse than that one time I was in Rhode Island and ordered an Old Fashioned and the bartender got mad because he couldn’t find bitters and took it out on me by making the drink half bitters when he finally did locate them. I don’t know what it’s like to go blind from alcohol, but I’m pretty sure that it tastes like this. Looks like Mountain Dew, takes like death.
OK! More next on this topic next week!
