Episode 127

Modern and Vintage Glassware

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Modern and Vintage Glassware

Episode 127

What’s shakin, cocktail fans?

Welcome to Episode 127 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast!

Thanks for joining us for another fascinating interview episode, where we venture into the strange and wonderful world of cocktails – and in this case vintage glassware – to uncover the trends and forces that shaped our favorite drinks.

This time around, our guest is Victoria Vergason, owner/operator of The Hour, which is a vintage glassware store located across the river from Washington, DC in beautiful Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

This shop is a beautifully and eclectically curated collection of glassware that spans an entire century, and Victoria has spent many years sourcing these beautiful pieces from around the world. Some of the topics we discuss with Victoria during this interview include:

How Victoria used her globe-trotting career in international finance to build a colorful and diverse collection of vintage glassware and bar tools.
The various changes in glassware size and shape as we moved from the golden age of the cocktail, to prohibition, and beyond.
Why cocktail pitchers and rooster motifs really need to make a comeback.
How history and culture had a direct effect on the design and materials used to make different glasses and tools, including camouflaged cocktail shakers, gun trigger mechanisms on jiggers and, even hand-painted cocktail glasses.
The origins and implications of the “Three Martini Lunch”
Why Victoria is branching out to create her own line of glassware and bar tools called “The Modern Home Bar.”
Which famous artists and thinkers she would invite to her ultimate historical cocktail hour
And much, much more

If you’re in the DC area, you can visit the Hour Shop in Old Town Alexandria to view the full collection of vintage cocktail tools and glassware. And you can browse and purchase Victoria’s new collection by visiting TheModernHomeBar.com, which includes the items we talk about in this podcast, as well as many other tools and beautiful designs.

Featured Cocktail: The Gimlet

This episode’s featured cocktail is the Gimlet – a simple gin cocktail that has a long, complicated history. We chose it because the changes in its recipe mirror some of the changes and trends we discuss in this episode with Victoria.

To make the Gimlet these days (and we’ll explain what we mean about that in a minute), you’ll need:

2 oz Gin
¾ oz of Fresh Lime Juice
¾ oz of Simple Syrup

Combine these ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake for about 20 seconds, and then strain into your favorite whimsical stemmed cocktail glass. We find that this drink often benefits from a colorful garnish, so feel free to garnish with a lime wheel or a nice slender lime twist.

Now, the recipe listed above is the contemporary recipe for the gimlet – the one you’ll get at most cocktail bars. But, the drink is said to have its origins in the British navy, and if there’s one thing we all know about those dudes it’s that they were always trying to find ways to stave off scurvy.

As the stories go, Rose’s lime cordial was invented sometime during the mid-1800s as a way to preserve lime juice for stable transport and shelf life, and the name of the drink is often attributed to Naval medical officer Desmond Gimlette, who found a way to combine this product with gin to make the vitamin C vehicle more palatable.

One important thing to note is that the rose’s lime juice we see on the shelves today is a far cry from what it was during the 1800s. It’s got high fructose corn syrup and a bunch of other preservatives, so it’s not an accurate historical substitution for the original Rose’s lime cordial, all things being equal, we’d stick with the classic lime and simple syrup sour ratio.

Show Notes

The Hour boasts a stunning collection of vintage and modern glassware, as well as all the tools and accessories you need to outfit your home bar. Whether you’re on the hunt for the perfect Martini pitcher or a collection of crystal coupe glasses, they’ve got you covered.

About The Modern Home Bar

The Modern Home Bar is a new collection of glassware and bar tools recently launched by Victoria designed to celebrate the best vintage elements and motifs using modern production techniques and American glass. There are a number of design collections within The Modern Home Bar, including nautical, art deco, political, and holiday themes.

Victoria is also branching into the bar tool space, which currently includes a gorgeous pewter cocktail jigger and a copper cocktail shaker made here in North America.

Lightning Round

Favorite Cocktail

Hands down, it’s a Manhattan. Brandy Manhattans are a thing in Milwaukee (my great grandparents owned a tavern there), and growing up, if my siblings and I were really good, we got the cherry. Later on, I moved to Lexington, KY, where I learned to love Bourbon Manhattans. Now, with all the wonderful ryes coming out, I do enjoy a Rye Manhattan.

If You Were a Cocktail Ingredient, What Would You Be?

Gin. I think gin is a universally fabulous spirit. It’s complex, it’s flavorful, and you can take it so many different ways.

Ultimate Historical Cocktail Hour

My perfect cocktail hour starts with the location, which is the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis in New York. There’s a big mural behind the bar of Nat King Cole, and the bar makes great classic drinks.

My guest list includes:

Ian Fleming (the creator of James Bond) – I’m such a fan of international espionage books and movies, and I would love to talk to him about how he incorporated cocktails into his books (and why Bond shakes that Martini).
Ella Fitzgerald – Her songbooks are the epitome of what good cocktail music is.
Anthony Bourdain – I love watching his shows to this day. His ability to relate and his uncanny spirit of adventure would be lovely to include in the cocktail hour.
President Obama – I would love to chat with him and get his take on what it takes to be a kinder political society.
Kate Spade – She was a humble girl from the Mid-West who created an entire industry, and she’s a personal entrepreneurial idol.
My best friend Colleen – because you always need to have someone you can chat with afterward and debrief the party.

Influential Cocktail Books

Victoria’s two books are:
- Capitol Cocktails
- Old Town Drinks
Other influential Books include
- Vintage Bar Ware – Steven Visakay
- The Ultimate Bar Book – Mittie Helmich
- The Old Esquire Cocktail Books

Advice for Aspiring Glassware Collectors

Avoid buying vintage glassware with chips or stuff that’s been through the dishwasher. And most importantly, buy what you like because most vintage glassware will never be made again.

Modern and Vintage Glassware

Featured Cocktail: The Gimlet

Show Notes

About The Modern Home Bar

Lightning Round

Favorite Cocktail

If You Were a Cocktail Ingredient, What Would You Be?

Ultimate Historical Cocktail Hour

Influential Cocktail Books

Advice for Aspiring Glassware Collectors

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