What’s shakin’ cocktail fans?
Welcome to episode 191 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast!
This time around, we hang out with historian and cocktail author Cecelia Tichi from Vanderbilt University. She’s here to tell us all about the Gilded Age, the people and technologies that created it, and the cocktail culture that emerged during this era of rapid technological change.
She’s celebrating the launch of her new book, Gilded Age Cocktails: History, Lore, and Recipes from America’s Golden Age, and in this fascinating conversation, some of the topics we discuss include:
What the Gilded Age is, and why this time period was so important, not only for cocktail culture, but also in laying the groundwork for the seismic events that would follow in the early 20th century
How Gilded Age Cocktails was conceived – and (spoiler alert), it may have happened over the course of a few drinks.
We talk about the equine origins of the word “cocktail” and its interesting ties to concepts like genetic pedigree and mongrel or mixed components.
We consider the influence of universities, private clubs, and trans-Atlantic travel on the spread and cross-pollination of cocktail styles and recipes across continents.
We explore what the Gilded Age has in common with today’s world of social media and rapid tech innovation,
We admire the wardrobe and style of the original cocktail influencer, Jerry Thomas
And much, much more
This episode’s featured drink is the Bronx Cocktail. To make it, you’ll need:
2 oz London Dry Gin
1 oz Orange Juice
Roughly ⅓ oz of Italian (aka Sweet) vermouth
Roughly ⅓ oz of French (aka Dry) vermouth
Combine these ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake vigorously until all ingredients are chilled and properly diluted, then strain into a stemmed cocktail glass and enjoy.
The Bronx cocktail was invented by bartender Johnny Solon at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York around the turn of the century. According to Cecelia Tichi:
“Solon was mixing a popular cocktail, the Duplex, when a head waiter at the hotel leaned across the bar and issued a challenge: “Why don’t you get up a new cocktail?” asked the tempter in the tones of a dare. “I have a customer who says you can’t do it.”
“Can’t I?” Replied Solon, who finished the Duplex and prepared to meet the challenge, starting with “the equivalent of two jiggers of Gordon Gin” poured into a mixing glass. He then filled “the jigger with orange juice so that it made one third orange juice and two thirds gin.” He added a dash each of Italian and French vermouths and shook the “thing” up.
Solon swore he did not taste the result, but immediately “poured it into a cocktail glass and handed it” to his challenger, who downed the drink “whole.” “By God! You’ve really got something new” he exclaimed, “A big hit.”
Now, anytime we see orange juice in a cocktail, we immediately start thinking about Harvey Wallbangers and Sexes on Beaches. Not exactly the pinnacle of cocktail culture. But in the Bronx cocktail, you’ve got very different acid and sugar profiles from three different mixers playing against the dry, botanical London Dry gin, which makes the Bronx cocktail a drink that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
This episode was made possible with editing and sound design by Samantha Reed, Gilded Age cocktail insights courtesy of Ceclia Tichi, and technical assistance by Vanderbilt Univeristy. This has been a Modern Bar Cart production, copyright 2021.
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