The Remember the Maine Cocktail

Heering Cherry Liqueur and absinthe add spice to this Manhattan variant

The USS Maine was a battleship that exploded and sank in Havana Harbor in February 1898, during Cuba’s war for independence. Soon afterwards, “Remember the Maine!” became a rallying cry that pushed the US to war with Spain. We’ll provide more history in the Notes – but right now we want to discuss how good this drink is.

It’s a magical mixture of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Heering Cherry Liqueur, plus a touch of absinthe. So it’s a Manhattan Cocktail with extra zing.

The flavor will explode on your tongue. Fitting, we suppose.

The Creole Cocktail

Get your Mardi Gras on with this tantalizing tongue tingler

This time of year, our thoughts head towards New Orleans – home of Dixieland jazz and some of the best food in the US. Not to mention Mardi Gras.

Of course, St. Louis (where we live) also has a pretty rambunctious Mardi Gras celebration – probably second only to the more famous one in New Orleans. Not this year, though. COVID is seeing to that.

So we’ll celebrate at home, sipping a Creole Cocktail. Heck, we’re talking Mardi Gras – let’s make that two. 

The Liberal Cocktail

This timeless charmer will intrigue and satisfy

The US had an election last month, and the results are in: We need a drink! And what more appropriate choice than the Liberal Cocktail?

It’s a bipartisan standard that dates back at least 125 years. So if you’re hankering after some traditional values, this is your drink.

Mix up a round of these beauties, then give us your vote of thanks.

The Brooklyn Cocktail

Spicy rye and bitter orange usher us into autumn

We’re starting to notice the change of seasons. The sun slants lower in late afternoon, the breeze seems to be freshening.

So let’s sip something autumnal. The Brooklyn Cocktail hits just the right note of spicy and astringent (much like its New York City eponym).

Meet you across the Manhattan Bridge.

The Old Pal Cocktail

Make friends with a Prohibition-era charmer

The Old Pal is practically cocktail royalty. His daddy is the classic Negroni. And his sibling is the charming Boulevardier Cocktail.

The Old Pal himself sports rye, dry vermouth, and Campari. That makes him the lightest, driest, and spiciest of the trio.

Just the personality you want in an old pal, no?

The Suburban Cocktail

A dark-horse drink for the holidays

Ever heard of the Suburban Cocktail? We’ll wager you haven’t.

But it’s worth getting to know. The Suburban’s unusual blend of rye whiskey, dark rum, and port is warming and cheering – just like the holidays are supposed to be.

Plus, the Suburban is named after a horse race. You may find that fitting as you gallop down the final shopping stretch.

The Toronto Cocktail

A whiskey-based delight that’s perfect for Canadian Thanksgiving

The second Monday in October is coming up (on October 8, to be exact). And that means Canadian Thanksgiving!

What better way to celebrate than with a toast? And what better drink than the Toronto Cocktail? It’s named after Canada’s most populous city, the capital of Ontario — and a great city to visit.

So here’s to Canada: One of the best neighbors, ever.

The Monte Carlo Cocktail

Elegant as its Riviera namesake

The Monte Carlo is super smooth. Fitting, that.

It’s a rye-based sipper, which makes it nice and warming. That’s perfect for autumn (which is rapidly approaching in our part of the world).

This drink will perk you up on a chilly night. And you want to be perky, don’t you?

The Fourth Regiment Cocktail

This spicy Manhattan-lite is perfect for summer

We love us a Manhattan Cocktail. As traditionally made, though, it can be a bit heavy for warm weather.

But fear not. The Fourth Regiment is here to save us.

It has less whiskey and more sweet vermouth than a traditional Manhattan, so it’s less alcoholic. And it uses three different kinds of bitters, which gives it a spicy, aromatic flavor that pairs well with many summer foods. Like barbecue, for example.

Sometimes it pays to march to a different drummer.

The Fanciulli Cocktail

This classic charmer is essentially a Manhattan made with Fernet-Branca

The Manhattan Cocktail is one of our favorites. It’s a smooth combo of rye or bourbon and sweet (Italian) vermouth, spiced up with Angostura bitters.

Well, replace the bitters with Fernet-Branca (an Italian liqueur), and you have the Fanciulli Cocktail. This drink is largely forgotten today, but it seems to have been quite popular in pre-Prohibition America.

Time for a revival, no? Especially since the the Fanciulli’s spicy flavor makes it perfect for winter sipping.

We like to serve the Fanciulli as a predinner drink, though it’s great any time of the day. Well, maybe not for breakfast. But you know what we mean.

The Scofflaw Cocktail

The drink that thumbed its nose at Prohibition

Everybody knows what a scofflaw is, right? But you may not know that the term was coined during the Prohibition era in the US.

Prohibition (which was in effect from 1920 to 1933) banned the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. It failed spectacularly, however. Many people ignored the law and just kept on drinking—both in the privacy of their homes and in unlicensed saloons called speakeasies.

So widespread was this behavior that in 1924, the Boston Herald newspaper ran a contest asking people to create a moniker for these lawless tipplers. The winning entry was “scofflaw.”

A few days later, a bartender at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris created a tasty new drink—and named it the Scofflaw Cocktail (how could he resist?)

Prohibition finally ended in the US on December 5, 1933. So this Friday marks the anniversary of that happy day. Guess what we’ll be drinking to celebrate?

The Vieux Carré Cocktail

A New Orleans original

Vieux Carré means “old square” in French. It also happens to be what they called New Orleans’ French Quarter back in the day. So when Walter Bergeron invented this cocktail in the 1930s (while tending bar at a hotel in the French Quarter), it was a no-brainer to name it after the Big Easy’s oldest and most famous neighborhood.

The watering hole where Bergeron worked is now called the Carousel Bar. And yes, it resembles (and revolves like) a carnival carousel.

If you’d like to ride the painted ponies, but can’t make it to Nawlins right now, no worries. Just mix up a Vieux Carré Cocktail—and take your palate for a spin.

The Algonquin Cocktail

Named After the Hotel Made Famous by the Roundtable Literary Set

In the years after World War I, a group of New York City writers, critics, and assorted artsy types met for lunch almost daily at the Algonquin Hotel on West 44th Street (the theatre district). This articulate group — masters of both witty repartee and practical jokes — initially dubbed themselves the “Vicious Circle.” But they quickly became known as the Algonquin Round Table, after the seating space they staked claim to in the hotel dining room.

During the group’s heyday (from 1919 to about 1929), it included Robert Benchley, Heywood Broun, George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker, Harold Ross, Robert E. Sherwood, and Alexander Woollcott, among others.  Many Roundtable members were already famous; others soon became so.  And they helped launch The New Yorker magazine (founded in 1925 by Round Tabler Harold Ross).

This was a hard-drinking bunch — even by the standards of those hard-drinking days.  But Prohibition started in 1920.  So, although the Algonquin has at least one cocktail named after it, Wikipedia informs us that the hotel was officially “dry” during the time the Round Table set met there for lunch.

More about that later.  First, let’s mix up an Algonquin Cocktail!

The Ward Eight Cocktail

The Perfect Drink to Celebrate (or Mourn) an Election

Here in the US, we have a big election coming up Tuesday, November 6th.  We’ll be voting for President, not to mention other federal, state, and local offices.  Many people are heartily sick of the whole process by this time (turn on the TV in “swing” states and it’s wall-to-wall political commercials).  But we’re all curious to learn the outcome, so many of us will tune in to see the election results.  And some people may even make a party of it.

Mrs. Kitchen Riffs and I certainly will be watching — and may elect to enjoy an adult beverage while consuming the political news. 

Well, why not?  Elections and booze have a long, cozy history.  Politicians used to routinely ply treat voters with intoxicating liquid refreshment in order to buy win their votes.  And remember those smoke-filled rooms?  It’s not lemonade they were quaffing in there.

So let me introduce you to the Ward Eight, a cocktail devised to celebrate a 19th century election.  It’s a smooth drink with nice tart undertones, perfect to celebrate your candidate’s win (or mourn his loss).

The Old-Fashioned Cocktail

What to Drink if You're a Whiskey Lover

The Old-Fashioned (often spelled without the hyphen) is one of the oldest cocktails around. Indeed, it’s a pretty good example of how the original cocktails were made way back in the early 1800s (more about that later). In its day, it was the king of cocktails.

Today? Not many people drink it, or have even tasted it. In fact, the only thing many people know about it is that it’s the elixir of choice of Don Draper, of Mad Men fame.

Too bad. If you crave whiskey, no other mixed drink better showcases the deep, rich flavor of good old American bourbon or rye. And few drinks are easier to make: You need only whiskey, bitters, and sugar.

With the weather turning chilly, now is the perfect time to enjoy this bracing piece of Americana. So why not try the drink that your great-great-great-great-great grandfather used to enjoy? Nothing is more old fashioned than that.

Manhattan Cocktail

Is This All-American Classic the World’s Best Cocktail? 

Cocktails are an American invention, and one of the best-known is the Manhattan.

No one can say with certainty where or when the Manhattan was first concocted, although cocktail historian David Wondrich says ”its roots stretch back to the old Manhattan Club, in 1874.”

But there’s no controversy regarding the popularity of the drink. Cocktail aficionados consider it one of the finest ever conceived, and it’s on almost everyone’s list of best cocktails.

We’ll get into this whole “best” thing later. Right now, we have a drink to build!

The Sazerac Cocktail

The Mardi Gras Drink

Next week is Mardi Gras (or Carnival) and people around the world will celebrate.

There are several popular customs associated with Mardi Gras — a/k/a Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. One tradition involves emptying the larder of fats and rich foods by gorging on them in preparation for the lenten fast (hence “Fat Tuesday,” the literal English translation of Mardi Gras). When I was growing up, pancakes were traditional on Shrove Tuesday. Some cultures favor doughnuts.

Parades and festivals are another widespread tradition, often featuring people dressed in costume (or sometimes undressed). In the United States, my own St. Louis celebrates Mardi Gras (Naughty Gras) with particular vigor and enthusiasm. But no city the US is as synonymous with Mardi Gras as New Orleans. They do Mardi Gras proud.

Many of us will imbibe a few alcoholic beverages while enjoying the Mardi Gras festivities. And what could be better to sip than a Sazerac, the official drink of New Orleans?

Let's mix one!