We will not be ringing the New Year in, as we will have gone to bed at a sensible hour, much to the disgust of our children. But we will try our hands at a few flashy little cocktails before having dinner with friends. And when we wake up in 2012 it will be time for a whole new regime: healthy, wealthy and wise. Less alcohol, more exercise, frugality and reading more books! Hear, hear!
Until then, it is still 2011, and we should enjoy our divine decadence. Here are a few formulae for our favorite cocktails.
French 75s
“Hits with remarkable precision.”
Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book
2 ounces gin
1 ounce lemon juice
1 spoonful extra fine sugar
Champagne
Shake the gin, lemon juice and sugar in a cocktail shaker filled with cracked ice until chilled and well-mixed and then pour into tall glass containing cracked ice and fill up the glass with Champagne. This clever cocktail was said to have been devised during WWI, the kick from the alcohol combo being described as powerful as the French 75mm howitzer gun. Some substitute cognac for the Champagne, but not us, the soon-to-be-reformed purists.
“Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!”
Winston Churchill
Not Just for Cocktail Hour Bourbon Slush
This is from our Gentle Reader Joan Fry Cummings, Chestertown High School Class of 1964, along with her classmates Shari Herr Keen ’63, Chris Brace Barron ’64 and Anne Vansant ’64.
“This is not my original recipe. In 2009 when we created a fabulous cookbook from our hometown high school alumni, a former teacher shared this recipe with us. Chestertown High School closed its doors in 1971 and four of us decided to create a treasury of recipes, memories and history in honor of our special years at CHS with all proceeds going into the Alumni Association’s scholarship fund. The results of our efforts were overwhelming! We have a hardback cookbook with custom dividers full of memorabilia and old pictures lifted from a gazillion yearbooks. There are 628 recipes (our goal was 300) including one from the Class of 1928. Mrs. Lois Wood, from Rock Hall, was our 8th grade English teacher (way back then…) and she wrote a front piece for the cookbook in addition to sending the recipe below.”
1 (12 oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 generous cup bourbon (or vodka)
6 cups water
¾ cup sugar
This one is so easy and so refreshing. Mix ingredients together and freeze. Serve with a dash of soda or ginger ale and a spoon (a must!). Always keep a goodly supply on hand. Ready for guests or you at any time.
“Codeine… bourbon.”
-Tallulah Bankhead’s last words
Champagne Cocktail á la Bob
In a Champagne glass add a teaspoon of sugar and enough Angostura bitters to melt the sugar. Add a tablespoon of Grand Marnier or cognac and mix in with the sugar, bitters mix. Add a “fine” quality Champagne and stir. Float a slice of thin orange on top. This is what Ilsa and Victor Laszlo sipped in Casablanca.
“A cause may be inconvenient, but it’s magnificent. It’s like Champagne or high heels, and one must be prepared to suffer for it.”
-Arnold Bennett
As always, our festive friends at Food52 have some delightful ideas for nibbles to help soak up some of the bubbly we are sure to be drinking on New Year’s Eve. https://www.food52.com/blog/2807
“New Year’s Day – Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”
-Mark Twain