American Summer Drinks From 1872
Everyone really enjoyed the cocktails at our 150th birthday party!
We thought we would share the recipes with you so that you can enjoy them. The two cocktails that were made by the mixologists from Hotel du Vin at the party were the Mint Julep and the Manhattan Punch which were found when the team were going through the archives to find content for “The People’s Friend” 150th anniversary special. You can see the article here:
Household Matters- American Summer Drinks- 1872
MINT JULEP: Perhaps the most delicious of all American Summer beverages is the most deservedly celebrated ‘’mint julep.’’ Take about a dozen fresh, tender shoots of mint; put wo of these in the bottom of a large tumbler, bruise them very slightly, and throw in, but do not bruise, a thin slice of lemon, a thin slice of orange and a quarter of a green lime. Add a large wine glassful of fine French brandy and a tablespoonful of powdered sugar; put the remainder of the mint upright in the tumbler, and fill it with rasped or pounded ice. Mint julep should be absorbed through straws, and the operation should be performed slowly and silently.
MANHATTAN PUNCH: This excellent beverage is made by mixing together equal parts of brandy, Jamaican rum, claret and water, and adding sugar, limes, lemons, pine-apple and ice. This makes a very smooth and agreeable drink- the claret correcting the sweetness of the rum, and the perfumed juice of the crushed fruits agreeably moderating it’s strength.
‘’SOUR’’: A most agreeable Summer drink is called a ‘’sour.’’ It may be made with brandy, gin, whisky and Jamaican rum, or, best of all, the white rum of the island of Santa Cruz. To produce a ‘’sour’’, the modus operandi is as follows: Take a wine glassful of the spirit preferred, and pour it into a large tumbler with a spoonful of powdered sugar, half a lemon, and one green lime cut into quarters; fill up the glass with pounded ice, and a filet of raspberry syrup, and stir the mixture with a spoon for about a minute. Strain into a wine glass, drink, and you will experience a ‘’sensation.’’
SHERRY COBBLER: This drink is generally made of a quarter pint of sherry, a tablespoonful of pounded sugar, a slice of orange, two slices of lemon, a teaspoonful of Curacao, and two or three strawberries or raspberries. The tumbler is filled with finely broken ice, and the mixture taken through a straw.
