Common Drinks During The Roaring 20s

Compiled by Philip Bradley, celebrity bartender in Lawrence, Kansas

The Roaring 20’s was a time infused with an overall sense of patriotism and optimism following the harrows of World War I. Involving a boom in jazz music, women redefining gendered societal standards, and innovative technology in multiple industries, some found the Roaring 20’s to be a bit of a racy time period. Some found it liberating.

Advancements in electricity, film, and cars were made, and in contrast to this innovative movement, Prohibition began in 1920, which lasted until 1933. It’s commonly known that during the Prohibition it was illegal to use, transport or sell alcohol. However, the consumption of alcohol rose during Prohibition, and today it’s widely regarded as a glaring example of failed government regulation. But what does any of this have to do with today’s drinking culture? Well, you may be surprised to know that some modern alcoholic beverages were created during the Roaring 20’s. Among the most popular drinks were those involving gin — including martinis, mint juleps, and mixed drinks. Bathtub Gin

Bathtub gin was extremely popular during the Roaring 20’s. Low-quality gin was made during Prohibition due to vendors not being able to obtain high quality ingredients. Many amateurs began producing liquor, resulting in bathtub gin. It was called bathtub gin because it was made in a tall bottle — so tall, in fact, that it could not be topped off with water in the sink. Many people filled it up in the bathtub for this reason, and that’s how it got its name!

Martinis Common martinis from the Prohibition period and current martini variations alike owe their existence to the bathtub gin. In the Roaring 20’s, this monumental, classic drink was a mask for low-quality, poor-tasting gin. Bartenders could not easily get liquor so instead they masked gross gin using other types of alcohol, juices, sweeteners, syrups and soft drinks.

One rendition of a martini during The Roaring 20’s contains two parts gin and one part vermouth. The vermouth was meant to mask the gin. Many other martini variations were consumed during the 1920’s containing various kinds of hard liquors and fruit juices. The fruit juices masked the gin as well.

Mixed Drinks It’s likely that mixed drinks became commonplace during Prohibition for the same reason. Only half of the drinks needed to contain hard liquor, and the other half was a sugary substance. Commonly mixed drinks were vodka and orange juice or vodka and cranberry juice. Additionally, Coke and whiskey was popular, which is especially notable since Jack and Coke remains a highly popular drink today. Mint Juleps Although invented prior to 1800, the popularity of the mint julep rose after The Great Gatsby was published in 1925. A refreshing, summer drink, the mint julep involved four to six mint leaves in a Collins glass along with one teaspoon of sugar and two teaspoons of water. Mix all that up, put in a desired amount of crushed ice and a half-ounce of bourbon whiskey. To top it off, decorate the rim with a couple mint leaves attached to its branch. This classy drink was also sometimes made with gin instead of whiskey. You could access this drink at nearly every juke joint and speakeasy across the nation during the prohibition.

Even though this era is long past, the popular drinks of the time remain with us. Although Prohibition is widely regarded as a failed experiment of government regulation, a lot of creative and popular drinks stemmed from this moment in history.

The White Lady Recipe and History – How to make a White Lady Cocktail

There’s a certain purity to this cocktail that I really love, and I think makes it a perfect recipe to kick off a new year. Just 3 simple ingredients, make a perfectly balanced drink with a clean finish and stylish colour in the glass. The White Lady is a more modern “classic” than many, but well deserving of the status. Forget “Dry January”, and join us for “Ginuary“!

History

Like many classic cocktails, several different people have claimed to have created The White Lady.

It was originally believed to have been created by famous bartender Harry McElhone while he was working at London’s Ciro Club in 1919. At that time, he used equal parts of white crème de menthe, triple sec and lemon juice. It was not until he had his own Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, in 1923, that he adapted the recipe by swapping the crème de menthe with gin.

Harry Craddock, of The American Bar at The Savoy in London also gets a fair bit of credit. In 1930 he published the recipe in his Savoy Cocktail Book, increasing the volume of gin and therefore making the drink drier. It was Peter Dorelli, legendary former manager of The American Bar, who suggested adding a dash of egg white to bind the drink together and give a smooth and silky finish.

Regardless of the original creator, it’s safe to say Craddock made quite a few of these at The American Bar. According to Joe Gilmore, (another former head barman at The Savoy), the White Lady was one of Laurel and Hardy’s favourite drinks!

Recipe Egg white is optional – it adds a smooth silky texture, but many people don’t like the drying effect on the mouth or the subtle taste.

 50ml Gin (we recommend Boodles)  25ml Cointreau (or another triple sec)  15ml Lemon Juice  1/2 Fresh Egg White (optional, but I prefer it without)

Method:

 If using egg white, combine all ingredients in a shaker without ice. Shake to create a thick foam. (Shaking without ice is known as a “Dry Shake”)  Add ice and shake again to chill.  Fine strain into a pre-chilled coupe glass.  Garnish with a lemon peel twist.

The Clover Club Cocktail Recipe

The Clover Club is a classic cocktail that hearkens back to a time when men were men, and not afraid to drink a pink cocktail in public. Long before the Cosmopolitan dominated bars and lounges everywhere, two other pink cocktails (the Clover Club and its cousin, the Pink Lady) were being imbibed by every mover, shaker, and go-getter in the land. After we share this authentic old school recipe, we’ll delve into the origins of the Clover Club cocktail, its ascension to the heights of popularity, and its equally quick fall from grace. Cocktail lovers in the 20th Century may have had fickle taste, but trust me, this drink is a forgotten gem, well worth resurrecting.

Clover Club Cocktail

 1 ½ oz gin  ¾ oz fresh lemon juice  ½ oz simple syrup  ½ oz Chambord or grenadine  1 egg white

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with no ice. Shake for about a minute, to emulsify the egg white. Be incredibly careful to keep a tight grip on the top of your shaker; the shaking of the egg white builds up a lot of pressure in the shaker, and the mixture will want to spill out. Usually this happens all over your clothes and when you aren’t expecting it. Your Clover Club should look rather frothy. Then you can add ice and shake it again. Strain your cocktail out into a chilled glass, and ta-da! There is, the Clover Club. Drink up and enjoy.

To make the cocktail known as a Pink Lady, substitute ½ oz apple jack or apple brandy for simple syrup and follow the same procedure. Float a mint sprig on top, and you now have a Clover Leaf.

Most of the prep time in making the Clover Club or its sister variation, the Pink Lady, involves separating and subsequently shaking the egg white. Still, this is a cocktail that can be prepared in about three minutes or so.

History of the Clover Club Cocktail

The Clover Club has its roots in a Philadelphia area men’s club of the same name, started in the late 1800s. The group consisted of captains of industry such as bankers and lawyers, and their chief meeting spot was the Bellevue-Stratford hotel. The drink itself is said to have been invented by teenaged bartender Ambrose Burnside Lincoln Hoffman at the Bellevue-Stratford in 1880. According to the Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, the Clover Club became a staple of East Coast bars and hotels, ordered by the jet-setters of the day, “distinguished of the oak-paneled lounge”. The Clover Club was seen in this era as one of the all-time classics, right up there with the Manhattan and Old Fashioned. As meteoric as the Clover Club rose to the heights of fashion, so it also came tumbling down after Prohibition ended. In 1934, Esquire magazine called it a drink “for pansies”, citing it as one of the dozen worst drinks of the previous decade. Maybe it was the pink color that suddenly put people off, but more likely, it was its close resemblance to the Pink Lady, the latter of which was seen as a drink for mousey secretaries and women. Whatever the case, by the 1950s, the Clover Club had been all but forgotten, another footnote in the annals of cocktail history.

Recently however, the drink has been making a comeback. The new Clover Club establishment in Brooklyn was named after the classic cocktail, and bartenders there make the flagship drink with flourish and care as in days gone by. With the sudden resurgence of interest in old-school cocktails, perhaps there is a second life in the cards for the Clover Club and the Pink Lady. Bee’s Knees Cocktail

Bee's Knees

The phrase the “bee’s knees” was used in Prohibition times as slang to mean “the best.” This cocktail, a gin sour that’s believed to have been created around that time, used lemon and honey to mask the harsh smell of bathtub gin. If your guest wants something refreshing with gin, look no further.

Gin, lemon juice and honey create a buzzworthy cocktail.

Ingredients

 2 ounces gin  3/4 ounces fresh lemon juice  1/2 ounces honey syrup*  Garnish: lemon twist

Steps

1. Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake. 2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with a lemon twist.

*Honey syrup: Add 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup water to a small saucepan over medium heat. (You can experiment and decide how much of a honey flavor you want in your syrup. The more honey you use, the thicker the syrup and stronger in flavor it will be.) Stir until blended. Strain into a jar and seal tightly with a lid. Will keep for 1 month in the refrigerator.

Mary Pickford

This sweet drink was named for the popular 1920s film actress. With maraschino liquer, pineapple juice, and rum, it offered a fruity departure from many of the gin-based Prohibition era drinks. Makes one drink.

Ingredients  Ice  1 1/2 ounces white rum (in the 20’s often amber rum)  1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice (hard to find back then)  1 teaspoon grenadine  5 drops maraschino liqueur  Maraschino cherry

Instructions 1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. 2. Add the rum, pineapple juice, grenadine, and maraschino liqueur. 3. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 4. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Ward 8

Legend holds that the Ward 8 cocktail was created to honor the election of Martin Lomasney, a powerful Massachusetts political figure first elected at the turn of the 20th Century. The drink was popular in the 1920s because it featured rye whiskey of dubious quality masked by sweet grenadine and orange juice. Of course, since Prohibition is over, you can use a quality rye whiskey in this cocktail. Serves one.

Ingredients  Ice  2 ounces rye whiskey  3/4 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice  3/4 ounce fresh squeezed orange juice  3/4 teaspoon grenadine  Seltzer

Instructions 1. In a shaker, combine the whiskey, lemon juice, orange juice, and grenadine with ice. 2. Strain into a chilled Collins glass half full of ice. 3. Fill the glass with seltzer. Ward 8 is served un-garnished.