Thirsty Thursday: The Brandy Fizz

Hello Vintage-istas!

Since we cracked open a bottle of sparkling wine last week for our Thirsty Thirsday, we decided we would do a whole series of champagne-inclusive cocktails to use up the rest of the bottle! This week, we're going to take a look at a slightly modernized (and more alcoholic!) take on the classic Brandy Fizz:

 
A "Fizz" is a family of cocktails containing a spirit, some kind of citric juice, and-you guessed it-something carbonated. Typically, Fizz cocktails contain club soda or seltzer, but we here at The Vintage Chanteuse prefer to substitute champagne or sparkling wine as a way of giving a classic cocktail a contemporary kick! We first stumbled upon this recipe listed as a "Cognac Fizz" in Here's How: The Home Bartender's Mixing Guide, a small booklet printed by the Schieffelin & Co. liquor importing company in the 1940s. Let's take a look at our Brandy Fizz's ingredients:

• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 sugar cube
• 1.5 oz brandy or cognac
• Sparkling wine to top off
• Lime twist for garnish

Preparation:

In a cocktail shaker, pour lime juice and brandy over sugar cube and allow to dissolve (if you grow impatient, you may gently muddle to encourage the process to speed up). Next, add ice and shake well until ice crystals begin to form around exterior of shaker.

Then, strain into a highball glass, top with sparkling wine, garnish with a lemon twist, and enjoy responsibly!

Recommended accompaniment:

Our version of the Cognac Fizz is steeped in Francophilia (ignoring that we used brandy instead of cognac and sparkling wine instead of champagne!), so we recommend you accompany your fizz with Paris Combo's "Fibre de Verre." Paris Combo is a contemporary Parisian ensemble blending classic French styles with American jazz and swing, amongst many others and is sure to compliment your fizz perfectly!

Until next drink!

Jerron J.

Thirsty Thursday: The French 75

Hello Vintage-istas!

And we're back! This week we've been reminiscing on our time spent in Paris last summer and, naturally, missing it greatly. This walk down nostalgia-lane lead us to this week's cocktail: The French 75!

The French 75 made its first appearances early in the 20th century, purportedly in the famous New York Bar of Paris. Legend has it, the drink received its famous moniker because it "kicked like a French 75mm," a notorious piece of French field artillery used predominantly in WWI. The champagne component also justifies the name, but we've opted for a cheap sparkling wine option because the combination of these ingredients makes the quality of champagne/sparkling wine indiscernible!

This week we inherited a large basket of fresh Connecticut blueberries from a member of my church choir who owns a farm. Trying to think of unique ways to avoid letting these berries go to waste, I remembered a similar version of this cocktail I stumbled upon back in 2011 and knew this was the cocktail to make! Of course, we here at The Vintage Chanteuse have tweaked the ingredients a tad, so let's take a look:

• 6-8 blueberries
• 2oz gin
• 2oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Splash of simple syrup
• Champagne/Sparking wine
• Lemon twist for garnish

Preparation:
As you may have already noticed, we've chosen to serve this cocktail in vintage pilsner glasses simply because we received them as a gift this summer and think they are so neat! However, these glasses' round bottoms do not lend themselves well to muddling, so begin by muddling your blueberries in a flat-bottomed glass first. Then, if you wish, transfer ingredients to your glass of choice.

This is Isabelle, named after the French composer Isabelle Aboulker, she was patiently waiting for her chance at a fresh blueberry...little did we know she was eating them off the counter when our backs were turned! Eek!

Next, combine gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice and stir gently until well-combined. Finally, top with a couple of ice cubes and champagne/sparkling wine and garnish with a twist of lemon!

Recommended accompaniment:

We highly encourage you accompany your French 75 with "Je ne veux pas travailler" by the band Pink Martini! If you haven't heard of this band yet, it's time you familiarize yourself. They are a modern band drawing clear inspiration from the 1940s and have earned The Vintage Chanteuse seal of approval!

Until next time, salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Our Tiki Lounge

Aloha, Vintage-ista's! 

Here is how we do a tiki lounge at 5th Street Vintage! When my parents moved into their 8,000 sq/ft building very few spaces were livable. They spent several years restoring the building and it certainly was a "labor of love." However, there was one odd room they didn't know what to do with and it left them perplexed. The back of the Schmuck Building was once a mechanic's garage and was a very awkward space to say the least.  So, they came to the most probable solution...a Tiki Lounge! This entire room was created from things that have been donated, re-purposed, and scavenged. Here is a sneak peak into our South Pacific Tiki Lounge:

Any respectable tiki room needs a few key elements: good lighting, a bar from which to serve great cocktails, and comfortable seating! A 1960's wicker bar was transformed into our Tiki bar with a little paint and a straw canopy addition. We added brightly painted vintage bar stools and a retro picture of a Hawaiian Debbie Reynolds.
 

We've created a Tiki island feel with a dark green 1940's couch and matching chair. We re-purposed a 1940's bar cloth bedspread to create pillows and a blanket for a pop of color.

For the walls we used a 1950's map of South America which warms up the cold concrete walls as well as bamboo curtains to conceal the old garage door. We then inserted colorful fans for added color and vintage teak Hawaiian mask.

These photo cut-outs of vintage swimmers were hand painted by a friend and are a great way to start a party!

The true flair of the Tiki lounge comes from the details, such as retro Hawaiian scarves adorning the stairs, vintage inspired Caribbean Cruise Line and retro South Pacific Movie posters. Oh, and don't forget the palm trees...everywhere! 

Coconut candles, retro flamingos, and twinkle lights add that extra panache to our Tiki Lounge. Just don't forget the teak wood serving trays and you are set for the ultimate Tiki party!

The main purpose of your Tiki Lounge is create a space that gives you a feeling of being far, far from home. This space should be you're escape! I hope this gives you some inspiration for creating a space to throw your own tiki party--even if you are the only guest!

Aloha!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Weekly Playlist: Film Noir

Hello Vintage-istas!

We've been busy this weekend hosting a film noir themed murder mystery party. It was a huge success! In fact, so much so we will be hosting a public murder mystery party in the Historic Schmuck Building in October! And really, what better place to host a murder mystery than in a haunted building! I will be posting information in September about buying tickets and the party's mystery theme. So to whet your whistle a bit here's a little film noir music we used to create an ambiance on Saturday night!

Now for our feature...

It was a dark and stormy night. The street lamps were casting gloomy shadows on the wet pavement. It had been a rough night and my weary eyes followed the moonlight which seemed to light the way to Harry's bar on the corner. When suddenly from behind a female voice grew from the shadows "May I have a light?"

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse