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

Thirsty Thursday: The Gimlet

Hello Vintage-istas!

This week we're bringing you a cocktail that is about as classic as it gets: The Gimlet!

As far as anybody knows, the Gimlet has been around at least since the Roaring '20s, making numerous pop culture appearances along the way. There are certainly about as many interpretations of this cocktail as there are high Cs in the famous tenor aria, "Ah! mes amis!" However, they all have a few things in common: gin, something sweet, and something sour. We think our interpretation is the perfect balance of traditional and unique, making this cocktail the king of sizzling summer afternoons!

Let's take a look at our ingredients:

• 2 oz gin
• .5 oz simple syrup
• .5 oz fresh lime juice
• Lime twist for garnish

Preparation: In a cocktail shaker, combine gin, simple syrup and fresh lime juice with ice and shake generously until ice crystals begin to form around exterior of shaker. Then, strain into an empty cocktail glass, garnish with a lime twist, and serve!

Recommended accompaniment:

This week, we made a cocktail specifically designed to combat the heat outside. Because of this, Kurt Weill's opera Street Scene immediately came to mind. With your Gimlet, we invite you to enjoy Helen Forrest singing "Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed!"

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Thirsty Thursday: Hawaiian Sunset

Hello Vintage-istas!

The humidity has really rolled into the Midwest these last couple of weeks while we've been back visiting family, and boy we are feeling it. So much so, that its got us thinking, "if we have to put up with all of this humidity, we might as well be doing it sitting on the beach in paradise!" Keeping with our "paradise state of mind," this week's Thirsty Thursday installment features The Vintage Chanteuse's version of a mid-century cocktail titled the "Hawaiian Sunset."

We recently discovered this cocktail on a 1960's drink menu from a Hawaiian resort and immediately knew we had to share it with you all! If you search "Hawaiian Sunset cocktail" online you will find a mixture of versions based either in rum or vodka. We are going to use rum, based on the vintage menu we found. Rum is really a child of the Caribbean, but it was very common in the early days of airline travel to find rum used in drinks in Hawaii because it fit the American tourist's ideals of stereotypical "paradise." Also, this drink traditionally calls for orange juice and cherry juice, but we experimented with an orange and pineapple juice mixture with grenadine that we feel really gives this drink a tropical feel! With that in mind, let's take a look at our ingredients:

• 2 oz white rum
• 1 oz grenadine
• 2.5 oz orange & pineapple juice
• 1 oz club soda
• Maraschino cherry or pineapple (for garnish)

Preparation: First, begin by combining rum, grenadine, orange & pineapple juice, and grenadine in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until ice crystals begin to form around exterior of shaker. Then, strain over ice in Collins/cocktail glass, top off with club soda and garnish with either a maraschino cherry or pineapple wedge!

Recommended accompaniment:

For this drink's accompaniment, we recommend the title song from the classic 1961 film Gidget Goes Hawaiian, sung here by James Darren. So grab your sunnies, muumuu dress, and sun tan lotion and enjoy our version of the "Hawaiian Sunset."

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Thirsty Thursday: Brandy Stinger

Hello Vintage-istas,

Summer is really starting to heat up outside, so this week we're bringing you a cocktail that ought to help relieve a bit of summer's sting: the Brandy Stinger!

While this drink's exact origin is not clear, it has been around for nearly a century and really took off after the prohibition, being featured in such films as The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and High Society with Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby!

As is nearly always the case with classic cocktails, simple is better. Let's take a look at this cocktail's bones:

• 2 parts brandy or cognac
• 1 part white crème de menthe
• Mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

In a shaker, pour brandy and crème de menthe over ice and shake vigorously until ice crystals begin to form around shaker's exterior. Then, strain into cocktail glass and enjoy. This drink does not traditionally require a garnish, but a sprig of mint leaves adorning the edge of a glass never hurts!

Recommended accompaniment:

To accompany this drink, we highly recommend this highlight from Cole Porter's High Society, here featuring Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong on "Now You Has Jazz!"

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse