Thirsty Thursday: The Champagne Cocktail

Hello Vintage-istas!

We're back after an unplanned two-week hiatus. Sometimes, life has a way of moving incredibly slow for perceived periods of eternity and then suddenly piling a lifetime's worth of obligations on you over the period of a week! Well, back to the cocktails! For this Thirsty Thursday installment, we're concluding out champagne series with perhaps the oldest and simplest of champagne-inspired mixes: The Champagne Cocktail.

The "Champagne Cocktail" likely originated in the 19th century and largely has gone unchanged since. After all, it is difficult (and unnecessary) to alter something so simple as the Champagne Cocktail! Since then, it has made many pop culture appearances, including Casablanca! Here are our ingredients:

• 1 cube sugar
• 2 dashes Bitters
• Champagne or sparkling wine
• Lemon twist for garnish

Preparation: In a champagne flute, soak sugar cube in bitters and allow a moment to dissolve. Next, top off glass with chilled champagne or sparkling wine, garnish with a lemon twist, and enjoy!

Recommended accompaniment:

To accompany this drink, we recommend a tune straight from the film Casablanca to put you in the mood: "As Time Goes By," recorded here by Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole.

Until next drink!

Jerron J.

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 Champagne Julep

Hello Vintage-istas!

This week warmed up again in New England, so we're milking this warm weather summer feeling for all it's worth! Thinking of some of the most refreshing cocktails I know, the classic Champagne Julep immediately come to mind; let's take a look!

The "julep" is a family of cocktails which entails mixing a spirit with sugar, citrus, and some kind of herb or fruit via the process of muddling. Most commonly, juleps are made with mint leaves, hence the name of the most popular julep, the Mint Julep! The Mint Julep, which is the mainstay of the Kentucky Derby because of its inclusion of Kentucky Bourbon, is both the reigning king and grandfather of the julep family. Our version, the Champagne Julep, started to become especially popular throughout the Jazz Age, and hit its peak in the 1940s (think The Great Gatsby). Let's take a look at our ingredients:

• 1 tbsp simple syrup
• 7-8 mint leaves
• Splash of fresh lime juice
• Champagne, chilled
• Sprint of mint leaves for garnish

Preparation:

Begin by muddling mint leaves, simple syrup, and a splash of fresh lime juice in the bottom of a glass. Remember, you only need to muddle hard enough to release the oils from the mint leaves; we do not want to pulverize them into a pulp! Transfer muddled mixture into a Collins or cocktail glass of choice, add ice, top off with champagne, and garnish with a sprig of mint leaves for extra measure! It is important to note that you may need to use a bar spoon to effectively combine champagne with muddled ingredients. Oh, and don't forget to enjoy!

Recommended accompaniment:

For your listening pleasure, we recommend Milton Ager's "Ain't She Sweet." Featured in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, this song was originally released in 1927 and became one of the anthems of the "Roaring Twenties!" 

Until next week!

Jerron J.

Thirsty Thursday: The Classic Daiquiri

Hello Vintage-istas!

We're nearing the end of summer; school is around the corner and we can feel the days already starting to shorten! It's that time when you begin to desperately search for things to do and foods to eat that are so iconic they seem to actually stretch out these last waning weeks of summer. Because of this, we're bringing you a cocktail this week that screams summer on the beach in paradise: The Classic Daiquiri!

A "daiquiri" is actually a family of drinks which entails nearly any rum-based concoction mixed with citrus juice and some kind of sweetener. Order a daiquiri in a bar today and you're likely to get something like a strawberry daiquiri, a mix resembling more of a glorified sugar slushie than a cocktail, but traditionally this drink is sweet and simple. In it's original form, the cocktail likely originated in Havana around the turn of the 20th century and is best when made with uncomplicated and fresh ingredients:

• 2oz light rum
• 1oz lime juice
• .5oz simple syrup

 
Preparation:

In a shaker, combine rum, freshly squeezed lime juice and simple syrup (or a couple teaspoons of sugar) and shake vigorously until ice crystals begin to form on exterior of shaker. Then, strain into a cocktail glass and, if desired, garnish with a lime wedge!

Recommended accompaniment:

To accompany your drink, we recommend the Cuban "Queen of Bolero" Olga Guillot, singing "Qué sabes tú." Olga's sultry voice and distinct style made her a sensation in the Latin American music throughout much of the mid 20th century, making for a uniquely authentic accompaniment to your Classic Daiquiri!

Until next drink,

Jerron J.

Thirsty Thursday: The Coco Chanel

Hello Vintage-istas!

We're officially in the "Dog Days" of Summer, but today marks the opening of our vintage clothing shop, 5th Street Vintage, in Beatrice, Nebraska! The shop is hosting a "Little Black Dress" party as part of its grand opening, so what better cocktail to choose for this evening than a drink named after the inventress of the great LBD: Coco Chanel!

It's no secret that Coco Chanel's favorite drink was champagne, but because there isn't much mixing involved in whipping up a flute of champagne we had to do a bit of online searching for Coco-tails! There are a number of cocktails named after Coco, but we chose a somewhat obscure version for our series this week. This particular recipe hasn't much of a history to it, but its simple yet decadent nature matches perfectly the character of such a simple woman who led an elegant but complicated life. Coco was not a lady to shy away from adding flair and decadence to everyday life, yet understood when an occasion called for something simple and understated.

With this in mind, let's take a look at our ingredients:

• 1.5 oz gin
• 1.5 oz coffee liqueur
• 1.5 oz half-and-half
• Costume jewelry for garnish (yes, you read that correctly!)

Preparation:

Begin by combining gin, a coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua), and half-and-half cream in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously until ice crystals begin to form around the exterior of the shaker. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a piece of costume jewelry! Coco Chanel was a champion of costume jewelry as an affordable substitute for the real thing, so we thought it would be a fitting tribute! If you're not feeling so adventurous, opt for a cherry or a couple of raspberries skewered on a toothpick instead.

Recommended accompaniment:

To accompany your Coco, we recommend "La Javanaise" by contemporary French Singer/Songwriter Madeleine Peyroux. We can't be sure, but something tells us Peyroux's distinctly French, dégager style would have appealed to Coco; it certainly makes us miss France! So enjoy this decadent cocktail and we'll see you again next week!

Until next drink,

Jerron J.

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: The Raspberry Rickey

Hello Vintage-istas!

This week we're bringing you a fruity version of a cocktail whose history dates back to the 1880s. "The Raspberry Rickey" is sure to help cool you down on these hot July evenings...or afternoons! Who are we here at The Vintage Chanteuse to judge?

The "Rickey" is a drink which originated in its traditional form in Washington D.C., likely named after Democratic lobbyist Colonel Joe Rickey. Originally, this cocktail's base spirit was bourbon, but as Americans eventually began to overcome their fear of the red coats, gin became a widely popular American spirit and people began to substitute gin instead of bourbon! Nowadays (as is often the case with gin-based cocktails), vodka may also be substituted, as it is here. First up, our ingredients:

• 1.5 oz vodka
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• .5 oz Chambord raspberry liqueur
• Soda water
• A few raspberries
• A lime wedge, for granish

Preparation: Begin by muddling raspberries in bottom of highball glass. Next, add ice, along with remaining ingredients and stir gently until raspberry pulp mixes thoroughly. Finally, garnish with a couple of whole raspberries and a lime wedge, and enjoy!

Recommended Accompaniment:

 

  
The "Rickey" makes countless pop culture appearances, perhaps most notably in The Great Gatsby and in the opening lines of the timeless Glenn Miller tune "Jukebox Saturday Night!" Now sit back, relax, and allow yourself to be transported to another period in history on a hot summer's day!

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: American Beauty

Hello Vintage-istas!

Welcome to another installment of Thirsty Thursday! Keeping with our week-long Independence Day theme, we are going to show you how to make The Vintage Chanteuse's unique take on a truly "red, white, & blue" cocktail titled "The American Beauty."

 

If you search on the web for "American Beauty cocktail," you will actually find quite an array of different cocktails, with base spirits ranging from gin, vodka, and even brandy. The version we're sharing is steeped with a bit of irony, using London dry gin (from whom we gained our independence, of course!). This gives us our "white," and the "red and blue" comes from the muddled raspberries and blueberries! Let's take a look at our ingredients:

• 1.5 oz gin
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 3 raspberries
• 3 blueberries
• Mint leaves
• Splash of brut sparkling wine
• Berries for garnish

Preparation: Begin by muddling well the lemon juice, mint leaves and berries in bottom of shaker. Then, add ice and the remaining ingredients (save the sparkling wine) and shake well, until ice crystals form on exterior of shaker. Strain into a lowball filled with ice (ensuring the pulp from the berries makes it into the glass), top off with sparkling wine and garnish with a few extra berries skewed on a toothpick!

Accompaniment:

Mixing both our retro and Americana themes for this week's installment, we've chosen Ray Charles' timeless version of "America the Beautiful" as our recommended accompaniment. If you're like me, you grew up first hearing this song on the movie The Sandlot. Because of this, this version will forever be cemented in our minds as the quintessential 4th of July anthem. Until next week, stay safe and happy Independence Day!

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Thirsty Thursday: The Gin and Sin

Hi Vintage-istas! This week's cocktail is the Gin and Sin, a fabulously sweet and sinful cocktail from the roaring twenties! This Prohibition Era Cocktail was our drink of choice for our murder mystery party this past weekend and we think you will enjoy it just as much as we did.

Admittedly, the number of components to this delicious cocktail numbers greater than you will find in your average Vintage Chanteuse cocktail, but the effort will be worth it!

Let's take a look at the ingredients:

• 1.5 oz gin
• 1 oz lemon juice
• .5 oz orange juice
• .5 oz simple syrup
• Splash of grenadine
• Mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Before we look at this drink's instructions, its important to make sure you prepare your simple syrup first if you haven't any pre-made. In a small sauce pan, combine 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 cup boiling water, stirring until all sugar is dissolved. Then, remove pan from heat and allow to reduce into a syrup and cool.

Then you can proceed with the preparation:

In a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients over ice and shake until ice crystals form around exterior of shaker. (You can see here, we chose to mix up a slightly larger batch to accommodate our party guests). Next, strain mix into cocktail glass, over ice if you wish, and garnish with a sprig of mint leaves.

Accompaniment:
Keeping with the murder mystery film noir theme, we recommend "Le jazz du Chambrioleur" from the French film Une vie de chat. Composed by living French composer Serge Besset. While not from the actual period, you will find this song has the perfect film noir feel to get you in the mood!

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

Thirsty Thursday: Scarlett O'Hara

Hello Vintage-istas,

We're taking a trip to Hollywood for this week's Thirsty Thursday by visiting a cocktail named after a character played by one of the 20th-century's most beloved silver screen starlets: The Scarlett O'Hara!

This drink's namesake comes from the lead character of one of the most successful films ever: Gone With the Wind's Scarlett O'Hara, played by Vivien Leigh.

While you can find cocktail names today that are long, clever, wacky, and even hysterical, early mixology prided itself in creating drinks and monikers that were simple and to the point. Thus, having a popular cocktail named after you was surely a highly flattering compliment and speaks to Vivien Leigh's forever-immortalized position within America's popular culture. The drink, like Scarlett, has a sweet and refreshing beauty to it. This cocktail even sports a luscious red hue a la Miss O'Hara's most famous dress in Gone With the Wind!

 

So, now that we have a bit of the history, let's get right into the nitty gritty of this sweet and refreshing drink:

• 2 oz Southern Comfort
• Cranberry Juice
• Splash of lime juice
• Splash of club soda (optional)
• Lime twist for garnish

Preparation:
In a highball filled with ice, pour two ounces of Southern Comfort. Next, top of glass with cranberry juice and a splash of lime. If desired, this cocktail has often traditionally included a splash of club soda for a little added spritz. Finally, stir gently and garnish with a twist of lime and enjoy!

Recommended accompaniment:

For some musical accompaniment, we recommend Glenn Miller's arrangement of a silver screen serenade released the exact same year as Gone With the Wind that quickly became one of the most famous songs in America, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Thirsty Thursday: Brandy Old Fashioned

Hello Vintage-istas,

For this week's Thirsty Thursday recipe, we are going to visit a drink that is considered to be one of the original "classic" cocktails. This drink is so classic, one of the most standard styles of bar glassware is named after it: The Old Fashioned.

By this definition, the Old Fashioned is rightfully regarded as the grandfather of all cocktails! While this drink's exact origin is a bit "muddled" (pun most certainly intended), it is an American cocktail in both history and character. In the bartender's bible, Mr. Boston, Anthony Giglio suggests that, "we can trace [the Old Fashioned] back to as far as 1806...in a popular New York publication called The Balance and Columbian Repository." In this publication, the term "cocktail" is officially defined for the first time ever in print, as "a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits...sugar, water, and bitters."

This drink has inspired its share of spinoff cocktails over its two-century life. Despite this, if you go into a bar and order an "Old Fashioned" any respectable bartender will whip you up something that largely conforms to the above definition. However, as the temperatures continue to rise outside, we here at The Vintage Chanteuse are always looking for ways to lighten our cocktails up a bit to keep with our summertime mood. So we've taken the whiskey out of the equation and instead have opted for brandy, which takes a little bit of the edge off of the drink while still delivering much of the drinks original character!

Keeping that in mind, let's take a look at what ingredients you'll need:

• 1.5 oz brandy
• 2 to 3 dashes of bitters
• Splash of club soda
• 1 Sugar cube
• Lemon twist for garnish
• Maraschino cherry (optional)

Preparation:
In the bottom of an Old Fashioned glass, muddle one sugar cube with a couple dashes of bitters and a splash of club soda. Next, add one shot of brandy and a couple of ice cubes, stir gently. Finally, top off with a cherry, garnish with a lemon, and enjoy!

Recommended accompaniment:

Enjoy your Old Fashioned alongside a truly American old fashioned, Glen Miller!

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Thirsty Thursday: The Dubonnet Cocktail

Hello Vintage-istas,

For this week's Thirsty Thursday installment, we're going to show you our slightly updated version of a classic and simple drink: the Dubonnet Cocktail! However, don't let yourself be fooled by this cocktail's surprising crispness. Although it is deliciously cool and refreshing, it is not for the faint of fortitude!

Part French, part English, this cocktail has a bit of a confused national identity. Its French half, Dubonnet, is the aperitif for which this cocktail is named. A wine-based drink that comes in either rouge, blanc, or gold (red, white, or gold, respectively) Dubonnet was created in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet and can be enjoyed by itself, chilled, or as a feature ingredient in a number of cocktails. The English side of this cocktail is London dry gin. In particular, the Dubonnet cocktail is most famous for whom it is enjoyed by: England's Queen Elizabeth the Mother and now her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. While there are many ways this cocktail has been altered throughout its century and a half history--perhaps most notably the ratio of its two prime ingredients--its sheer simplicity is what makes this cocktail a favorite of ours whenever the occasion calls for an easy and cold cocktail!

 Here are the Ingredients:

1 part Dubonnet, chilled
1 part dry gin
Dash of bitters
Squeeze of fresh orange juice
Orange twist for garnish

Preparation:
Now, it is first important to briefly be introduced to the general evolution of this cocktail. In the early twentieth century, this drink was commonly served with a gin-to-Dubonnet ratio of 2-to-1. Throughout the middle of the century the ratio became 1-to-1 (as you may be able to see on our vintage mixing glass pictured above and below). Today, it is not uncommon to find the above ratio to be completely reversed to 1-to-2, as Queen Elizabeth II purportedly enjoys it. For us, we like to meet in the middle with a 1-to-1 ratio.

In a mixing glass, combine gin and chilled Dubonnet over ice. Then, add one dash of bitters for each serving. I really like using citrus-flavored bitters throughout summer months, so I have elected to go with orange bitters. Next, stir the drink gently and thoroughly with a bar spoon and set aside for a brief moment. Squeeze a small amount of fresh orange juice into the bottom of a chilled cocktail glass. You will often find recipes calling for lemon but because it is summer, I find using oranges (along with the orange bitters) gives this cocktail a refreshing update. Our version of this drink is really a mix between a Dubonnet Cocktail and a Tabby Cat. However, we elected for gin as opposed to vodka, so we are sticking with the Dubonnet moniker. Then, strain gin and Dubonnet mixture into the cocktail glass, which will automatically mix nicely with the squeeze of orange juice. Finally, garnish with an orange twist or slice (or lemon if you opt to stick with the more traditional form of this cocktail) and enjoy!

Recommended accompaniment:

Accompany this Franco-Anglo drink with a French classic, "C'est si bon," and enjoy!

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse