Posted by Paul Clarke, April 11, 2008 at 5:45 PM
Let's start the weekend right—with a cocktail recipe from Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles). Need more than one? That kinda week, eh? Here you go. Cheers!
As much as I like to imagine it happening, chances are that Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woolcott and the rest of the gang never tipped up a round of these.
While the members of the Algonquin Round Table likely never got on the outside of an Algonquin—the drink’s recipe didn’t appear in print until years after the legendary lunch meetings ended—this mixture bearing the name of that venerable hotel is as dry and captivating as was their wit. Fortunately, while the Round Table disbanded around 1929, it’s not too late to explore the flavor of the Algonquin.
Continue reading »
Posted by Paul Clarke, February 29, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Let's start the weekend right—with a cocktail recipe from Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles). Need more than one? That kinda week, eh? Here you go. Cheers!
When I was a kid, one of my mother’s closest friends was in the habit of slyly pointing out that she’d had only twelve (or thereabouts) birthdays—this, despite the fact that she was a middle-aged mother of three. Her punchline of course—and note I never said it was a good one—was that she was born on February 29, a date that only appears on the calendar when leap year rolls around.
Hey, look at today’s date! As you might expect from such a benign oddity, the day has spawned its own cocktail. The Savoy Cocktail Book states, “This Cocktail was created by Harry Craddock, for the Leap Year celebrations at the Savoy Hotel, London, on February 29th, 1928. It is said to have been responsible for more proposals than any other cocktail that has ever been mixed.”
I can’t attest to Craddock’s claim, but I can back up the notion that the Leap Year is a very engaging concoction. Mildly sweet, with a faint touch of bitterness, the cocktail is tasty enough to be enjoyed regularly while we wait for the next February 29 to roll around.
Continue reading »
Posted by Paul Clarke, November 9, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Let's get this weekend started right. Here's a cocktail from Paul Clarke to kick things off. Need more than one? That kinda week, eh? Here you go. Cheers!
Before serving a big Thanksgiving meal, there are two things you want to avoid: getting your guests (or yourself) too giddy on generous pours of wine or scotch; and killing the palates of all the assembled guests by doling out rich, sweet pre-prandial ice-breakers that blunt, rather than enhance, the appetite.
Here’s a way to avoid these related hazards, while still serving something creative that will help get the conversation flowing. Created by Audrey Saunders, co-owner of Pegu Club and the mind behind some of the best cocktails in current circulation, Eve relies wholly on a base of dry vermouth, its herbal flavor enhanced by a slow maceration of fresh apples. Lower in alcohol than a cocktail or a scotch on the rocks, and with a complexity of flavor that sets the stage for the meal to come, Eve has a delicate character perfectly suited for the season.
Continue reading »
Posted by Paul Clarke, September 28, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Let's get this weekend started right. Here's a cocktail to kick things off. Need more than one? Here you go. Cheers!
New York’s contributions to the cocktail world are legion, but here’s a drink that includes a good dose of New Jersey. Combining Gotham ingenuity with the Garden State’s native spirit, the Marconi Wireless is a pretty simple cocktail: Take our good friend the Manhattan, but instead of using whiskey, reach for the applejack—produced in Monmouth County by the Laird family for more than 200 years.
In Old Waldorf Bar Days, published in 1931, Albert Stevens Crockett writes that the Marconi Wireless "first sprang across the Bar of the Waldorf when the ancestor of the radio began to raise its ghostly voice." While the precursor to the radio may be lost to the ages, this Marconi Wireless is still as vibrant as ever. Besides, I have yet to see a drink named the Streaming Audio.
Continue reading »
Posted by Paul Clarke, August 3, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Let's get this weekend started right. Here's a cocktail to kick things off. Need more than one? Here you go. Cheers!
There’s no shortage of libations designed to temper the effects of a bruising hot summer day. But in the light and heat of an August afternoon, sometimes the old gin-and-tonic and mojito standbys come on a little too strong.
Enter the Pompier. Also known as the vermouth cassis, this tall glass of icy goodness offers a gentle, sophisticated alternative for those looking to idle away a steamy afternoon. Based on vermouth—so it’s lower in alcoholic horsepower than many other seasonal refreshers—the Pompier increases its allure with the robust fruitiness of crème de cassis, a blackcurrant liqueur. Poured over ice and energized with chilled club soda, the Pompier is a good addition to anyone’s summer survival kit.
Continue reading »
