Cocktail Party Vintage Hollywood Style Recipes
"The Garbo cocktail will make you act like a star? One of Hollywood's little
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| Bing Crosby likes the Bogey best |
"The Garbo cocktail for illustration has a dash of Swedish bitters in it and six of them would make anybody act, but Garbo never even saw one. There is a Gable cocktail but the suggestion that Gable really should be on the house probably will result in its fadeout. Wallace Beery seems the only big star who is safe for no one will consider putting out a Beery cocktail." -- March 1936
Rosalind Russell supplied the recipe for the Rosalind Russell to Lucius Beebe for his Stork Club Bar Book (Classic Cocktail Books series), a volume that also advertises the Ralph Bellamy Scotch Sour.
Somehow vintage cocktails, those seen in our favorite films and the ones however they came to be, named for favorite film movie stars can be fun to make, serve and of course to drink.
Have you ordered a champagne cocktail after seeing them in An Affair to Remember? Tried a Gibson after that romantic train ride in North by Northwest?
Some of these will give you an idea of how times have changed or stayed the same. A few may be less than politically correct. Retro drinks to use if you're planning an event, a movie party or the next time the family gets together. Toast one another over the 'net as you hate a Twitter party while a bunch of you watch movies together virtually.
The Stars Suggest Recipes for Cocktails & Drinks
Norma Shearer's favorite is a frappe consisting of one part cognac and one part grapefruit juice and sugar to suit your taste.
Stuart Erwin and Jane Collyer have a drink they call an Avenue A.
Two-thirds bourbon and one-third vermouth. Shake well and put on ice until thoroughly chilled. Add a sprig of mint.
"'The Upsy-Down cocktail has the potency of a Clara Bow kiss,' promises Richard Arlen. Probably you have never tasted a Bow kiss, but perhaps you have kicked a mule. The effects are the same. Dick's favorite mixture is thus concocted.
"'Take the juice of one lemon and disguise in four hookers (a hooker is a small glass about two inches tall) of Scotch whiskey. Add four teaspoonfuls of powdered sugar and one egg. Season with two dashes of orange bitters.
"'This should make enough for four people' said Arlen. 'Unless they're college students, in which case you'll only have enough for two. I mixed this for four Hollywood yes-men - and they went right out and said No to Cecil B. DeMille.'"
Clara Bow and Richard Arlen co-starred in Wings, the film that won the first ever Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Picture at the first Academy Awards, 1927.
Sherry Flip; They say Edward G Robinson likes this
"His friends call it the Little Giant-Cracker Cocktail for Eddie's Benefit.
Take one-half jigger of imported sherry and pour into shaker.
Add one whole egg. (No, not the shell darlings.) Anyway, add one whole egg and one-half tablespoon powdered sugar and a liberal dash of rum. Pour into mixer with fine ice and shake until creamed. Serve in a cocktail glass and decorate the top with nutmeg."
The Bogey Cocktail, a favorite of Bing Crosby
Not named for Humphrey Bogart though. It was created when Crosby "entered a motion picture golf tournament." Good old Nineteenth hole, something to follow your game.
"'For each drink served in a ten-oz glass take two jiggers of gin, one part of lemon juice and a spoonful of powdered sugar. Fill the glass with cracked ice then add champagne until the glass is full.
"'No shaking, just stir,' says Bing. 'I guarantee this one will make you croon.'"
The Morning Call
Use a tall shell glass, half filled with shaved ice. Add one-half wine glass of absinthe, one-half wine glass of lemon juice and one-half wine glass of Maraschino. Fill with seltzer water and stir.
"There are several morning cocktails. Here's a neat little number named The morning Call and prescribed by Grant Withers. It's a sure cure for those morning blues." - 1934
Joan Bennett prefers a good old Martini dressed up with a dash of absinthe and served in a glass with both lemon and orange peel.
There are drinks named for the original screen sex symbol, Rudolph Valentino. Included is the Blood and Sand cocktail named for one of his most famous films.
INGREDIENTS
2 oz. blended scotch, chilled
1 oz. Cherry Heering liqueur/Cherry Brandy
1 oz. sweet vermouth
2 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice
1 maraschino cherry, orange or lemon slice garnish
Add ice then shake, strain into 8 oz chilled glass
A fave of Fred MacMurray, suggested 1935
Bridge Punch
"For one serving, the juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cubes of ice, pint of ginger ale in a man-sized glass
Float a glass of claret on top and add some fruit"
Guess it's good for when you're playing cards?
Planter's Punch, specialty of The Brown Derby Restaurant
Like fruity drinks? This is made with a jigger of brandy, juice of three limes, a dash of grenadine and Jamaica rum floated on top. Served in a tall glass filled with shaved ice and garnished with cherries and a slice of orange.
Make a layered drink the old fashioned way, with your bar spoon
John Taffer, host of Bar Rescue demonstrated the Layered Cocktail on the Rachael Ray Show "This Red-and-Green-Layered Cocktail Is Perfect for Christmas" Make drinks that wow the guests at your next party. Find the Rainbow cocktail layering tool below. There is also the VacuVin Cocktail Layering Tool and the good old Black and Tan Beer Layering Tool.
Claudette Colbert's favorite is a Parisian Pousse-café (a layered drink) made in a wine glass with two-fifths curacao, two-fifths Kirschwasser and one-fifth Chartreuse. These liquids should be floated one on top of the other. Ah, somewhere over the rainbow....
This and the Wicked Witch seem ideal for your next Wizard of Oz party, especially if you get some of those round ice cubes -- you can see Auntie Em inside. Some non-alcoholic versions are fine for kids -- make them into ice cubes. There are layered coffee latte versions.
Some other layered or stacked drinks include the
B-52
Jellyfish
Angel's Kiss
Wicked Witch
Nuclear Rainbow
Tequila Sunrise cocktail
This reminds me of those Astro pop lollipops they had when I was a kid. Candy Cafe
has those and lots of other nostalgic candies. |
Final Touch Glass Rainbow Cocktail Layering Tool
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Constance Bennett offers the Brandy Blazer:
One lump of sugar one piece of orange peel,
One piece of lemon peel and one wine glass of brandy.
Serve in a small thick glass, light with a match and allow to burn for 30 seconds stirring it all the while. How's that for a fancy mixed drink recipe.
Christmas 1947, Dana Andrews, his wife and kids are on a fishing trip.
"Stevie, [his wife] explains wants to catch a barracuda to put in his Christmas stocking. He's got it figured out that if he gives Santa Claus such an elegant fish he'll get more presents.
"Later, much later, when the dishes are washed, Dana Andrews takes off for the Isthmus in the shore boat just to prowl around and maybe drop in at the bar for a Horse's Neck (ginger ale, soda and spiral lemon peel)."
A quick search for the Horse's Neck and I find that like many drinks it can be a nonalcoholic virgin drink or mocktail as described above or it can be made with bourbon or brandy, with a kick.
The Horse's Neck cocktail is ordered in the 1935 Fred Astaire movie Top Hat, the 1914 Charlie Chaplin silent film Caught in a Cabaret, 1934 Lloyd Corrigan movie By Your Leave and the 1942 ZaSu Pitts' comedy, So's Your Aunt Emma!
Movie stars' Bars After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933:
Joan Crawford and several other stars are now adding wings to their house to make room for bars. A sip or at most two is all that Joan ever takes but her friends will be entertained lavishly in this manner to which they are accustomed. Her barroom will be paneled in natural knotted wood and equipped completely even to full barrels of beer on tap." .... One Christmas Joan Crawford redid an entire room for use by her husband, Franchot Tone.
Prohibition was repealed December 5, 1933. Many people had a Repeal Party
"It was a bar if you remember that Mary Pickford prepared as a Christmas surprise present for Douglas Fairbanks only little more than a year ago. When he returned from abroad to spend the holidays with Mary the room was sealed in cellophane and marked 'Not to be opened until Christmas.' A large party attended the opening festivities, the last large party that Mary and Doug gave before their separation.
"In Carole Lombard's newly completed home the bar is done in Scotch plaid with a small upright piano finished in plaid to match.
At Joan Bennett's and Gene Markey's the bar and barroom are amusingly done in green and white, very modern." Didn't anyone have a basement bar back then? If so it wasn't in this article.
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| "Clark Gable the ol' mechanical wizard has a gadget that helps him mix his drinks." Final Touch 6 Bottle Bar Caddy Liquor Dispenser |
"At Ruth Chatteron's and George Brent's the bar has been built into an over-sized closet off the second-floor den. It is all mahogany, delicately carved and a thing of beauty in its own right. Ruth gives only small parties and has no use for a large bar.
"Bing Crosby's bar looks like a music store, with its walls papered with the covers of some of the songs he's introduced. Peggy Shannon and Allan Davis built theirs right on the edge of the swimming pool flanked by dressing rooms and glass-enclosed for comfort on cooler evenings. You can swim to your drinks - and do!"
Jean Arthur, John Wayne A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) - Cactus Milk
Remember to drink responsibly, as they say
Recipes for Cocktails & Drinks named after movie stars
Mary Pickford Cocktail:
Light rum, pineapple juice, grenadine and maraschino cherry juice shaken with ice. Served in a cocktail glass
Douglas Fairbanks:
A modified martini. Plymouth gin, French vermouth. Garnish with both orange and lemon peel.
The Tramp aka The Charlie Chaplin
[Recipes differ 1 ounce each vs ¾ ounce each]
¾ ounce Broker's London dry gin
¾ ounce Plymouth sloe gin
¾ ounce Marie Brizard Apry apricot liqueur
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
It is supposed to be pretty tart. One site suggested adding dry vermouth.
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass.
An article in Slate said, that the Charlie Chaplin cocktail should be "adjusted if it is to please a palate conditioned by Modern Times," (italics added by me.) Modern Times is one of Charles Chaplin's most famous films.
Clive Brook needs to go shopping, but he's been creative in decorating his bar
Do you have a drink shaker? They come in all different shapes and sizes.
The Barware Styles® Classic, Elegant Stainless Steel 3-Piece Martini and
is a cool style. Easy to clean and it's safe to use. It gets high ratings, good comments from buyers. Great price...Included: Free Jigger, eBook.
Not Included: Strainer, Bar Spoon/Masher or Wooden Muddler for crushing fruits, etc.
Some recipes call for specific brands. Many of the recipes can be found in slightly different versions in different places. Use the finest ingredients that you can afford, whatever is right for your budget and your event.
Next, it may not be the first drink named after a celebrity, but it may be the first one you ever had. A mocktail, it's nonalcoholic.
The Shirley Temple
3 ounces lemon-lime soda
3 ounces ginger ale
Dash grenadine
Maraschino cherry for garnish
The Roy Rogers is very similar to The Shirley Temple. You substitute cola for the lemon-lime soda and ginger ale.
The Ginger Rogers
1 ounce dry gin, 1 ounce dry vermouth, 1 ounce apricot brandy, 4 dashes lemon juice. Pour into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Will Rogers
Gin, dry vermouth, orange juice and a few dashes of curacao.
Not necessarily old-school far as I know but The Royal Resort Hotel in Las Vegas has The Barrymore Restaurant and it offers, steady now .... The Barrymore cocktail. They say it is "a spin on the Manhattan, combining Gentleman Jack, blood orange liqueur, and orange marmalade with a splash of vermouth."
Looks like a pretty cool place with a vintage Vegas atmosphere. Maybe the ghosts of Ethel, Lionel or John Barrymore will chat or even party with you?
The Bob Hope cocktail
Offered in 1962 Paramount Studio's commissary
It consisted of tomato juice, yogurt, a dash of steak sauce topped off by strawberries. Interesting.
Where are the cocktails named for Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre?
Nick Charles gives a lesson in shaking your martini, a different rhythm for every shake
William Powell, Myrna Loy, The Thin Man
The Jean Harlow:
Light rum, shaken with sweet vermouth. Served with a lemon peel garnish.
How to serve them:
If you choose to drink out of a slipper or stiletto, you can say you're partying in the style of the flappers of the 1920s.
"Never serve sweet cocktails before dinner," says Claudette Colbert. "Cocktails are an appetizer and should not dull appreciation of the meal to follow.
"We were compelled to disguise some pretty horrible stuff with syrups during Prohibition. Now that is no longer necessary, why not give the cocktail its rightful function again?"
Temperature of Wine, more
"Be careful of the temperatures of the wines you serve," is Loretta Young's warning. "Ice only Rhine wine and champagne. White wines should be merely chilled. Fifteen degrees below room temperature is correct. Red wines should be at exactly room temperature.
"But never warm any wine too suddenly. It loses its bouquet. Just place the bottle in the dining room several hours before you need it and let it be warmed gradually." Film stars aren't the only ones with good legs. Wine can have 'legs, tears or curtains,' just some of the jargon used by lovers of the grape.
How About Ice? Anyone thinking Frozen?
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| Kikkerland Gentleman's Silicone Ice Cube Tray Thinking Charlie Chaplin & Buster Keaton or Breaking Bad? Cool sunglasses and Bow Ties are hot |
There are round ice ball molds, too. Jon Taffer and other bar specialists
suggest round ice cubes may be best for using in drinks. They tend to be more clear. Add something like berries? Your guests may have never seen ice cube balls or spheres.
They often melt more slowly, too.
What size do you need?
Will you use them for anything besides ice cubes? Some you can use for desserts for instance.
"Never put ice in a glass with any liquor except for highballs, rickies and mixed drinks." This is advice from Gloria Stuart. "The one cordial exception if creme-de-menthe, into which a bit of ice should be dropped."
Irene Dunne suggests you consider having beer at your next party
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| Star Wars: Darth Vader Bottle Opener |
Final suggestions...
"Never fill a wine glass to the brim," Peggy Shannon will tell you. "Part of the function of the glass is to hold the bouquet of the wine and thereby dispense enjoyment of the odor as well as its flavor. Two-thirds full is correct."
"It is criminal to gulp down good wine," John Miljan says. "You might as well swallow your food without chewing it. Wine should be sipped if for no other reason than as a consideration to the host."
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as Jeeves and Wooster. Do you have a good recipe for a hangover remedy?
The New Drinking Code; OK to say 'I Don't Drink'
"At a mixed wine dinner, you must never serve more than two glasses with any course." This from Hedda Hopper. "You are not striving for the stupefaction of your guests; you are merely garnishing your food.
Wine is a palatable addition to a good meal but it cannot fully disguise a bad one no matter how much liquor you serve."
The repeal of Prohibition has had far-reaching effects. For one thing over-indulgence is no longer smart. If you don't like it, stay away from it. No stigma is attached these days to the simple statement, 'I don't drink.'
"You may be surprised at the names appearing on the Hollywood list of avowed drys. Girls such as Lois Wilson might be expected, when you think of her screen roles. But the roster also includes such names as Mae West, George Raft, Jeanette MacDonald, Estelle Taylor and Rita LeRoy all of whom if you judge by their screen characterizations would go in for the intoxicating things in life."
Water sommelier; Bottled Water with a Difference
Many people would probably think that water is all the same, but one Berlin connoisseur has a different opinion. Water sommelier Jerk Martin Riese co-authored a book on the subject. Die Welt des Wassers
He sampled various bottled waters for euromaxx. Not sure if the book is available in English or other languages.Modern Times Charlie Chaplin (The Criterion Collection) Stream instantly or purchase the film on DVD
Eat Drink Movie Meals Eat along with your favorite film characters - Dinner and a Movie at Home Making movie night special: Meal, Snack Ideas, Video Clips; Some drinks
The Frog and Blue Peach, Pub Naming Ideas
Holiday Menus: Different Hollywood Stars celebrated with varying styles of drink, if you party with May Robson, it's bring your own coffee, tea, lemonade or ginger ale. But you still get jollification.
Holiday Gift Guides, By Person, Price, Popular Brands, Type of prodct, monogram, funny, etc. Retro/Contemporary, Customize
"There's Still Time: Custom Gifts by Christmas" Holiday Shipping Deadlines: When will my gifts arrive? Customize if ordered today from Zazzle. Helpful! By type of item, For Her, Him, Posters, Tablet Cases, Shirts, Gifts :: By department and then by each item
DIY Create a Unique Zazzle Drinkware Gift Item Mug
Personalize coffee mugs beer steins, 2 color combos and frosted mugs Zazzle
Notes: These recipes originally came from a variety of sources, have been merged into this list.
Anything within quotes is as it was in articles; commentary, italics, etc.
** Please do drink responsibly, prepare to spend the night and/or call a taxi. Many cabs, etc offer free service this time of year. There was an accident in our neighborhood just last evening. It isn't worth hurting yourself or anyone else.
Sources The Milwaukee Journal, March 27, 1936
Movie Classic 1934
New Movie Magazine 1935
Slate Magazine online, About.com, flickr
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