How to Plan a Happy Barbecue

On last night's live Facebook broadcast we made several drinks from Seagram's Week End Barbecue Book, which contains a wealth of ideas for boozy barbecues. Here are are a few more pages from this tiny tome, which feature Seagram's (bizarrely booze-free) All-Purpose Barbecue Sauce and my favorite, the Gallon-of-Martinis (makes 50!). That's going to be some clambake!

They're all impressed by the size of that drink.

Cookouts like this are why we have Uber. Cheers and bon appetit!

Live from New York, it’s Thursday Night!

Here's last night's live broadcast! The video goes inexplicably wonky in the last few minutes. Just pretend you've had a few cocktails and go with it!

Holiday Vodka Punch Recipes & Cinnamon Syrup for Christmas Drinks

On last night's Facebook live video we made two punches from 1982's Smirnoff for the Holidays...

With a few adjustments, starting with the fact that we mixed with Bootlegger 21 vodka from Prohibition Distillery. Shhh! Don't tell Smirnoff! Here are the recipes, as promised, along with our improvements. Without further ado, let's start with Hawaiian Pleasure Punch:

Paul mixed this one (we only made 1/4 of each recipe, since there are only two of us and neither of us wants to die of alcohol poisoning). The only improvement we made to this one was to add 3 oz of gin (we stuck with Prohibition Distillery and used their Bootlegger 21 gin), so, if you were to make an entire bowl, you'd want to add 12 oz of gin. Sounds like a lot, but otherwise it tastes like pure ginger ale.

I made Bubbly Mint Punch:

"Crisp and refreshing as a winter breeze." Well, it was, anyway, after I doubled both the vodka and the mint! I used Wondermint from Death's Door Spirits instead of creme de menthe, which I think was a good move. I later added some dashes of Fee Brothers cranberry bitters, which further improved it, but also turned it red. Oh, well, it's still a good color for Christmas!

In other news, we're planning a combination Mocktail/Cocktail Monday episode for Christmas Day, which will involve cinnamon syrup. It's really easy to make, but here's the recipe ahead of time, since it takes some time to prepare. If you're planning ahead, also pick up a bottle of Italian lemon soda!

Cinnamon Syrup

Add 3 cinnamon sticks slightly broken up to 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Cover and allow to sit for several hours or overnight. Strain, add water to make sure you have two full cups, add two cups of sugar and heat just until sugar is melted (don't boil). 

A Visit to 1979 for Holiday Hospitality

Part of the stash of vintage bar guides recently sent to us by our pal Mod Betty of Retro Roadmap was this little gem from the American Forces Network:

A bar guide at holiday time is, indeed, pretty handy and one sent with your TV-Guide? Genius! The American Forces Network, a.k.a. the Armed Forces Network, provides radio and TV to Americans serving overseas. In 1979 they were pleased to share some recipes to liven up the holidays. Even the ads had recipes! Here are some traditional Christmas beverages to start, including a couple of mocktails. I'll bet you hadn't thought of Coke, yogurt and cherry jam in your drink, but that's what this guide is for! And I like the instructions to use the "cheaper table wines" and forego your best crystal bowl. It's not underachievement - it's following directions!

How about a rum cake featuring rum and more rum, along with a cake mix and Jell-O instant pudding?

Lest you think that this booklet didn't feature actual gelatin, never fear! Here it is in an intriguing chicken dish. Today you'll find it called Heering Cherry Liqueur and it makes a lovely addition to a nice cheese fondue.

And here are some classic cocktail party appetizers, several with vegetarians in mind:

So...much...cheese. You need something to soak up all that booze! Here's to the holiday season! 

Christmas Recipes for the Impatient

Connoisseurs of fruitcake know that many such cake recipes call for being started well in advance of Christmas - in some cases up to a year in advance! If you fall into that fruitcake loving group, yet didn't get your act together to begin macerating your fruit weeks or months ago, McCall's Book of Merry Eating (1965) has a recipe especially for you! You'll probably have trouble finding an applesauce-raisin cake mix, so go ahead and use a spice cake mix and throw in some raisins. Who's going to know?

We have a YouTube playlist of Christmas cocktails that are pretty darned easy to make (more on the way!), but if you mean business and want that drink NOW, this one is traditional and has only two ingredients (three if you want to fancy it up).

Cheers!

By Request: Storm Cocktails

I have put off collecting storm cocktails for a post here, since the last thing I want is to seem like I'm making light of the terrifying storms that have been and are happening. There is nothing amusing about folks losing their homes, businesses and worse. However, I've had a couple of requests for storm cocktails from people who are actually IN the storm zones and you know I'd never deny anyone a lovely libation! So, with no further ado, here are some vintage drinks in the stormy spirit! In the above video you'll find the Dark & Stormy. Please be safe, everyone!

Not the Hurricane we all know and love, but who cares at a time like this?

Vintage Cocktails For When You're Not Having It

Is it just me, or have you noticed lately that everyone seems to have an opinion about you, your life and the things you do and that, furthermore, they're determined to share those opinions with you, regardless of how uninterested you may be in hearing said opinions? If this sounds familiar to you, here are some on-theme vintage cocktails to help dull the pain of unwelcome input. If you aren't suffering fools these days, lucky you. Go ahead and celebrate your success in avoiding the annoying with one of these lovely libations, brought to you by one of my favorite bar guides, Bar Guide: Published by TRUE, The Men's Magazine (1950), which is both "authentic and hilarious" if they do say so themselves. I think we could all use a laugh!

You'll find that, after a couple of these medicinal brews, the screeching, opinionated, negative voices gently melt into the background along with the ambient noise of everyday life. Isn't that better?

Ant Invasion? You Need A Drink!

I live for spring, but there is one yearly ritual that comes with the warmer weather that I could do without: the ant invasion. Our house was built in 1938 and let's just say it's a little porous. At some point (sometimes more than once if it warms up, then gets cold again, then warms up again) the ants make their way in and proceed to thoroughly gross me out. Like Frank Costanza on "Seinfeld," "I will not tolerate infestation!" They're huge, too. I feel like James Whitmore, battling the giant ants in the movie "Them!"

It's enough to send a sensitive soul straight for the bar! I don't have a vintage cocktail specifically related to ants, but this one is one letter away and I'm ready to up the ante on ant removal! 

A little liquid courage, courtesy of The Bartender's Guide, by Patrick Gavin Duffy (1948), though I'll probably wait until happy hour to start drowning my ant-created sorrows. Wish me luck!