Can anybody recommend to me some information on 1950s mixology?
Specifically: I’m in a play set in the mid-1950s. (The script is copyright 1957.) Among the period things I must do is mix drinks, preferably shaken drinks, because that’s what the director wants.
The script only specifically mentions one drink detail: my character is mixing a drink and calls for his wife to bring in more ice. We also have tomato juice on the bar, which may or may not be part of the drink; and all of the scenes where I mix drinks are in the evening. Our characters are supposed to be a well-to-do couple living on Long Island in a nice (and expensive) house.
Any ideas on what I should be making? Oh, and I might want to make some authentic 1950s-style liquor labels, too. Any leads?
My Grandma always used to order a “Sidecar”. God knows what goes in it but it just sounds kinda’ old fashioned. Hey! That’s another one, an “Old Fashion”. That’s all I got. Big d out.
My Grandma always used to order a “Sidecar”. God knows what goes in it but it just sounds kinda’ old fashioned. Hey! That’s another one, an “Old Fashion”. That’s all I got. Big d out.
My understanding is that a martini was not traditionally shaken in that era; the “shaken” martini has only been made popular since James Bond.
A cursory peek around suggests the shaker was used on drinks with juice or syrup to get them to mix properly, and purists decry the shaking of a martini for reasons best known to purists.
I always heard, from my parents and their friends who went through the 50s and 60s cocktail culture, that dark liquors (whiskies) were shaken, while clear liquors (gin, vodka) were stirred. Apparently, shaking “bruised” the gin or vodka. I’m unsure how, but having consumed many shaken martinis and many stirred ones, I haven’t noticed a diference.
Anyway, given that regard for the shaking/stirring attitude of the time, then for the OP, I’d suggest bottles of whisky at hand (the label designs for Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and Canadian Club haven’t changed that much, have they?), and, say, a bottle of sweet (red) vermouth. Again, Martini & Rossi labels probably haven’t changed much. These are the ingredients for a Manhattan, which would be shaken with ice.
I was a little young for drinking in the 50’s, but I can remember my father playing bartender.
Martini - the proper tools are a chilled pitcher and a stirrer. Martinis were stirred, not shaken. You’d make up a pitcher for the whole gang. (BTW, I always heard the reason you didn’t shake a martini was because it foamed up the drink, ruining the crystal clear appearance of gin and vermouth.)
Use the shaker for any drink that requires three or more ingredients. The third ingredient may be nothing more than a dash of Tabasco or bitters. That’s for a single drink. If you want to make up a batch, use a blender.
By the way, a dash of bitters or Tabasco allows you a little more stage business along the way.
You just reminded me–my Dad would always add a dash of Angustora bitters to the pitcher of martinis he was making. The OP may want to have a couple of bottles of such things on the bar for the play (Angustora bitters, Tabasco, Worcestershire, etc.)
mojitas were the favorite drink of Ernest Hemingway, A mojito is traditionally made of five ingredients: mint, rum, powdered sugar, lime juice, and club soda.
cuba libre is a cocktail made of Cola, lime and rum. I can’t give proof of it’s popularity but I remember stories set in the 1950’s and they were drinking cuba libres
Scotch and Soda
** as well as Martinis and such. Cuba Libres were named , IIRC, during the 1959 guerrilla actions – you wouldn’t have one earliwer than that; you’d have a Rum and Coke.
Stay away from Daiquiris (blenders helped those), Cosmopolitans, and cutesy-named drinks like Slippery Nipples.
