How did this get derailed into the Old Fashioned thread?
I don’t think I’ve ever ordered one in a bar, because I’m not fond of the “garbage” (actual barkeep nomenclature for extraneous fruit, vegetable matter, etc). At home I swirl in a proper Old Fashioned glass a very small amount of sugar straight from the sugar jar with a tablespoon of tap water, add much ice, a couple dashes of Peychaud’s bitters, and fill almost completely with rye or bourbon. Then a dash of seltzer on the top so I’m not pounding back straight booze, and garnish with lemon peel.
Everyone feel free to yell at me and tell me how wrong I am for not liking maraschino cherries and chunks of citrus.
That’s pretty much as old-school and spartan of an Old Fashioned as you can make.
You might dig Sazeracs if that’s how you do your Old Fashioneds- it’s similar, except with rye whiskey, no water/soda, and a tiny bit of absinthe. (the two drinks are some of the earliest recorded “named” cocktails).
[QUOTE=digs;21867634And, by the way, what IS a “Supper club”? I remember being taken to them as a child, but didn’t know why they were different from any other restaurant (I would’ve said “umm, they’re darker, with a lot more drinks, tons of food, and people are really friendly”).[/QUOTE]
Supper clubs are becoming harder to find, even in Wisconsin. I note though that Grant Achatz just opened one in Chicago, so maybe they’ll make a comeback.
To my mind, a supper club is a restaurant which serves somewhat old fashioned food (to echo the Old Fashioned you ordered as a cocktail). The menu should include prime rib, fish, pork chops or schnitzel, stuff like that. Your meal comes with soup AND salad as well as side dish and bread.
And a pre-dinner relish tray to nibble on with your cocktail. In my opinion it doesn’t count as a true supper club relish tray unless it includes kidney bean salad, sliced beets and cottage cheese. The better places have cheese spread, too, to spread on the crackers that always accompany the relish tray.
Dessert is not typically included, but for the full supper club experience, order an ice cream drink, such as a Grasshopper or Brandy Alexander.
You would think that anyone could make a Gin & Tonic, wouldn’t you? Unless it’s one of the bartenders at my local pool hall. First time I ordered a G&T she reversed the ratios. All the gin and a couple shots of tonic. I’ve never ordered another.
Guys, guys…a brandy Alexander is neither a “hot drink” nor an “ice cream drink.”
It’s 2 ounces each brandy, creme de cacao, and heavy cream, shaken with ice and poured into a chilled cocktail glass, with a little grated nutmeg sprinkled on top.
I would order these every once in a while during my jaded youth, usually after a lavish and cholesterol-laden restaurant dinner. Sometimes I would get the regular Alexander, which substitutes gin for brandy, to keep in line with my aperitif martini.
That’s the classic Brandy Alexander. I’m pretty sure the classic Grasshopper isn’t an ice cream drink, either. But the supper club version of these is sometimes as ice cream drinks.
While on the topic of cream drinks that can be made with ice cream, is it even possible to get a Pink Squirrel anymore?
Bump: Sazeracs are great, but I’ve only ordered them in N’Awlins. The elderly waiters at places like Antoine’s and Commander’s Palace perk up when you ask for this grand old cocktail; it’s a pleasure to watch their eyes light.
A New Orleans Sazerac comes in a smaller glass than an Old Fashioned, and is served straight up and cool rather than stinging cold. I don’t know how they achieve a temperature that makes such a pleasant drink. Maybe keep the booze in a stone jar in the icehouse?
And before absinthe was re-legalized in the US, they used Pernod. I think Arnaud’s had an alternate house recipe for the anise flavoring, which included herbsainte.
I work at a (supposedly) upscale open-patio restaurant in a trendy oldish part of town. Old Fashioneds and Manhattans are often ordered by all age groups.
Getting to the “Your bartender secretly hates you” aspect touched on…I was out with some hipsters once and they were touting how the bartender loves them cause he makes fancy, complex drinks for them. The place was fairly busy and i noticed their “Friend” hadn’t come over yet to take their order…and I told them straight up “This dude HATES making those drinks for you cause its a pain in the ass.”
Sure enough, only after things had died down somewhat did he come over and ask if they wanted…whatever it was they had. I don’t remember. It was a bigger pain than “Mojitos in a place that doesn’t even know if we have fucking mint let me drop everything and go look for some mint”
Yeah, never order a labor-intensive cocktail if you have to wait for the bartender to get your order… actually, if it’s really busy, I order a straight scotch or a tap beer. Even if I really wanted a Manhattan [sniff, sniff, entitled middle-class problem].
Quick shout out to the closest I’ve found to an old school supper club/steakhouse, Smoky’s in Madison, WI. And, this is even on topic…Bartender Bob does martinis just right (and will make you a perfect Brandy Old Fashioned). Oh, and before you order your big thick steak with hash browns, they do put out breadsticks and the classic relish tray! I had NOT seen one of those since the 60s.
This was your plain old-fashioned ball and beer joint. A complicated drink was some booze and a shot from the soda gun. Beyond that, well, now we’re into “fancy” drinks.
And a Long Island Iced Tea (popular in that time and place) has more than three ingredients. Plus coke. And ordering one is, in my experience, prima facie evidence that the orderer is underage.
And anyone who asks any bartender, in any bar, anywhere in the world, to “layer it” should be banned for life.
I said I could make one, not that anyone ever ordered one in that place. I would have made one for you. The regular bartender (I was kind of a fill-in, or backup on busy nights) was a really cranky old Irish dude who most definitely would not have made one for you.
I had a girlfriend, years back, who loved them. We’d get together every day, after work, before dinner, and have a drink or two. She loved Manhattans, although she would make them (or have me make them) with bourbon rather than rye. And cold. Just stirring wouldn’t do it for her. And I’d have an Irish whiskey on the rocks. Preferably Powers.
This was that kind of place. Neighborhood joint. No food. I think there were three brands of beer on tap. Maybe four bottled beers. Same people, all the time, so much so that a new face got noticed.
It looked really rough, but it wasn’t. There was rarely any trouble (the place across the boulevard, on the other hand, was notorious, and hired a guy I knew, someone who had been kicked off the NYPD for all kinds of reasons, as a bartender to keep things under control).
But it was just a neighborhood hangout.
And you could actually get a glass of wine there. Red or white. From big jugs. I forget the brand.
Me, either. That’s why the ryes live in the bar freezer along with the wife’s martini vodka. The liquors have to be cold enough to stay chilled a goodly bit when served “up.”
Like a lot of others, very few of the bars I go to regularly (a list about 6 deep) could be trusted beyond juice & booze or things from the bar gun. They’re beer & shot type joints. If I’m at a better place with a talented bartender and in the mood for a cocktail, I usually go Sazerac or old fashioned-easy sugar.
The classic Grasshopper, Brandy Alexander and Pink Squirrel are not ice cream drinks, though more modern versions do include ice cream in place of heavy cream as you point out. All are made in a similar way: The liqueurs and/or liquors mixed with cream and shaken with ice, then strained into a glass, usually a martini or old-style champagne glass. None are hard to make. You could probably have a Grasshopper at any decent bar tonight.
You probably can’t get a proper Pink Squirrel unless you make it at home, because the distinguishing ingredient is crème de noyaux. That’s what gives it its lovely and distinctive pink color. Not commonly stocked in bars these days, more’s the pity.
Aspenglow, former bartender with a shameful yesteryear fondness for Pink Squirrels and Grasshoppers.
LOL, maybe we should come up with a Pink Grasshopper, too… but crème de noyaux and crème de menthe together in the same glass with crème de cacao? Urgh.
Re the OP, I do think the Golden Era of Cocktails in the 40s, 50s and 60s belongs to a slower time now past. There are high end bars around today that maintain those traditions, but they are few and far between.
I loved perfecting mixed drinks and still (if I do say so myself) mix a mean martini. But people feel strongly about how they want their martinis – I know I do! – so even in a rare encounter with an experienced bartender, you may not get it exactly the way you dream it should be.
Also agree with Saintly Loser. People who order complex layered drinks are not fit to inhabit proper bars.
In truth, I shouldn’t be driving after consuming a perfectly made martini anyway. :eek: But I do miss ordering them while out at a fine dining establishment.
Re: layered drinks:. In Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, Vic told the story of a customer who ordered a pousse cafe on a busy night. The barkeep sweated to get the thing just right, trying to remember which liqueurs were the heaviest, then proudly served it up glowing with color.
The guy showed it off to the table, then downed it like a straight shot.
