< Previous96 Though not technically a cocktail writer, the British journalist and playwright Basil Woon was so infatuated by the confluence of person- alities in 1920s Cuban cocktail culture, that it inspired him to write When It’s Cocktail Time in Cuba. Rather than being a straightforward cocktail book, it chronicles his observations of the buzzy scene in its heyday. One of the figures he centered on was Fred Kaufman, a charismatic, well-traveled bar- tender from Liverpool, England who worked with German-American bartender Eddie Woelke (known for his take on El Presidente, among other classics) at the Sevilla-Biltmore Hotel in Havana, Cuba. Woon denotes that the majority of Kaufman’s creations tended to center around rum and pineapple. The most famous of these was named for the Canadian-American silent screen starlet Mary Pickford, a lead in some of the highest grossing movies of the 1910s, and in the 1920s one of the few women who directed and produced her own movies. While Pickford did make movies in Cuba in the mid-1910s, Woon’s account that Pickford vacationed there in the 1920s—beguiling the likes of Kaufman while flanked by friend Charlie Chaplin and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, who would have been among scores of Prohibition-era, cocktail-seeking jet-setters—was debunked in the 2010s. According to filmmaker and Pickford-ologist Cari Beauchamp, Pickford was too vain about the effect of the island’s high humidity levels on her famous curls to choose it as a vacation destination. The Mary Pickford endures as one of the most popular classic Cuban cocktails of all time, found on menus around the world. While Kaufman’s 1928 original is simply rum, pineap- ple juice, and grenadine, the modern variation adds some maraschino liqueur for texture. MARY PICKFORD • 2 oz (60 ml) white or gold rum (preferably real Havana Club from Cuba) • 11/2 oz (45 ml) pineapple juice (fresh, if possible) • 5 to 6 dashes maraschino liqueur • 1/2 oz (15 ml) grenadine • Garnish: cocktail cherry, if desired Shake all ingredients with ice until well- chilled and frothy. Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry, if using. 1922 HAVANA, CUBA FRED K AUFMAN SEVILL A-BILT MORE HOT EL RUM COUPE 96 Though not technically a cocktail writer, the British journalist and playwright Basil Woon was so infatuated by the confluence of person- alities in 1920s Cuban cocktail culture, that it inspired him to write When It’s Cocktail Time in Cuba. Rather than being a straightforward cocktail book, it chronicles his observations of the buzzy scene in its heyday. One of the figures he centered on was Fred Kaufman, a charismatic, well-traveled bar- tender from Liverpool, England who worked with German-American bartender Eddie Woelke (known for his take on El Presidente, among other classics) at the Sevilla-Biltmore Hotel in Havana, Cuba. Woon denotes that the majority of Kaufman’s creations tended to center around rum and pineapple. The most famous of these was named for the Canadian-American silent screen starlet Mary Pickford, a lead in some of the highest grossing movies of the 1910s, and in the 1920s one of the few women who directed and produced her own movies. While Pickford did make movies in Cuba in the mid-1910s, Woon’s account that Pickford vacationed there in the 1920s—beguiling the likes of Kaufman while flanked by friend Charlie Chaplin and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, who would have been among scores of Prohibition-era, cocktail-seeking jet-setters—was debunked in the 2010s. According to filmmaker and Pickford-ologist Cari Beauchamp, Pickford was too vain about the effect of the island’s high humidity levels on her famous curls to choose it as a vacation destination. The Mary Pickford endures as one of the most popular classic Cuban cocktails of all time, found on menus around the world. While Kaufman’s 1928 original is simply rum, pineap- ple juice, and grenadine, the modern variation adds some maraschino liqueur for texture. MARY PICKFORD • 2 oz (60 ml) white or gold rum (preferably real Havana Club from Cuba) • 11/2 oz (45 ml) pineapple juice (fresh, if possible) • 5 to 6 dashes maraschino liqueur • 1/2 oz (15 ml) grenadine • Garnish: cocktail cherry, if desired Shake all ingredients with ice until well- chilled and frothy. Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry, if using. 1922 HAVANA, CUBA FRED K AUFMAN SEVILL A-BILT MORE HOT EL RUM COUPE 118 Frank Meier was the celebrated, “cracker jack” head barkeep at the Ritz in Paris, France. Born in Austria, he had worked in the hotel hospitality business in both Paris and London from a young age, and was tapped to open the Ritz bar in 1920, serving there through World War II. The Seapea Fizz — which originally calls for sweetened Anis “Pernod fils”, lemon, and soda water — is one of the most famous cocktails featured in his stylish 1936 book The Artistry of Mixing Drinks, although the recipe has been tweaked over the years. There is an entire section of Artistry devoted to the fizz genre of cocktails, including a drink called the “New Orleans Fizz” that closely resembles the Ramos Gin Fizz, and a raspberry liqueur and sloe gin “Ruby Fizz”. The notation for this drink is “Seapea ‘C.P.’ — Special for Mr. Cole Porter, famous composer of lyrics and music”. Does that mean Porter drank this tailor-made cocktail at the Ritz bar in Meier’s presence? It’s highly possible. The original recipe, which lacks much sweet- ener and could use a binding agent of some sort, might not have people singing “You’re the Top”, but keep in mind that anis liqueur was de rigueur in 1920s and ’30s France and Meier would have used a soda siphon for dramatic effect when serving. Modern variations of the Seapea Fizz use absinthe instead of Pernod and additional simple syrup. Also, the drink was just begging for an egg white (perhaps it was even accidentally left out? Anything goes…). Therefore, contemporary recipes call for it, which not only makes the cocktail taste better, but truly lends it the aesthetic quality of sea foam. SEAPEA FIZZ • 3/4 oz (22 ml) absinthe • 3/4 oz (22 ml) simple syrup • 3/4 oz (22 ml) lemon juice • 1 egg white • Soda water, chilled, to top Add all ingredients except soda water to a cocktail shaker and shake without ice for at least 20 seconds. Add ice and shake for an additional 15–20 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and top with soda water. 1930S PARIS, FR ANCE FR ANK MEIER RITZ HOT EL ABSIN THE COUPE 118 Frank Meier was the celebrated, “cracker jack” head barkeep at the Ritz in Paris, France. Born in Austria, he had worked in the hotel hospitality business in both Paris and London from a young age, and was tapped to open the Ritz bar in 1920, serving there through World War II. The Seapea Fizz — which originally calls for sweetened Anis “Pernod fils”, lemon, and soda water — is one of the most famous cocktails featured in his stylish 1936 book The Artistry of Mixing Drinks, although the recipe has been tweaked over the years. There is an entire section of Artistry devoted to the fizz genre of cocktails, including a drink called the “New Orleans Fizz” that closely resembles the Ramos Gin Fizz, and a raspberry liqueur and sloe gin “Ruby Fizz”. The notation for this drink is “Seapea ‘C.P.’ — Special for Mr. Cole Porter, famous composer of lyrics and music”. Does that mean Porter drank this tailor-made cocktail at the Ritz bar in Meier’s presence? It’s highly possible. The original recipe, which lacks much sweet- ener and could use a binding agent of some sort, might not have people singing “You’re the Top”, but keep in mind that anis liqueur was de rigueur in 1920s and ’30s France and Meier would have used a soda siphon for dramatic effect when serving. Modern variations of the Seapea Fizz use absinthe instead of Pernod and additional simple syrup. Also, the drink was just begging for an egg white (perhaps it was even accidentally left out? Anything goes…). Therefore, contemporary recipes call for it, which not only makes the cocktail taste better, but truly lends it the aesthetic quality of sea foam. SEAPEA FIZZ • 3/4 oz (22 ml) absinthe • 3/4 oz (22 ml) simple syrup • 3/4 oz (22 ml) lemon juice • 1 egg white • Soda water, chilled, to top Add all ingredients except soda water to a cocktail shaker and shake without ice for at least 20 seconds. Add ice and shake for an additional 15–20 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and top with soda water. 1930S PARIS, FR ANCE FR ANK MEIER RITZ HOT EL ABSIN THE COUPE 120 Blue Hawaii is a potent tropical cocktail consisting of white rum, vodka, fresh pineapple juice, sweet-and-sour mix, and blue curaçao liqueur, which lends a striking, deep blue-green hue to the presentation. It is understandably often confused with the Blue Hawaiian cocktail, which is a variation using coconut cream, but this drink is the original blueprint, as it were. Harry K. Yee, head bartender of the Hawaiian Village hotel in Waikiki, came up with the recipe for the Blue Hawaii in 1957, when the Netherlands-based Bols liqueur company commissioned a signature drink showcasing the US debut of the product—a spirit infused with the peel of dried Caribbean oranges that has then been dyed blue—presumably as a marketing gimmick since it adds no additional flavor. What could have been a mere ripple in the cocktail ocean turned into a tidal wave, riding the success of the 1956 Elvis Presley movie of the same name, and the exotic appeal of a blue drink at the height of the tiki era. In Yee’s thirty years at the job, this is the cocktail he is best known for. While Bols’ original blue curaçao liqueur still exists, several spirits companies in the modern era have come up with their own recipes using natural ingredients, such as butterfly pea powder to cast the blue hue. Blue Hawaii, and its many variations, are still a fixture on the tropical drinks scene, particu- larly now that most venues are back to making fresh sweet-and-sour mix from squeezed citrus, instead of the powdered or concen- trated variety that was more widespread in the late 1960s through to the 1990s. Depending on who’s making it, the recipe is either shaken or blended. The original was shaken, but a blended Blue Hawaii, to para- phrase the Elvis title track, is still heavenly. BLUE HAWAII • 3/4 oz (22 ml) white rum • 3/4 oz (22 ml) unflavored vodka • 1/2 oz (15 ml) blue curaçao liqueur • 3 oz (90 ml) fresh pineapple juice • 1 oz (30 ml) Sweet-and-Sour Mix (or use a prepared mix made with fresh citrus) • Garnish: pineapple wedge and cocktail umbrella Shake all ingredients with ice until well chilled. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and cocktail umbrella. Alternatively, blend all ingredients with ice until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and garnish. For the Sweet-and-Sour Mix • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar • 16 oz (480 ml) water • 4 oz (120 ml) fresh lemon juice • 4 oz (120 ml) fresh lime juice Dissolve the sugar in the water in a saucepan over low heat, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into a jar and let cool. Add the citrus liquids and shake together. Keeps for about a week in the refrig- erator and can also be frozen (freeze in cubes for individual cocktails). 1957 WAIKIKI (HAWAII), USA HARRY YEE HAWAIIAN VILL AGE BLUE CUR AÇAO HURRICANE 120 Blue Hawaii is a potent tropical cocktail consisting of white rum, vodka, fresh pineapple juice, sweet-and-sour mix, and blue curaçao liqueur, which lends a striking, deep blue-green hue to the presentation. It is understandably often confused with the Blue Hawaiian cocktail, which is a variation using coconut cream, but this drink is the original blueprint, as it were. Harry K. Yee, head bartender of the Hawaiian Village hotel in Waikiki, came up with the recipe for the Blue Hawaii in 1957, when the Netherlands-based Bols liqueur company commissioned a signature drink showcasing the US debut of the product—a spirit infused with the peel of dried Caribbean oranges that has then been dyed blue—presumably as a marketing gimmick since it adds no additional flavor. What could have been a mere ripple in the cocktail ocean turned into a tidal wave, riding the success of the 1956 Elvis Presley movie of the same name, and the exotic appeal of a blue drink at the height of the tiki era. In Yee’s thirty years at the job, this is the cocktail he is best known for. While Bols’ original blue curaçao liqueur still exists, several spirits companies in the modern era have come up with their own recipes using natural ingredients, such as butterfly pea powder to cast the blue hue. Blue Hawaii, and its many variations, are still a fixture on the tropical drinks scene, particu- larly now that most venues are back to making fresh sweet-and-sour mix from squeezed citrus, instead of the powdered or concen- trated variety that was more widespread in the late 1960s through to the 1990s. Depending on who’s making it, the recipe is either shaken or blended. The original was shaken, but a blended Blue Hawaii, to para- phrase the Elvis title track, is still heavenly. BLUE HAWAII • 3/4 oz (22 ml) white rum • 3/4 oz (22 ml) unflavored vodka • 1/2 oz (15 ml) blue curaçao liqueur • 3 oz (90 ml) fresh pineapple juice • 1 oz (30 ml) Sweet-and-Sour Mix (or use a prepared mix made with fresh citrus) • Garnish: pineapple wedge and cocktail umbrella Shake all ingredients with ice until well chilled. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and cocktail umbrella. Alternatively, blend all ingredients with ice until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and garnish. For the Sweet-and-Sour Mix • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar • 16 oz (480 ml) water • 4 oz (120 ml) fresh lemon juice • 4 oz (120 ml) fresh lime juice Dissolve the sugar in the water in a saucepan over low heat, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into a jar and let cool. Add the citrus liquids and shake together. Keeps for about a week in the refrig- erator and can also be frozen (freeze in cubes for individual cocktails). 1957 WAIKIKI (HAWAII), USA HARRY YEE HAWAIIAN VILL AGE BLUE CUR AÇAO HURRICANE SIGNAT UR E COCK TAIL S showcases 200 drinks, each created for a particular person, venue, or country, and all of which have rightfully earned their place in the rich history of cocktail culture. From classics such as Harry’s Bar’s iconic Bellini, to the up-to-the-minute Twin Cities from New York’s ultra-hip Dead Rabbit bar; from daring inventions such as Mexico’s Grasshopper Gibson, to Argentina’s stylish Clarito; and from the newly created PHAIDON 100 to the instantly recognizable Tequila Sunrise—each cocktail is accompanied by an original text detailing its creation and evolution with stunning photography capturing the essence of each one, and a recipe explaining how to recreate it at home. Curated by drinks writer and cocktail connoisseur Amanda Schuster, and featuring a foreword by the Connaught’s master mixologist Agostino Perrone, these are the ultimate must-try cocktails from all corners of the globe.Next >