Step in the Time Machine, turn back the clock to January 16, 1920 and you would be witnessing the first day of the US Prohibition which ended in 1933.
December 5th, 2008 marks the 75th Anniversary of Prohibition Repeal Day.
The very official (or should I say lobby group) 'Distilled Spirits Council of the United States' toes the responsible drinking line on their Prohibition Repeal site stating that "every great cocktail has two essential ingredients: moderation and responsability."
Todd Price tells us how New Orleans bars celebrate (Times Picayune, December 5th) and also how "most pre-Prohibition drinks were forgotten. Until bartenders recently took an interest in classic cocktails, a request for a "Last Word, " an "Aviation" or a "Corpse Reviver No. 2" would only get you a blank stare."
Let me be honest, I do not drink cocktails.
I did find this Last Word recipe by Paul (Cocktail Chronicles, April 2006):
Last Word
- 3/4 ounce gin
- 3/4 ounce lime juice
- 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse
- 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
Paul Clarke of Serious Eats enlightened me on the subject of the Corpse Reviver #2 which he says was "so named because of their purported ability to bring the dead (or at least painfully hungover) back to some semblance of life—this drink was a staple of bar manuals back in the 1930s, only to fall off the map in the last half of the 20th century. Then, thanks in large part to cocktail historian Ted Haigh (aka “Dr. Cocktail”), it was rediscovered by a generation of 21st century cocktail geeks."
Cheers (toast responsibly)
Related: Unusual Cocktail, White Rabbit Record Bar in Melbourne
and Chinese Rock, Down 2 Bottles of 1947 Petrus only $12,000 a Pop at San Pietro
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