The Stinger is a classic pre-Prohibition cocktail, likely created at the beginning of the 20th century. Possibly made as a simplified version of the Judge, a cocktail from 1890 made with brandy, crème de menthe and simple syrup. The first time it appeared in print was in 1914 in a book simply called Drinks by Jacques Straub. The cocktail historian David Wondrich wrote in his book Imbibe that an Ohio newspaper have credited Reginald Vanderbilt with the cocktail. The newspaper claimed in 1923 that Vanderbilt had served his guests Stingers since the early days of the 1900s, writing that he “was observed in all its pomp and glory in the bar of his home, and he himself was the high priest, the host, the mixer.” The article described the drink as “a short drink with a long reach, a subtle blend of ardent nectars, a boon to friendship, a dispeller of care.” According to legend Vanderbilt spent three hours a day mixing them for his guests during cocktail hour at his Fifth Avenue mansion. Reginald Vanderbilt can also be credited, if that is the right word, for making this classic after dinner cocktail to an aperitif. Unfortunately Reginald Vanderbilt liked both gambling and Stingers a bit too much. When he passed away in 1925 at the age of 45 he had, according to the Washington Post, squandered the fortune left to him by his grandfather. “No one can make money evaporate into thin air like a Vanderbilt”, as Anderson Cooper put it in his book Vanderbilt. The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty.
The Stinger has since the days of the Vanderbilts been associated with the upper echelons of society and is featured in many movies like High Society from 1956 with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. It was also part of the plot in Kiss Them for Me from 1957 when Cary Grant asks a bartender to “keep the Stingers coming” to be able to deal with an overtly talkative character played by Jayne Mansfield. James Bond drinks a Stinger in the 1956 Diamonds Are Forever since Ian Fleming, along with many other writers, was a big fan himself. Evelyn Waugh considered the Stinger to be his signature cocktail.
The Designer
Tom Dixon was born in Tunisia in 1959 and moved to England in 1963. He started his career as a self taught designer during the 1980s and soon got noticed for his line of welded salvage furniture. In 1987 he made a prototype for his famous S-Chair that was picked up by the Italian furniture company Cappellini who have manufactured it since 1991. Dixon has made a name for himself as an incredibly versatile designer making everything from furniture, lighting, accessories and interiors. The Puck cocktail glass was designed by Dixon in 2020 using the basic forms of geometry.
Reginald Vanderbilt’s Birthday
Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt was born on January 14, 1880 into the wealthiest family in the United States. He was the great grandson of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt and was famous for gambling and his love of cocktails, especially the Stinger. He is even more famous for fathering the fashion designer and socialite Gloria Vanderbilt and being the grandfather of the journalist, writer and news anchor Anderson Cooper.