A New Yorkers Take On Japan

This cocktail first appeared in print in Jerry Thomas’s legendary book “How To Mix Drinks or The Bon Vivant’s Companion” from 1862. The book, that also goes by the name “The Bar-Tender’s Guide” is regarded to be the first ever cocktail book, or at least the first book entirely dedicated to cocktails. At the time of printing the cocktail had been around for just two years. It was in all likelihood created as a tribute to the first Japanese Diplomatic Mission to the United States. After arriving in San Francisco the mission visited Washington DC before coming to New York where they stayed at the Metopolitan Hotel just a block away from Jerry Thomas’s Palace Bar on 622 Broadway.

One of the members of the delegation was a 17-year old translator called Tateishi Onojirou Noriyuki, who everyone in the US simply called Tommy. Thanks to cocktail historian David Wondrich, we know that a reporter from the Minneapolis Tribune followed the delegation’s trip making Tommy into something of a darling to the media. He really enjoyed the western lifestyle, including cocktails, and apparently he was a bit of a ladies man.

The Japanese Cocktail is one of the few cocktails that are known to be created by Jerry Thomas, often called “The Professor” for his ability to cater even to the most demanding customers. Being known for his showmanship he traveled around the United States only using solid silver bar tools and cups decorated with precious stones.

Jerry Thomas’s creation, the Blue Blazer, was definitely his most spectacular. It is made from a blend of whiskey, sugar and boiling water that he set ablaze and then poured between two tankards while on fire. A show that set The Professor apart from his competitors.

THE DESIGNER
The glass is actually a wooden sake cup called Tohka Souen, designed by Masaharu Asano.

A New York Style Swedish National Day

LAUNCH OF SEX AND THE CITY
Based on author Candace Bushnell’s newspaper column and later book anthology the HBO comedy-drama Sex and the City, first aired on June 6, 1998. After 94 episodes and six seasons the last episode was released on February 22, 2004. As June 6 is also the Swedish National Day and that the Cosmo is made with Absolut Vodka it is a great reason to have a Cosmopolitan today.

THE COSMOPOLITAN
Even though the Cosmopolitan isn’t that old, the origin isn’t quite clear. It might have been invented in 1985 by Miami bartender Cheryl Cook at a South Beach bar called the Strand. Wanting to make a perfect cocktail for a Martini glass, Cook used the Kamikaze as a base, used citrus-flavored vodka and added a splash of cranberry juice.

Maybe more likely, it was first invented by bartender Toby Cecchini in 1988 when he was working at Odeon in New York’s Tribeca. Odeon was one of the trendiest bars of the 1980s, frequented by celebrities like Madonna, Robert DeNiro and Andy Warhol. An Odeon waitress had tried a new cocktail in San Francisco made with vodka, Rose’s Lime and grenadine. Liking the idea but hating the taste Cecchini wanted to make something less sweet and artificial. He used Absolut Citron, just released in 1988, added Cointreau, lime juice and a splash of cranberry juice. Soon Madonna, Basquiat, Lou Reed and Andy Warhol were sipping Cosmos and before long NY was flooded with them.

Ten year later, when New Yorkers were sick of them, in steps the characters of Sex and the City. The Cosmo didn’t actually appear until the second season, in 1999, but it soon became as important as the Manolos. The glamorous life of the “Fab Four” was unobtainable for most fans but anyone could afford a Cosmopolitan.

THE DESIGNER
The glass is called Margot and was designed by Ferrone in 2013.

Another One From the Boroughs

When the Brooklyn cocktail was created, two out of five boroughs in New York already had their own cocktails, the Manhattan and the Bronx. The head bartender at Baracca’s Restaurant on Wall Street, Jacob “Jack” Grohusko, took on the task to make one for Brooklyn and in 1908 he published his recipe in Jack’s Manual. Mr Grohusko himself lived in Hoboken and his connection to Brooklyn came from the restaurant’s owner who was a Brooklynite.

The original recipe calls for Italian (sweet) vermouth but it soon became common practice to use French (dry) vermouth instead. This new version is how the Brooklyn Cocktail was presented by Jacques Straub in 1914, by Harry Cradock in his Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930 and in Patrick Gavin Duffy in his Official Mixer’s Manual from 1933. The cocktail historian David Wondrich did not agree and in his Updated and Revised Imbibe from 2015 he stated that the version with Italian vermouth is far superior to the more common dry Brooklyn. Thus giving Mr Grohusko right a little more than a hundred years after the cocktail was first stirred up on Wall Street.

The Brooklyn never did become as famous as its neighboring Manhattan and Bronx. Possibly due to the fact that it contains Amer Picon, a French aperitif that has been very hard to come by in the US.

The glass called Manhattan was designed in 1937 by Norman Bel Geddes.

The Gonk

The Algonquin Hotel, a.k.a. The Gonk on New York’s 44th Street was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett and opened in 1902. Originally the owner wanted to name it “The Puritan” due to his involvement the Temperance movement. Frank Case, the general manager, objected and thought it was a terrible name that would scare guests off. Instead he suggested “The Algonquin” after finding out that the first settlers in the neighborhood were Native American Algonquins.

In 1907 mr Case took over the lease and then bought it in 1927. Thanks to the fact that the hotel sat right in Theater District and just down the street from Vanity Fair it became a preferred lunch spot for New York’s writers, journalists, artists and actors. In 1919 a group that called themselves “The Vicious Circle” formed, originally to welcome New York Times’s drama critic Alexander Woollcott back from WWI. The original members were, amongst others, poet and screenwriter Dorothy Parker (known for her wit and love of Martinis), humorist and actor Robert Benchley, critic and journalist Woollcott, actor Harpo Marx and publicist John Peter Toohey. The lunches were so successful they ended up having lunch every weekday for 10 years. Apart from the founders of the group, that is more often called The Algonquin Round Table, additional members like actor Tallulah Bankhead, designer Norman Bel Geddes and playwright Noël Coward that came and went.

The hotel never was called “The Puritan” but Frank Case was also a believer in temperance and the hotel was dry even before prohibition. It’s hard to believe that his view on alcohol made much difference for the mischievous crowd at the Round Table though. The Algonquin cocktail was probably created during the time of the Round Table and first appeared in print in 1935. But who created it, no one knows.

The silver cocktail cup was designed by Danish designer Erik Magnussen in 1928.

The Algonquin
2 parts Rye Whiskey
1 part Dry Vermouth
1 part Pineapple juice

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

Enjoy!

December 8 – Seagram Building

The Canadian distiller the Seagram Company announced plans for its new headquarters in 1954 designed by Periera & Gluckman. The plans were however rejected after Phyllis Lambert’s objection. She was the director of planning and the daughter of Seagram’s owner Samuel Bronfman. Her masterstroke was to choose Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe as the architect instead with Philip Johnson designing the interiors.

The Seagram Building sits on 375 Park Avenue, between East 52nd and 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and stands 515 feet (157 m) tall with 38 stories. The construction began in 1955 and was completed in 1958.

When designing the Seagram Building, Mies van der Rohe made a bold move to create a pink granite plaza in front of the building. Complete with two large fountains the plaza leads into the floor to ceiling glass lobby that erases the boarder between interior and exterior.

The Seagram Building was used as a model for several neighboring buildings and is still today a great example of the International Style New York skyscraper.

Until 2019 the Seagram Building housed the iconic restaurant the Four Seasons with its two separate sections the Grill Room and the Pool Room, both designed by Philip Johnson.