“hello, suckers!”

That was how famous actress/speakeasy owner Texas Guinan would greet patrons upon arrival at one of her speakeasies, the most famous being the El Fey Club (where she was a hostess) and the 300 Club (which she owned).  The speakeasy was a lucrative gig during Prohibition, and Texas Guinan was, of course, happy to take money from the ‘butter and egg men’ and knew the right mix of skin, celebrity and organized crime to run a profitable speakeasy.  Although her famous greeting no doubt acknowledged the inflated prices of booze during prohibition, she also looked out for friends by suggesting more modestly priced (and less of a rip-off) hooch since the (thirty dollar) “champagne isn’t really champagne”.

Texas Guinan is one of the many colourful characters brought to life in Christine Sismondo’s 2011 book America Walks into a Bar.  I had the honour of meeting Christine, hearing about some cocktail history and sampling some cocktails this past Friday evening (actually, it was really cocktail hour) at an event organized by the folks at Groovy Grapes and sponsored by Lifford/Schiralli Spirits.

I actually monopolized got to spend quite a bit of time talking with Christine, who was very patient with my amateurish banter about the LCBO (it’s been getting better), how hard it is to get bitters in Canada (they’re starting to come), and where to drink in Ottawa /Toronto/New York (she’s got a list).  We chatted while sipping on the easy-drinking Aperol Spritz (3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, splash of soda) – which was a great way to start the evening.

Christine and the world famous book cover!

After that, we listened to Christine’s talk about the history of the bar/tavern/saloon and (by extension) the cocktail.  She started off by talking about how throughout history, booze (or lack thereof) has figured prominently in many historical events – like how the Mayflower had to stop because it ran out of beer!  About how before water sanitation, people would often hydrate with beer/liquor since it was the safe choice to drink when the quality of water might be questionable in many areas in Europe.  She also reminded us of the versatility of liquor and how the hard stuff can withstand extreme temperatures, and can travel long distances…unlike wine and beer which is a little more…finicky.  While hearing about the merits of hard liquor, we drank a Brandy Old-Fashioned, which is featured on Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s website, and what they’re drinking in Wisconsin these days (who knew?).

Pretty much all of the Old-Fashioned that I’ve ever had have been made with whisky, and the substitution of the brandy made this drink super-smooth.  I think out of all the drinks I tasted that evening, this one was my favourite.

The next journey into history which was particularly interesting to me was the impact of prohibition on the cocktail.  Although the appearance of the speakeasy in modern-day media is one of 20’s flapper good-time glamour, the point that Christine made was that the cocktail really changed during prohibition, and not for the better.  It seems that when the buying/selling/serving of alcohol went ‘underground’ so did the craftsmanship of the cocktail (in North America, that is – in Europe, it was still going strong!).  The lack of (er) ‘licensed’ establishments meant that bartenders didn’t have anyone to pass their craft onto.  It also meant that cocktails were popping up with some vile (made in your bathtub) spirits with some ‘unconventional’ ingredients.

Fortunately we were reminded of how beautiful the cocktail can be with the last two cocktails of the evening.  There were drinks made with single-malt scotch – something you don’t often see in cocktails (because, let’s face it, single malts are good enough on their own).  Out of the two that were served, my favourite (and last of the evening) was the Athol Brose made with the lovely Auchentoshan Scotch (which was also my favourite Scotch from this year’s Robbie Burns Supper).  In brief, the recipe for the Athol Brose harkens back to a classic book written by Charles H Baker (called The Gentleman’s Companion) and is made with 1 part Scotch, 1 part strained honey and 1 part cream.  According to Christine, you can get a good one at (the oh-so exclusive) Milk and Honey in New York.

In Christine’s journey through history, the most intriguing (and perhaps obvious) fact was how challenging it was for her (and other historians, no doubt) to piece together the history of the bar/tavern or cocktail.  And this is because much of the history happened while people were completely* wasted!  (*that’s elegantly wasted if you’re INXS).  Just think about how difficult it was to piece together your last girl’s weekend in Boston.  And, of course, measurements change over time…so when you peruse many of the old (yet classic) cocktail books Christine had, the measurements or proportions aren’t always obvious or match with what we’d call a dram or ‘wine glass’ today.

Fortunately, though, we’ve got people like Christine putting it all together for us in a lively way.

In addition to the cocktail samples, appies, and words of wisdom, all attendees went home with a copy of Christine’s book (which I’m dying to get into).  A perfect night of history (and cocktails).