Great piece that is a credit to its author, the cocktail research community, and the US Naval Service.
My only question left hanging was whether Mr. Greene could speak to the "Tun Tavern" mythos. He seems uniquely qualified address the groggy contradiction between modern policy and the spirits of its heritage.
2
only the new york times would hire an entertaining journalist to write a story about the cocktail world.
enjoyed the story!
Former WSJ columnist Eric Felten's "How's Your Drink?" book & columns by the same name are treasures to be included among any collection of cocktail history and writing.
Crown Royale was the whiskey of choice amongst the officers of the 1st Infantry Division in Lai Khe, Vietnam in 1969.
Holy cow! I checked out the recipe for Fish House Punch. Granted I’ve never made a punch before, but the first ingredient was a 3/4 pound block of sugar! I was distressed to see that the recipe made no attempt to inform the reader how many people it could be expected to serve. Are we talking a squad of Marines or a division? I’m tempted to try and find out, but I fear my wife would stop me before I could empty the second bottle of rum into the bowl.
4
@It’s News Here
Right? It sounded so intriguing, but then I read that it makes up to two gallons, divided by 8 ounces per serving and started counting how many of my relatives and friends I could squish into this teeny house...
But then I thought, "Summer!". The recipe has enough sugar and alcohol to prevent it from freezing solid, so I'm thinking July 4th slushies in the backyard. Problem solved.
Is it necessary to be so twee about liquor?
What ever happened to bourbon and branch water?
1
@ Joe Glendale, Arizona
I find it fascinating that a government lawyer in the Marine Corps, who must be always ready to join a Marine bayonet charge, is a scholar of the history of cocktails.
Alcoholic beverages preceded by thousands of years the discovery and synthesis of ethyl alcohol, and all must have had different flavors, added to the alcohol effects.
These are the primeval precursors of the cocktail. Since the word entered the vocabulary in the 19th century, the mixologists have been living up to the words of Ecclesiastes (7:29) about God having made the man upright, but the man sought many novelties.