Measuring Up: A look at jiggers and more.

Accurate measurements are very important when using any recipe. Now the sign of someone who really knows what they are doing, the use of a jigger used to be seen as the sign of a novice bartender. The pros all "free-poured" through the use of "counts".

The art of "free-pouring" lies in watching the rate at which the pour-spout is allowing the liquid to flow, judging that rate of flow, and counting accordingly as the liquid flows out.

This is a great skill, and essential for busy bars where the speed at which a drink is made is nearly as important as how it tastes.

Sugary mixers like fountain sodas,"sour" mix, and the like leave more room for error in your pours. There's no reason to "jigger" a "shot" of rum for that "rum and coke" you are making. You get a feel for what a shot looks like in the glass with ice, and top the glass off with your mixer(s).

Not a bad skill if you are a professional with a crowd, or want to play bartender at parties. Making these drinks with a reasonable amount of accuracy will make most people quite happy.

If you are looking at the recipes on this blog however, exact measurements are essential to the final outcome.

Consistency in your pours is really the most important factor when it comes to your ability to replicate that favorite drink of yours, be it your recipe or someone else's.

What about sharing that recipe of yours though? If your 1/4 ounce is smaller than my 1/4 ounce then my drink could end up stronger or sweeter than your results. What about that 1.5 ounce "shot", is it the same as your 22 ml jigger?

It stands to reason then, that having measuring equipment that you know and trust, is essential to crafting repeatable and enjoyable results.

I took a close look at the equipment I've been using and the results surprised me. This was a difficult post to work out. I needed a control, and I needed to understand how these different pieces of equipment compared to each other. I also needed to be able to work through those results in a way that made sense when presented in this article.

After some time of experimenting with measurements back and forth, I decided that my control would be my set of stainless steel "KitchenAid" measuring spoons. I also decided that the best way to present my findings would be based on how these items compared when measuring the common increments of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1, 1.5 and 2 ounces. (7.5 ml, 15 ml, 22 ml, 30ml, 45 ml and 60 ml respectively).

First though, to introduce the equipment.

Measuring spoons (KitchenAid)

I like the nice round, deep bowls of these spoons over the more common shallow bowls you find on measuring spoons. These are also marked in metric which can come in handy.

Generic Shot Glass with measurements.

I picked this up at a local liquor store. It has markings on the side for ounces (.25-1.5), Tablespoons (.5-3), teaspoons (1-6 and 9), and in mls (10, 15, 30 and 45).










Oxo "2 ounce" plastic measuring cup
Measures in ounces (1/4, 1/2, 1, 1 1/2, 2), Tablespoons (1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4), Cups (1/16, 1/8, 1/4) and mls (5-60 in 5 ml increments)

Oxo "2 ounce" stainless steel measuring cup
Measures in ounces, (1/4, 1/2, 1, 1 1/2, 2) and also in Tablespoons, (1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4)

Oxo stainless steel jigger

Measures in ounces; "1/4, 1/2, 1" on one side and "1/3, 3/4 and 1 1/2" on the reverse.

Cocktail Kingdom Japanese style stainless steel jigger

Measures in ounces; "1/2 ounce" (15 ml) on one side, with a line at the "1/4 ounce" (7.5 ml) mark and "3/4 ounce" (22 ml) on the reverse.

AG Japanese style stainless steel jigger

Measures in ounces; "1 ounce" (30 ml) on one side and "1 1/2 ounces" (45 ml) on the reverse.

HOW THEY STACK UP

Measuring a 1/4 ounce (7.5 ml)

I started by measuring 7.5 ml of water from the spoons into the shot glass and we were spot on.

Pouring that liquid into the plastic 2 oz. Oxo cup you can see that the liquid goes just over the line. Using this cup to measure a quarter of an ounce would give you slightly "light" pour.

The same liquid then poured into the stainless steel 2 oz Oxo cup. You can see the liquid half-way between the 1/4 oz and 1/2 oz measurement making this an even lighter pour.

Poured into the Cocktail Kingdom jigger, a quarter of an ounce is just shy of the 1/2 ounce mark. Not quite as light a pour as the stainless steel oxo jigger but still lighter than the plastic 2 oz Oxo cup.

Coming to the Oxo jigger, the same liquid looks perfect. Considering the loss of a few drops pouring from one container to another I think we have our winners for 1/4 oz accuracy test.

The glass shot glass and Oxo jigger were consistent with the control. The stainless steel Oxo had the lightest pour, followed by the Cocktail Kingdom jigger and then the plastic Oxo cup.

Measuring a 1/2 ounce (15 ml)

Here is one Tablespoon of water (15ml) into the shot glass. Looking pretty dead on, possibly a little under the line but reasonably accurate.

This measure poured into the plastic 2 oz. Oxo cup yields good results too looking spot on.

A double check from the side shows the ml demarcation to be very accurate as well.

Again we see the stainless steel Oxo providing a light pour. This one's turning into a friend of the "house" but not of your accuracy.

The Oxo jigger showing strong again. This one is right on the line, a perfect measure.

Oops! The liquid overflows the 15ml jigger. In fact, a level pour from this side of the jigger registered well under the 15ml mark on the plastic 2 oz Oxo cup looking more like 14-14.5 ml.

Since the Oxo jigger showed so well on the 1/2 ounce test, I put two 1/2 ounce measures from that jigger into the AG 1 ounce jigger. The liquid domed a bit more than I would be comfortable with when mixing a drink, but this jigger performed better than the 1/2 ounce jigger above.

Measuring 3/4 ounce (22.5 ml)

The shot glass lacks a mark for 3/4 of an ounce but after pouring in 1 Tablespoon (15ml), 1 teaspoon (5 ml) and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml), the line looks pretty good!

Again, no mark for 3/4 ounce on this one but the water line does look reasonably accurate.

The stainless steel Oxo short pours again, with the 3/4 oz of liquid measuring close to a full ounce.

The Oxo jigger performing like a champ, the measurement is spot on once again.

The 3/4 ounce side of the Cocktail Kingdom jigger is spot on with nice, comfortable, even level.

Taking the 3/4 oz CK jigger into the AG "1 1/2 ounce" jigger twice also gave a comfortably level measure.

Measuring 1 ounce (30 ml)

Measuring two Tablespoons into the shot glass revealed this instrument's first error. This came in decidedly below the line, not a huge amount off, but certainly further off than it's earlier readings.

Though not as off as the shot glass, this measurement is slightly off as well. This measurement should be just under the line, but the water level is just over the line so this cup would ever so slightly under-measure one ounce.

Staying consistent with huge under-pours, the s.s. Oxo reads well over the 1 ounce mark when the measured ounce is added.

The Oxo jigger comfortably holds the ounce of liquid.

It's nice to see consistency with the pours, the measured ounce looks the same in the AG 1 ounce jigger as when I poured the two 1/2 ounce measurements into it.

1.5 ounces (45 ml)

The "Shot" glass not doing so well on the measured shot. When 45 ml, or 3 Tablespoons were measured into the glass the water level rose above the mark meaning a shot measured in this glass would be slightly "light".

The plastic Oxo 2 oz. cup shows under the mark meaning a 1.5 ounce "shot" measured in this cup would end up slightly "heavy".

Worth noting however, is that the liquid measured exactly right on the 45 ml mark.

The Oxo jigger took the measured shot very well coming right to the top without "doming" over, meaning you probably won't spill using this jigger to measure your "shot".

The AG jigger takes the measured shot right to the brim without any "doming", making this a very easy and accurate tool to use for the 1 1/2 ounce (45 ml) measure.

2 ounces (60 ml)

Placing 4 measured Tablespoons (60 ml) into the the plastic 2 oz. Oxo cup brought the water level just under the 2 oz mark, right where you would take a pour from the bottle.

The water at the 15, 30, and 45 ml looked good as added the Tablespoons, but the 4th Tbs. took the level ever-so-slightly over the 60 ml mark.

Once again the stainless steel Oxo provides a "light"pour.

The Findings

The results did surprise me. I'm thinking of tossing out the stainless steel "2 ounce" Oxo measuring cup. The plastic Oxo cup and stainless steel jigger proved very accurate however. I did not expect the Cocktail Kingdom .25/.5 oz side of the jigger to be so off. Perhaps there was a factory error on my jigger though, as the other side worked much better and CK's quality control is normally very high.

The 1 oz side of the AG jigger under-measured slightly but the 1.5 ounce side was spot on. For the 1/4 ounce and 1/2 ounce measurements the shot glass was great, but as I got into the 1 and 1.5 ounce measures it was not so great. The most accurate pair then proved to be the Oxo jigger and plastic 2 oz measuring cup.

The "Japanese style" jiggers have a great balance and do not spill as easily as the Oxo jigger. The traditional Japanese style of pouring with a jigger involves making sure that the liquid flows "from bottle to shaker in a smooth stream", so a slight over-pour would be inevitable. With this in mind, and with practice, these jiggers should prove very accurate. Their use at home is up to you. They look great, are mostly accurate, resist spillage and are easy to take care of.

With these findings, I'll be using the Oxo jigger and plastic measuring cup more often, especially for 1/4 ounce and 1/2 ounce measures.They won't replace the jiggers though, which are just too much fun to use to put away.

Blackstone Cocktail(s)

In 1908, Jacques Straub, (author of "Drinks"- 1914), set up the wine program for and stocked the cellars of Chicago's exclusive Blackstone Hotel. He remained there until 1920 when Prohibition put an end to this career.

Blackstone Hotel, Chicago 1914

Jacques was at the Blackstone from the very beginning, signing on in 1908 when the earliest parts of the hotel were completing. (Construction would continue through 1910.)

In the 5 or so years he was at the Blackstone before his book was published, he managed to create four turn-of-the-(last)-century "martini" variations. I'm not sure if these were offered all at the same time, seasonally, or sequentially. They do make a nice list though, and if one were pressed to create a vintage "Martini Menu", this would fit the bill nicely.

Mr. Straub was never a bartender, but he obviously had great taste and was a decent record keeper. This perhaps explains his penchant for shaking drinks that should be stirred, and vice-versa. His great collection of recipes aside, he's wrong in his instructions to shake, and without exception, the list below should be stirred.

Adapted we have:

Blackstone Cocktail


1.5 ounces (45 ml) London Dry Gin (I used Bombay Dry Gin)
.75 ounce (22 ml) Italian vermouth (Carpano Antica)
.75 ounce (22 ml) French vermouth (Cocchi Americano, for fun)
1 piece orange peel


Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Flame the oils from an orange peel over the top of the drink, rub rim of glass with peel, and drop peel into glass. 

His intent in the cryptic recipe was probably to include the orange peel in the shaker and to strain it out of the mix before serving. I went with the flamed peel to add a little extra depth, considering the lack of bitters.

The drink was plush and elegant, just as you would expect from such a newly-minted high class establishment. Basically a "perfect" martini with orange peel.

Blackstone No.1


2 1/4 ounces (67 ml) Old Tom gin. (I used Hayman's Old Tom)
.75 ounce (22 ml) Italian Vermouth (I used Punt E Mes)
Lemon twist for garnish

Stir in mixing glass, strain into a cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel over top and drop into glass.

I used a Meyer lemon for the twist here and it's sharp, acrid, pine-like nose made the Old Tom more "gin-like" in my opinion. The sour/quinine profile of the Punt e Mes also offset the sweet Old Tom nicely. I liked this one more than I thought I would. It's simple ingredients provided a surprising amount of depth.

Blackstone No. 2
(Special Blackstone)


2 ounces (60 ml) dry gin (I used Plymouth Dry here)
1 ounce (30 ml) French vermouth. (I used Lillet Blanc)
orange twist for garnish


Stir in mixing glass, strain into cocktail glass. Add orange twist, zesting over top of the glass, and use as garnish.

A "wet" martini if ever there was one. If you like martinis, this one is delightfully easy to drink. The lillet is sweet and silky smooth on the mouth. The Plymouth comes through, but since Plymouth is a very light, smooth gin it's not overpowering. The orange zest provides the right balance on the nose making this a very drinkable, very enjoyable martini.

Blackstone No. 3 Special


1 dash absenthe (I used Kubler)
1 ounce (30 ml) French vermouth (I used Noilly Prat)
1 ounce (30 ml) dry gin (I used Bombay dry)
lemon twist for garnish

Stir in mixing glass, strain into cocktail glass. Add lemon twist, zesting over top of the glass, and use as garnish.

What can I say about this one? It's a gin martini, made in the old style (2:1 ratio), with dash absinthe. I took a little more liberty on this one and substituted a grapefruit twist for the lemon. After tasting it on it's own, I added one dash each of Scrappy's "celery" and "grapefruit" bitters. Then it was very, very nice. 

A menu worth of Chicago's "A" list, it's an excellent range of early martini variations. For me, the best experience was the gentle complexity of the No. 1 with the Meyer lemon twist. What is your favorite?

Egg Nogg

You just never know what you will find when you start digging. Eggnog in general, or "Egg Nogg" as it was often spelled, is a truly ancient drink appearing in many of the very earliest texts.

Apparently, by 1813, Eggnogg was on the "naughty" list. According to"Dr Rush" in "The Panoplist, and missionary magazine: Volume 5; Volume 8" that is.

Better stick with a "small beer"!!!

Eggnog is a class of drinks, not a specific drink. There is no one "right" recipe, there are many variations to match many tastes. Jerry had his take, which is what my original idea for this post was based upon. I decided to add a few more nineteenth century recipes as well as the edifying flowchart above.

Jerry Thomas Egg Nogg 1862

Hmm, then in 1878 we have this submission from Mr. Leo Engel...

...notice any similarities?

Leo Engle everyone. Really...really?

Still, it's a recipe worth repeating. Here I'll do it again.

Egg Nogg (Adopted from Jerry Thomas, 1862)


Ingredients


1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 fresh laid egg
2 ounces Cognac brandy
1 ounce White Rum
2 1/2 ounces milk


Combine the sugar and water, stir, then add the milk and egg and stir again. Add the ice and then the spirits. Shake hard for 60-90 seconds at a minimum. Strain into "Collins" glass and grate fresh nutmeg over the top. 

....It's good, try it.

White Lion Cocktail

The White Lion cocktail could be described as a rum daisy, with powdered sugar, bitters, curacao, raspberry syrup and decorated with fruit of the season. I noticed that it kept coming up in the old books, but I'd never heard of it outside of historical references. I did not know it was such an old recipe, and was surprised to find it "on the list" in this interesting account from 1855, of life in the then still-young city of San Francisco, California.

Published in 1855 in Hinton Rowan Helper’s “The Land of Gold: Reality versus fiction”

"The grog-shops or tippling-houses constitute the last but not the least prominent feature of Montgomery street that we will notice at the present time. The devil has certainly met with more than usual success in establishing so many of these, his recruiting officers, in this region; for we cannot visit any part of the state or city without finding them always at our elbow. San Francisco might allot one to every street corner in the city, or in other words, four to every intersection of the streets, and still her number would not be exhausted. It is astonishing what an amount of time, labor and money is misspent in this nefarious traffic. Out of the two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants in California, from twelve to fifteen thousand are exclusively engaged in this diabolical, but lucrative business ; and, what is worse than all, nearly one-fourth of the bars are attended by young females, of the most dissolute and abandoned character, who use every device to entice and mislead the youthful and unsuspecting, "Women being somewhat of a novelty here, their saloons are always thronged with customers, many being induced to patronize them merely for the sake of looking at them. What a base prostitution of their destiny and mission ! Woman has come here, not only to pander to man's vitiated appetites, but also to create and foster in him unholier desires, and, if possible, to lead him further astray than he would have gone without her.

Lest we should fall in love with one of these sirens, we will not go near them, but will enter one of the saloons kept by a biped of our own sex.

Across the street is a large and fashionable one, called the Blue Wing,

" Where politicians most do congregate,
To let their tongues tang arguments of State."

Adding ourselves to the number of its inmates, we find the governor of the State seated by a table, surrounded by judges of the supreme and superior courts, sipping sherry cobblers, smoking segars, and reveling in all the delights of an anticipated debauch. Another group of less distinction in public affairs, but better known , to the proprietor because of their more frequent and protracted visits, occupy a second table in the back part of the room, where they are playing cards and carousing over a general assortment of distilled, fermented and malt liquors. The proprietor himself is a red-nosed, jolly fellow, of burgomaster proportions, generally in a good humor, who treats his victim-patrons with the utmost courtesy and politeness. He is every man's man, and always has a smile and a smart saying prepared for the entertainment of the bystanders. His two clerks, for he is unable to wait upon all his customers himself, are equally urbane in their deportment, and may be found at their posts from six o'clock in the morning till twelve o'clock at night, ready to flavor and tincture mixed drinks, to prepare hot punches, and to deal out low anecdote to vulgar idlers. On the shelves and counters are dozens of labeled decanters and bottles, filled with the choicest liquors and artificial beverages that the world produces; other articles of similar use and value are also kept for sale, and stored away in their appropriate places. As a minute survey of the bill of fare may not be uninteresting, I herewith present it:—


BILL OF FARE OF A CALIFORNIA GROGGERY.
                Bowie Knives and Pistols.

The annual consumption of beer, wines and liquors in this State exceeds five millions of gallons, a vast deal of which is retailed at extraordinarily remunerative rates. All of the first class establishments, I mean those that deal in good qualities, charge twenty-five cents for every drink or dram they sell; but an adulterated article, of which there is always an abundant supply in market, can be procured at about one half that price. In some of the most popular and respectable saloons, genuine articles are always kept on hand for the benefit and accommodation of those who are willing to pay for a delicious (?) draught. I may not be a competent judge, but this much I will say, that I have seen purer liquors, better segars, finer tobacco, truer guns and pistols, larger dirks and bowie knives, and prettier courtezans here, than in any other place I have ever visited; and it is my unbiased opinion that California can and does furnish the best bad things that are obtainable in America."

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The drink was known well enough in 1862 to make Jerry Thomas's first edition.

"Cool with shaved ice". What else would you cool with? The same verbage was lifted in 1878 for Leo Engel's "American and other drinks" which was published in England.

In 1882, Harry Johnson also saw fit to add the White Lion to his book, adding a bit on it's origins.

It appears in 1884 in O.H. Byron's book calling for you to "squeeze juice from half a lemon, putting the rind in the glass" and for "fine" ice rather than shaved. In 1895, George Kappeler listed these instructions in his book "Modern American Drinks":

White Lion. (Kappeler, 1895)

Cut the peel of half a lemon from it in one long thin piece, place it in a mixing-glass, add the juice of half a lemon, one tablespoonful fine sugar, one tablespoonful raspberry syrup, one jigger St. Croix rum, one pony curacoa ; mix well, put all in a long thin glass, ornament with fruit. Serve straws.

By 1914 in Jacques Straub's "Drinks", the recipe changed from a mixed drink to a shaken one, and the addition of Angostura bitters appears (which makes more sense, given the ingredients).

White Lion Cocktail (Straub 1914)

1 barspoon sugar

1/2 jigger lemon juice

3 dashes Angostura Bitters

3 dashes raspberry Syrup

1 jigger St. Croix Rum. Shake Well.

(This is starting to sound good!)

In 1922, it shows up again in Robert Vermeire's "Cocktails How to Mix Them"

White Lion (Vermeire, 1922)

Juice of half a lemon.

1/4 gill of raspberry syrup.

1/4 gill of Curacao.

3/4 gill of Rum.

Well Shaken and strained into a tumbler filled with chopped ice, and tastily decorated with fruits of the season.

Fast forward to 1948, David Embury calls the drink simply a "White Lady without the egg white and with lime juice in place of lemon." Not necessarily so, as we've seen through the recipe's history both lemon and lime have been called for. He's also changed the raspberry syrup to grenadine. Here's Embury's White Lion:

White Lion (Embury 1948)

1 part Grenadine

2 parts Lime Juice (put in shell of 1/2 lime)

1 part Curacao

7 parts White Label Rum

Shake

Then it just sort of disappears, popping up here and there in the oddest places. It seems to have remained a Mr. Boston's staple. It appears in a remarkably intact form in my 2006 edition:

White Lion Cocktail (Mr. Boston's 2006)

1 oz. Lemon Juice

1 tsp Superfine sugar (or simple syrup)

2 dashes bitters

1/2 tsp Grenadine

1 1/2 oz. Light Rum

Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

I found no mention of the While Lion from DeGroff, Regan, Calabrese, Haigh or Hess in their books.

Wondrich, in "Imbibe", says "The only difference between (Jerry) Thomas's Knickerbocker and his White Lion is that the latter replaces three-quarters of the raspberry syrup with pulverized sugar. I'll take the knee pants". 

Not to differ with the great cocktail sage, but I think there's a larger story here revealed by viewing the White Lion outside of Thomas's book, and that there's a great drink to be resurrected from these ashes.

I often quote Mud Puddle's "Big Bartender's Guide" and their adaptation of Johnson's recipe is fairly close to where my adaptation ended up.

White Lion (Masson and Boehm 2009 - adopted from H. Johnson's 1882 recipe)

2 ounces (60 ml) gold rum

1 ounce (30 ml) lime juice

1/2 ounce (15 ml) raspberry syrup

1/4 ounce (7 ml) orange curacao

Build over crushed ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with two raspberries and a mint sprig.

So where do I see this drink ending up for the 21st century? Looking through it's history, and carefully considering the best elements, I've come up with my version of the White Lion...Enjoy!

White Lion (The Lab, 2011)

Step 1) Into a shaker, place 1 (to 3) barspoon(s) powdered sugar depending on preference for sweetness. (I think 1 is enough though)

Step 2) Add 1 barspoon Angostura bitters, mix with the sugar to make a syrup.

Step 3) Add 1/4 ounce Monin raspberry syrup, 1/2 ounce Cointreau, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, 2 ounces light rum, the long peel of half of a lemon.

Step 4) Fill with cracked ice. Shake, but not too long or too hard. Stop after 15-20 seconds of "gentle" shaking.

Step 5) Strain into an "Old Fashioned" or "Double Rocks" glass filled with crushed ice, arrange lemon peel as garnish and add optional garnishes (sprig of mint and/or berries in season). Serve with straws.

Add float of high proof demerara rum, like lemon Hart 151, for an extra treat!

The reduced sugar makes the mix a tart and tangy treat, kind of like a raspberry sweet tart. The orange and raspberry are there, but in the background. The sugar and lemon juice add a nice lemonade flavor. The Angostura bitters are just right here and for the super treat, add a float of high proof dark rum.

A few notes on the ingredients. To sugar or not to sugar? I think it's in enough of the early recipes, along with curacao and raspberry syrup that it has to be part of the recipe. But let's not go crazy shall we? It's a sweet drink already with all these flavors, so we're going with a barspoon, basically a little less than 1/4 ounce. You could double or triple that amount depending on taste, but I would not recommend a full tablespoon, as some of the early recipes did. 

On the subject of citrus, I'm in favor of using fresh squeezed lemon (over lime) and for straining the juice over squeezing straight into the glass and dropping in the rind. I also love Kappeler's instruction to "Cut the peel of half a lemon from it in one long thin piece"and serve it in the drink after mixing in a mixing glass. It's a bit of a mix between the "crusta" treatment and a "horse's head" garnish. Keep the lemon rind in as large a piece as possible, so as to stand up to the rigors of shaking.

The raspberry syrup and curacao are still here, but as with the sugar they are dialed back to allow our quality, modern spirits more room to shine in the mix. 

I think the Angostura bitters a brilliant addition, and would have probably added them myself if Straub had not already done so in 1914.

On the St. Croix rum, you could actually go with a Puerto Rican light rum like Don Q crystal, which is an excellent choice for the money. 

A better choice would be the Flor de Cana "Extra Dry" 4 year old from Nicaragua. Better still would be the El Dorado 3 year old, and best of all is the Havana Club blanco. Having the best in stock, that's what I decided to photograph, but my point is that there are many good choices for this drink.

The fruit and mint, charming as they may be, are optional as the lemon peel makes a sufficient garnish on it's own. 

For sure, this is another great drink to pull out that julep cup for on a hot day. In the daisy tradition, adding soda water and making this a tall drink would also work very well, especially as a summer refresher.

American Drinks (1873)

I ran across another report of "American Drinks at the Vienna Exposition" while researching a recipe for an upcoming post. This telling was recorded by the author from the "Hotel Austria, Vienna, June 2, 1873", the same time period of my earlier post from an article that ran in the NY Times. 

This account was written by Charles Carroll Fulton and published in his 1878 title, "Europe viewed through American Spectacles". 

______________________________________

AMERICAN DRINKS.

The warm weather had its effect on one branch of Americanism on exhibition here. A month ago the impression was very general that the American bars would do a very poor business, on account of the high cost of their drinks, as well as from the fact that a half-gallon of beer could be had for the cost of one of their fancy glasses. They were then occasionally drunk as a matter of curiosity, and several Germans could be now and then seen at one of the tables with a solitary "cobbler" or "cocktail," each taking an occasional suck through the straw, and discussing its merits. It was a mere testing process, each, according to German custom, paying his share of the expense. Yesterday, however, the American bars were thronged with visitors, and the colored waiters, who are decided objects of curiosity, were kept busy filling their orders. These waiters are a sharp set of fellows, most of them from New York, and are of all shades, from the coal-black to the yellow pine. The former tell many amusing stories of their experience, and they seem to enjoy the inspection that they are constantly subject to. They have picked up a little German, but are each provided with a price-list, which they hand to the customer, who points out the article he desires. The following is a list of the plain American drinks that our German friends are beginning to learn to like, which are served up, smothered in crushed ice, at thirty, fifty, sixty, and eighty kreutzers each, or at fifteen, twenty-five, thirty, and forty cents in American currency, under the title of "American Mixed Drinks:"

Apple jack and cocktail-Jersey, brandy and soda (English), brandy champarelle, brandy crusta, brandy fix, brandy julep, brandy punch, brandy sangaree, brandy sling, brandy smash, brandy sour, brandy toddy, Baltimore egg-nogg, Boehm & Wiebl's favorite, claret cup, claret cobbler, claret punch, claret sangaree, Catawba cobbler, Catawba punch, champagne punch, champagne cobbler, champagne cocktail, egg flip, eye-opener, French cocktail, gin cocktail, gin julep, gin crusta, gin punch, gin sling, gin smash, gin sour, gin toddy, hock cobbler, John Collins (English), Indian wigwam punch, Jamaica rum punch, Jamaica rum sour, Knickerbocker, lemonade (plain), lemonade (with a stick), lemonade (fancy), milk punch, Metropolitan punch (U.S.A.), pousse cafe (New York style), pousse cafe (New Orleans), pectoral (Cuban), port wine sangaree, pine-apple punch, port wine flip, porteree, phlegmcutter, sherry and bitters (plain), sherry and egg, sherry cobbler, Shanghai Saratoga, soda cocktail, St. Croix fix, St. Croix sour, St. Croix punch, whisky cocktail, whisky punch, whisky julep, and old. Kentucky, whisky sling, whisky smash, whisky sour.

The champagne punches and cobblers are a florin and a half each, or seventyfive cents in our money. The plain drinks, which are equally numerous, range from twenty to forty cents each, or forty kreutzers and upwards. Fifteen per cent, of all the receipts, however, go to the Exposition fund.

Hotel Austria, Vienna, June 2, 1873.

___________________________________

In 1873, twenty to forty cents would be about $5-$10. Seventyfive cents would be around $18-$20. So inflation considered, these drinks were reasonably priced by today's standards.

Pick-Me-Ups

The "Eye Opener" (per Charlie Paul, 1902)

Early America was awash with booze, and the sheer quantities that an average person drank on a regular basis would make a frat boy blanch. The old timer's were better practiced as well, and had many different remedies to make you feel better after a night of over-indulgence.

They were called "eye openers", "pick-me-ups", "morning daisies" and the like. Eggs and absinthe were commonly mixed with lemon juice, shaken and soda water added. The reported effect being to "calm the stomach".

As long as humans have been getting cock-eyed on harsh hooch, they have been looking for ways to feel better in the morning. Rather than make an exhaustive all encompassing history in one post, the "pick-me-up" shall be a continuing series featuring a mix of recipes I'd probably dare not try, some history, and at least one that I have tried.

Here's the "Pick-Me-Up" that started it all for me. It comes from Charlie Paul's 1902 classic, "Recipes of American and other Iced Drinks". Basically an advertising vehicle published by the "McCorquodale & Co.., Ltd for Farrow & Jackson, Limited", it's a treasure trove of elaborate etchings of typical (and not so typical) equipment of the day, and includes many good recipes.

My favorite illustration in the book has to be the "Imperial Shaker". If this was installed in a bar I would make my way to see it in action for sure. Finally, to be able to ask for a "Ramos" with a clean conscience!

Charlie's "Pick-Me-Up" went like this:

"PICK-ME-UP, OR BRACER" L.D. (Long Drink)


Use a large soda-water glass, which half full with chipped ice ; squeeze a whole lemon in ; add half teaspoon of Angostura bitters ; then pour in a bottle of seltzer water, stir well with long spoon, and serve with straws.


Surprisingly, no alcohol! This is a truly refreshing drink with herbs to settle the stomach (in the Angostura bitters), bubbly water and lemon juice to help replenish and rehydrate and lots of bubbles to get things moving. A nice morning or afternoon bracer no matter what your current state.


Of course, this being 1902 the temperance folks had not yet completely won out, and morning cocktails were still relatively common. For the chap looking for a morning "histening", and doesn't feel like a "Daisy" or "Tossing a Ball", his remaining choices included the popular Eye Opener". (For more on this "lingo", see my post).


Some "Eye Opener" recipes called for "old whiskey", rum, or brandy, along with absinthe. Some even called for green creme de menthe. Most called for egg. I liked Charlie's recipe with the mix of brandy and rum.


EYE OPENER. S.D. (Short Drink)


Fill tumbler with chipped ice ; put in a teaspoonful of powdered sugar and a new laid egg ; add a liqueur-glassful of brandy, and a liqueur-glass of rum ; then shake well and strain off.

My Adaptation

Eye Opener


1) Fill shaker with chipped ice and add 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar.

2) Add new laid egg, 1 ounce of brandy, and one ounce of Pusser's rum. 

3) Shake very hard for 2-3 minutes. Wrap the shaker in a towel first if your hands not used to holding a cold shaker.

Then enjoy! This is a yummy "energy" drink!

A "liqueur-glassful" in Charlie's parlance would have been a 2 ounce glass. Four ounces of booze in the morning would get you going, but I'm not sure it would be in a good direction. Take it easy on yourself and use 1 to 1 1/2 ounces of each at the most. 


If your lucky enough to have access to a fresh laid egg, then this is a treat well earned. If not, hit up that neighbor with chickens, find the right stand at the farmer's market, or get the best eggs you can. 

Mmmm, fresh eggs. Thanks girls!

I used the Christian Brother's VSOP. A nice choice for mixing, and the only one I have right now. The rum was a harder choice. In 1902, London would have offered many choices of rum, and the only direction given here is simply "rum".


With egg and brandy, I wanted dark, sweet rum. The Pusser's seemed a perfect choice with it's deep demerara notes ringing of sweet toffee rather than bitter caramel. I wanted something with some "zing" too since there is no citrus juice in this recipe.


I practically gave it the "Ramos" treatment, shaking for a good 2-3 minutes. The results were surprisingly good. Even with access to fresh eggs, it's not an ingredient I use often when mixing drinks. This came out with the mouth-feel of a milk shake, or maybe just a good frothy eggnog. The Pusser's really helped with that illusion with it's apple and toffee flavors giving way to vanilla, nutmeg and even a hint of roses.



Now for one I wasn't brave enough to try. 


George J. Kappeler in "Modern American Drinks" listed this recipe in 1895 for a "Pick-Me-Up":


Pick Me Up.


A mixing-glass half full fine ice, half a pony absinthe, one jigger vermouth ; shake well until cold, strain into a star-glass, fill with seltzer.


A half-pony would be 1/2 ounce, so strong on the absinthe but not as ridiculous as some recipes. This is used with a base of 2 ounces of vermouth, shaken and carbonated. You would need to really like your vermouth! It may have done the trick, but in my mind would be an acquired taste for sure.

I do like vermouth, but not that much...and not in the morning, so this one gets my "pass" vote. Let me know if you decide to try it!