Yesterday, December 5, was Repeal Day. Seventy-seven years ago prohibition was lifted. It’s crazy to think that the day my grandfather was born, there wasn’t any champagne. My grandfather’s father didn’t go to the bar with his friends and celebrate – there were no bars. You couldn’t buy alcohol without a prescription. It’s crazier to think that my great grandfather (on the other side of the family) made a killing bootlegging liquor across Lake Erie.  He had a knack at carrying picnic baskets loaded with whiskey bottles across Mackinac Island on Lake Michigan. It assured my grandmother a very luxurious lifestyle in a time when most were just trying to put food on the table.

You should always celebrate Repeal Day with a drink, but even better – what about having a drink in a speakeasy. My friend Erica Reilly and I decided that what this town needed was a bar that only exists for one night, a little bit of magic and then poof it’s gone.

We took over the maté shop (if you don’t know anything about maté – please click here), which has an ideal location in a downtown alley. It even has a heavy metal rolling door at its entrance. We got there in the afternoon with another friend of ours and revolutionized the space. We draped the entire area, brought in lighting, kinetic sculpture by Chris Cole, a jazz singer, a dj, and a full bar. It was AWESOME. We did six cocktails, all of them with an interesting story. We had an amazing turnout for a cold, icy, blustery, December night (especially for a Sunday). Everyone who came was dressed in cocktail attire from the 30’s. It was truly beautiful. And then just like that, poof, we tore it all down and it right back to being a maté shop. It was pretty magical.

as a mate shop

as a speakeasy

THE COCKTAIL LIST

East India Cocktail
Brandy, Pineapple, Raspberry Syrup, Orange Curacao, Maraschino, Angostura Bitters
No one knows for sure how old this cocktail is, but the first mention of it is in Harry Johnson’s 1882 New and Improved Bartender’s Manual. If you don’t know much about Harry Johnson he was a rival to Jerry Thomas, the author of the first published cocktail book in the U.S. As for why the drink is titled the East India Cocktail, it was a favorite of the British Raj, the British delegates who ruled England’s colonies in the Far East. Unlike today, India did not just refer to the one country but to all of the British Colonies in the Far East at this time (India, Burma, Malaya, and Singapore).

Corpse Reviver
Gin, Grand Marnier, Dolin White Vermouth, Fresh Lemon

This is one of my favorite drink names, it’s so visual and alluring. You cannot help but wonder, what exactly is the tincture that could revive someone from the dead?
Surprisingly, it’s very light and delicious!
The Corpse Reviver originated at the turn of the 20th century, although it took four or five different forms during prohibition. Although today the drink is almost always served after the sun goes down, traditionally The Corpse Reviver was drank in the morning.
“Four taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again.”
- Harry Cradock 1895 (barman at the Savoy, New York City)

Fish House Punch
Dark Rum, Cognac, Maraschino, Green Tea, Champagne

This punch was believed to have been created in 1732 at the Schuylkill (SKOO-kull) Fishing Club – which was a gentleman’s club of sorts in what is now Pennsylvania. George Washington was known to frequent there and it’s a really wonderful thing if he did have a Fish House Punch and you are still able to have one today. George didn’t bring Martha to the club however, as women weren’t allowed in The Fishing Club until 1848. The drink got it’s name from the Club – which everyone referred to as The Fish House. As for rum, the colonists drank almost nothing but – as it was a bi-product of Caribbean sugar production and there were distilleries all over the East Coast.

Jack Rose Cocktail
Applejack, Lemon Juice, Pomegranate Grenadine

No one knows for sure where the Jack Rose Cocktail got it’s name, but there are a couple of theories.
The first is that it is named for it’s color and ingredients – Jack for applejack and Rose for the pink color from the pomegranate grenadine.
The second is it was named for a popular gambler of the time, Bald Jack Rose.
The third is that it was named by the man who supposedly created it, Joseph P Rose, who was a New Jersey restaurateur who once held the title World’s Champion Mixologist.
It is currently Rachel Maddow’s favorite cocktail.

Modern Mule
Vanilla Hawthorn Infused Vodka with Handmade Ginger Beer

Vodka didn’t really become popular in The States until the 70s, but there was one vodka drink that did become popular in the 1950s and that was the Moscow Mule. This is our version with our own handcrafted ginger beer and a vodka that is infused with vanilla, chamomile, spearmint, lemongrass, tilia flowers, blackberry leaves, hawthorn, orange blossoms and rosebuds.
The Moscow Mule was invented in 1941 by John G. Martin, who was an East Indian Food Distributor who sold ginger beer, and John “Jack” Morgan, the proprietor of the Cock ‘n’ Bull Tavern. They put the two together and obviously the rest is history.

Hauté Maté
Maté, Maté, and More Maté

We really can’t thank Santiago and Tanja enough for having us here tonight and we really wanted to make a special cocktail in honor of them and the space – which has brought a breath of fresh air and hometown love to Bend’s downtown.

The Haute Maté is has three different blends of mate in it with prana blend vanilla bean maté gomme syrup, traditional maté infused aged rum, and shanti maté tincture with a splash of fresh lemon, a dash of absinthe, Fee Bros 1864 Bitters and an egg white shake.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE COCKTAIL

Pick some liquors from the list
Tell us some flavors that you like
We’ll make you a cocktail

BEER

Boneyard Brewery :::: RPM IPA :::: Bend, OR $3 (10 oz)
Deschutes Abyss 09 :::: Imperial Stout :::: Bend, OR $6 (5 oz)
Boulevard Brewery :::: Imperial Pilsner :::: Kansas City $4 (5 oz)

ABSINTHE

What is Absinthe?

It is an anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as “grande wormwood”, together with green anise and sweet fennel. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but can also be colorless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as la fée verte (the Green Fairy).

Why was it illegal?
Politics of course.

OBSELLO

SPAIN
100 PROOF (grape spirit)

TASTING NOTE:

Hazy forest green color. Rich aromas of anise, saddle soap, orange spice cake, menthol, nuts, and mint tea follow through on soft, silky entry to a dryish medium-full body with accents of dried citrus and wintergreen. Finishes with a long, herbal anise seed and white pepper fade.
A big, brawny absinthe.

LUCID

FRANCE
124 PROOF (beet spirit)

TASTING NOTE:

Light green color. The aroma is spicy and herbal with nice amounts of anise and fennel.
Nice balance of anise and fennel and wormwood.
The finish has a hint of spiciness that is almost peppery.

VERSINTHE

FRANCE
90 Proof (grape spirit)

TASTING NOTE:

Very light and pale in color.
The nose is pretty with light anise and pretty floral botanicals.
Mellow with a lightly sweet profile but the finish is very bitter.
The finish has a herbaceous zing with a slight numbing and a tinge of bitterness.

VODKA
Crater Lake :::: Grain Mash :::: Bend, OR
diamond:::: Grain Mash :::: Bend, OR
Oregon Spirit Distiller :::: Pendleton Wheat :::: Bend, OR
Ultimat :::: Wheat, Potato, and rYE :::: POLAND
Dry Fly :::: Winter Wheat :::: Washington
Pearl :::: Winter Wheat :::: Canada
Medoyeff :::: Graiin Mash :::: Portland, OR
Blavod BLack Vodka :::: Grain Mash :::: Great Britain

FLAVORED VODKA
Square One :::: Botanical :::: Rigby, Idaho
42 Below :::: Honey Flavored :::: New Zealand
Pinky :::: 12 Botanicals :::: Sweden
Wasabe :::: Sake Flavored :::: The Netherlands
Svedka :::: Lemon :::: Sweden
Svedka :::: Clementine :::: Sweden
Pearl :::: Coconut :::: Canada
Mazama :::: Spicy Peppers :::: Bend, OR
Kofia :::: Coffee and Hazelnut :::: Bend, OR
Stolichnaya :::: Raspberry :::: Russia
Yazi :::: Ginger :::: Hood River, Oregon

GIN
Cascade Mountain:::: Bend, OR
Brokers :::: Great Britain
Ransom Old Tom Gin :::: Sheridan, OR

RUM
Cruzan :::: Coconut :::: St. Croix
1 Barrel :::: Belize
10 Cane :::: Trinidad
Appleton Estate :::: Jamaica
The Old Mill :::: Gold Rum :::: St. Croix (Finished in Oregon)
Batavia-Arrack :::: sugarcane and red rice :::: Java, Indonesia
Cachaça 51 :::: Brazil

WHISKEY
Makers 46 :::: Kentucky, USA
Knob Creek :::: Kentucky, USA
Four Roses Small Batch ::::Kentucky, USA
Jefferson Small Batch ::::Kentucky, USA
Pendleton:::: Canada
McCallan 12 :::: Speyside, Scotland
Glenlivet 18 :::: Speyside, Scotland
Bushmills Black Bush :::: ireland

TEQUILA
CorrAlejos :::: Anejo
Aha Toro :::: Anejo
Chamucos :::: Reposado
Corzo:::: Silver

COGNAC
Hennessy XO :::: France
Hennessy VSOP :::: France

LIQUEURS
Worker Bee :::: honey Mash :::: Yamhill County, Oregon
Blackmaker :::: Root Beer :::: Lewiston, Maine
Tuaca :::: Brandy Base with Vanilla and Orange :::: Italy
St. Germain :::: elderflowers :::: france
Canton :::: Ginger :::: France
Chambord :::: Black Raspberry :::: France
Tópas :::: Black Licorice :::: Iceland
Pimm’s :::: It’’s a secret – but light fruity flavor :::: Great Britain
Bénédictine :::: Herbal :::: France

SIPPING BITTERS
Fernet Branca :::: Italy
Branca Menta :::: Italy
Luxardo Bitters :::: Italy
Liquore Strega :::: Italy
Amaro Nonino :::: Italy
Averna Amaro Sicillano :::: Italy

AQUAVIT
Aalborg Akvavit :::: Denmark

SCHNAPPS
Brennivin :::: It will make you a man :::: Iceland
Kirschwasser :::: Cherry :::: Portland, Oregon

GRAPPA
UvaViva Italiana di Poli :::: Italy

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
By Daniel Okrent

Please listen to Terry Gross’s interview of Daniel Okrent – who just published an enticing history of the temperance movement in the U.S., Last Call:The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.

Here’s the link to listen:

Terry Gross interviews Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Here were some of the highlights:

Gross:  What are some of the  similarities in today’s style of activism that has descended from the temperance movement?

Okrent: “I definitely think that styles of activism and political agitation come directly from what happened in the years leading up to Prohibition. The issue wasn’t entirely Prohibition; that was a stand-in issue for a whole set of issues. Just the same way today I think we can say same-sex marriage is a stand-in issue. If you tell me what you think of same-sex marriage, I can probably tell you what you think about 10 other things.”

Gross: How did animosity towards German beer brewers help the ratification of the Prohibition amendment?

“This was the final thing that enabled the ratification of the Prohibition amendment. You needed 36 states to approve it, and this was happening just as the U.S. was entering World War I. And the great enemy was Germany — and the brewers were seen by the Prohibitionists as tools of the Kaiser. [Or] if they weren’t actually seen as them [by the Prohibitionists], they were used for that purpose to make their political point. So you have a rising tide of strong anti-German feelings sweeping across the country, [and] the brewers got swept away with it.”

Gross:  Tell me more about the connection between the suffrage movement and the temperance movement.

Okrent:  “It largely had to do with the fact that in the 19th century, women had no political rights or property rights. So as the saloon culture began to grow up and we would see men going off to the saloon and getting drunk … Susan B. Anthony, in the late 1840s, makes her first attempt to make a speech in public life at a temperance convention. This was before she connected with the suffragist movement. She rose to speak at a meeting of the Sons of Temperance in New York, and they said, ‘You can’t speak. You don’t have the rights. Women aren’t allowed to speak here.’ And that’s what pushed her into the suffragist movement. So in fact, you could say that the birth of the suffragist movement comes with the wish to get rid of alcohol.”

Gross: What were some of prohibition’s loopholes?

Okrent: “The first was that [alcohol] enabled the farmer to preserve his fruit … which is to say, to take the fruit crop and preserve it over the winter, which literally meant take the apple. Turn it into hard cider. And the hard cider into apple jack, which was legal in the farm districts across the country. Interestingly, the farm districts were the ones that most supported Prohibition.

“The second one was medicinal liquor. I have a bottle on my shelf at home — an empty bottle — that says Jim Beam, for medicinal purposes only. In 1917, the American Medical Association — supporting Prohibition — said there was no reason at all to use alcohol as a therapeutic remedy of any kind. Then they realized with this loophole that there was an opportunity to make some money. And capitalism abhors a vacuum. Within two or three years, you could go into virtually any city in the country and buy a prescription for $3 from your local physician and then take it to your local pharmacy and go home with a pint of liquor every 10 days. And this is really how many of the large distilleries in Kentucky and the middle of the country stayed in business throughout the Prohibition years.

“The third loophole is sacramental wine. Among the groups who opposed Prohibition were the Catholics and the Jews — very avidly — and not necessarily for religious reasons; I think more for cultural reasons. … Tangentially to that, there was the reality that wine is used in the Catholic sacrament for Communion. … The Jews needed their sacramental wine for the Sabbath service and other services. They were entitled — under the rules — for 10 gallons per adult per year. … There was no official way to determine who was a rabbi. So people who claimed to be rabbis would get a license to distribute to congregations that didn’t even exist. On the other side of that, one congregation in Los Angeles went from 180 families to 1,000 families within the very first 12 months of Prohibition. You joined a congregation; you got your wine from your rabbi.”

Some other interesting quips were that prohibition was the first time men and women mingled together at the bar (in the speakeasies).  This led to table service and chairs in the bar – before that men just stood at the bar.

It was also the first time there was call alcohol as during prohibition rubbing alcohol and shoe polish were tampered with to make them semi-digestible.  It is during this time that distilleries (that were still in business making medicinal alcohol) began marketing that their label signified a certain quality.

If you have even the slightest interest in cocktail lore or prohibition history, this interview is a must listen to.

The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

This is a blog post that didn’t get moved over when I moved the blog.  In December, many of us celebrated a little unknown holiday called Repeal Day.  For this very special holiday, I did a pre-prohibition cocktail menu and these are the drinks that were on it.
So for December 5 Repeal Day 2009 (seventy-six years to the day the prohibition was lifted) we served the Whiskey Daisy, the Brandy Smash, the Saratoga Brace up, the Whiskey Cocktail, the Martinez Cocktail, the Stone Fence, and the Santa Cruz Sour. The menu also had little prohibition lore on it like, “Which state never passed prohibition?” to which the answer is Maryland.

As for the drinks:

The Whiskey Daisy

I loved the whiskey daisy so much that I put it on the happy hour menu. It also has a more modern taste as it is well balanced with citrus and sweet. I’ve found that a lot of Thomas’s drinks that they are very sweet because Thomas will use gomme syrup but no citrus. The whiskey daisy satisfies, with a beautiful combination of whiskey, lemon juice, and orgeat syrup. Orgeat syrup is an almond syrup that we make in house using blanched almonds, sugar, water, and a fresh orange.

The Brandy Smash

The key to making a good smash is letting the mint steep long enough in the spirit to get a rich minty flavor. I really love this way of infusing the flavor and you would be quite surprised what a five-minute mint steep will accomplish. I am not the hugest fan of muddling as I believe there are a lot of other ways to impart flavors and muddling is messy and time-consuming. (As I know there are a million muddler aficionados who are cursing me right now, but take a moment and let the mint steep, I think you will be surprised.) The brandy smash consists of mint-infused brandy, angostura bitters, and gomme syrup.

The Saratoga Brace Up

This was my favorite of the all the cocktails on the list. The Saratoga Brace Up is composed of brandy, fresh lime, egg whites, and a splash of absinthe. It had a lot more depth and complexity than a lot of other of Thomas’s cocktails. I loved the frothiness and the creamy mouth feel from the egg whites, the warm vanilla tones from the brandy, and the snap at the end from the absinthe. To this point, this is my darling of the Thomas cocktail repertoire.
A quick note about brandy. I find it nearly impossible to sell as everyone thinks of it as something their grandfather drank when he was ill. I’ve done a bit of wordsmithing and started calling it American Cognac – and by jeez! Now everyone wants it.

The Whiskey Cocktail

The Whiskey Cocktail contains whiskey, boker’s bitters, and gomme syrup. I was excited to put this together because I got to use two of the hard to come by ingredients (boker’s bitters and gomme syrup). I’m quite pleased with my boker’s bitters and they could make warm piss divine. As not very much gomme syrup goes in this drink, I didn’t notice it was all the much sweeter. Very nice; it definitely needs a hard shake as the water opens it up and brightens up the bitters.

The Martinez Cocktail

(I’d be interested to know why he named it this, but there is no mention. I assume it was named after someone.)
This drink too utilizes Boker’s bitters along with Old Tom Gin and maraschino liqueur. If you are not familiar with Old Tom Gin, it is a gin that was popular in the 19th century and is more in a jenever style in that juniper is not the prevailing essence. The Old Tom Gin I use is Ransom, which is made here in Oregon and has a beautiful pink hue to it as it is finished in Pinot Noir barrels. As this drink calls for very little maraschino or boker’s bitters to be added to it – I didn’t find it to be much of a cocktail but rather more along the lines of a gin martini. The Ransom Old Tom Gin has such a demanding flavor that you really have to counter to get another flavor to pop when mixed with it. The maraschino added a sweetness that I didn’t care for, as the gin is already fairly sweet (as far as gins go). Not one of my favorites. But I really wanted to showcase the Old Tom Gin because it is so pre-prohibition and I love that Ransom is an Oregon product and this drink did just that.

The Stone Fence

The Stone Fence is probably one of the easiest cocktails I’ve made of Thomas’s. It is just rye whiskey and apple cider. We have a delicious apple cider that we use to cider brine our pork chop. This is a great drink for fall when there is cider everywhere in the Northwest and there is just an overwhelming overabundance of apples.

The Santa Cruz Sour

This is the drink that we sold the most of. The Santa Cruz Sour is a combination of rum, lemon juice, sugar, and soda water. Santa Cruz rum refers to rum from the Virgin Islands, so I used Cruzan dark (I lived in the U.S. Virgin islands so I have a certain affinity for Cruzan). I used the dark rum because it has a lot more flavor than white rum and I thought it would complement the lemon and sugar better than white rum. Thomas calls for sugar, but I ended up using simple syrup as sugar doesn’t mix well with cold ingredients. I do love Thomas’s call for garnish on this drink: orange and fresh berries (perhaps not the drink to make in the middle of the winter)

Once again let’s thank Jeffrey Morganthaler for recognizing Repeal Day and putting some spark into what should be America’s favorite holiday. Can you imagine a world where you couldn’t have a gorgeous glass of wine with a nice meal or envision a sports bar without beer? December 5 is the day to celebrate. At my bar we are having a special celebration with a pre-prohibition cocktail list with such delights as the whiskey daisy, the saratoga brace up, and santa cruz sour. Anyhow, you have a week to make plans for this special day where you don’t have to have an excuse to drink – to drink is the reason for the holiday.

Here’s some prohibition trivia:

In 1921 prohibition agents seized 414,000 gallons of alcohol. In 1929, eight years into prohibition they siezed 11,860,000 gallons of alcohol (28 times more). Way to go moonshine!

Some commercial wine was still produced in the U.S., but was only available through government warehouses for use in religious ceremonies, particularly for communion in Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Episcopal churches and in some Jewish ceremonies. “Malt and hop” stores popped up across the country and some former breweries turned to selling malt extract syrup, ostensibly for baking and “beverage” purposes.

Whiskey was available by prescription from medical doctors. The labels warned that it was strictly for medicinal purposes and any other uses were illegal. But even so doctors freely wrote these prescriptions and druggists filled them without question, and the number of “patients” increased dramatically. (Sound like something else that is currently illegal?)

Even some prominent citizens and politicians later admitted to having used alcohol during Prohibition. President Harding always kept the White House bar well stocked with bootleg liquor, though, as a Senator… he had voted for Prohibition!

Prohibition also presented lucrative opportunities for organized crime to take over the importation (“bootlegging”), manufacture, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Al Capone, one of the most infamous bootleggers of them all, built his criminal empire largely on profits from illegal alcohol.

With alcohol production largely in the hands of criminals and unregulated clandestine home manufacturers, the quality of the product varied widely. There were many cases of people going blind or suffering from brain damage after drinking “bathtub gin” made with industrial alcohol or various poisonous chemicals.

Yay for Repeal Day!