From London came the Tom Collins based on gin, from New York the Manhattan based on rye whisky, from Paris came the Bloody Mary (although this had its real origin in the burnings unleashed on the Protestants by Queen Mary of England, and from Havana, Cuba, and the Floridita Bar comes the Daiquiri.
London: The Tom Collins
The Tom Collins is said to have been named after a bartender who created the famous cocktail when he worked at Limmer's hotel in Conduit Street in London during the late 1800s. For very obvious reasons, the cocktail was gin based. England, and particularly London, was awash with the spirit (see Hogarth's famous etchings) commonly known as Mother's Ruin. It wasn't until about 60 years after the invention of this cocktail that controls on its production and sale were introduced but gin was well established by then as the drink of choice.
The Tom Collins cocktail requires a good balance of sweet and sour, syrup and lemon juice, and gin. In Scotland one can ask for the Sandy Collins (with Scotch) and in France, the Pierre Collins (with Brandy).
Recipe for a Tom Collins:
- 2 shots gin,
- 1 shot lemon juice and half shot sugar syrup
Shake well with ice and strain into a Collins glass, top with soda and garnish with lemon.
New York: The Manhattan
The sweet, smoky flavour of the Manhattan is said to echo the smells and flavours of NYC.
One legend says the cocktail takes its name from the Manhattan Club, a famous Fifth Avenue bar for Members only, popular with politicians like Franklin D. Roosevelt The cocktail was invented sometime in the late 1800's when Winston Churchill's mother threw a party in honour of New York’s new governor at the Manhattan Club, and asked for a cocktail to be created for the occasion. The result was The Manhattan, a blend of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and orange bitters.
Today there are three main variations of the cocktail: the Sweet Manhattan (cherry garnish), a Dry Manhattan (dry vermouth and a lemon twist garnish), and a Perfect Manhattan (sweet & dry vermouth with an orange twist and cherry garnish).
Recipe for a Manhattan:
Stir two shots American whiskey, 1 shot sweet vermouth and 1 dash orange bitters with ice. Strain into a Martini glass and garnish with cherry.
Havana, Cuba: The Daiquiri
Associated for decades with Ernest "Papa" Hemingway who lived in Havana for many years and drank frozen Daiquiris in the Floridita bar, the drink is really associated with Cuba's heyday in the twenties when Prohibition began in the USA and the Chicago gangsters more or less ran the liquor trade in Cuba. This continued right up until Castro's takeover in the 1950s.
Its origins date back to the late 19th century when Cuban freedom fighters were waging war against the Spanish. At the time the favourite drink was rum and lemon juice but round about 1898 an American engineer named Jennings S. Cox mixed rum, limes and sugar with ice the drink was named after an iron mine, Daiquiri.
Today Hemingway's seat is roped off in the Floridita on 557 Calle Obispo, a place of homage to his many fans. NB, they still make the best daiquiris here.
Recipe:
- Shake 2 shots light rum,
- 1 shot fresh squeezed lime juice and half shot syrup with ice
Strain into Martini glass, garnish with lime wedge.
Paris, France: Bloody Mary
The name refers to the English Queen Mary I who tried to re-establish Catholicism in England after Henry VIII had split from Rome. She burned protestants at the stake and this earned her the name Bloody Mary.
A French bartender by the name of Fernand Petiot was experimenting with vodka and tinned tomatoes to which he added Worcestershire sauce and pepper. It's not known if it got the name Bloody Mary then or when Petiot went to New York. At the time, vodka was unobtainable in New York so he used gin as the base. His boss thought the name Bloody Mary was too vulgar and changed the name to Red Snapper (by which name the gin-based drink is still known).
Bloody Mary is reckoned to be the most popular vodka-based cocktail in the world. Variations include additions like celery, horseradish, mustard and balsamic vinegar. With Scotch it is known as a Bloody Joseph while a Virgin Mary is a non-alcoholic version.
Recipe:
- 2 shots vodka, 5 tomato juice
- 3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
- Half a lemon juiced
- pinch celery salt
- 2 pinches black pepper
Shake with ice and strain into ice-filled Collins glasses, garnish with lemon wedge and a stick of celery.
Mari Nicholson - Award Winning travel writer and historian, member of British Guild of Travel Writers.Travelwriters.co.uk, and Society of Women Writers and ...
