Rachel Maddow bullies political pundits on MSNBC show but she says if she couldn't do that she'd "bully people about what they drink."
So begins another round of Rachel Maddow, classic cocktail expert. I've previously written about Maddow's excellent Jack Rose recipe and this audio clip is no different. Here she riffs about why classic cocktails are the only way to go.
A few points. In the transcript, Maddow mentions her prized 1953 edition of a certain book called Esquire Handbook for Hosts. While it's (of course) out of print there are several copies on Amazon listed for as low as four bucks and change. There's also the original 1949 edition which can be had for one dollar.
Here's the video:
The six basics Maddow mentions are the Manhattan, the old fashioned,
the daiquiri, the champagne cocktail, the martini and the stinger.
Being
a young'n I had never heard of the stinger, which was an after-dinner cocktail that mostly died out in the '60s. It combines two sweet liquors -- brandy and white creme de menthe -- with ice. The one ingreident in all the drinks is bitters. As Maddow mentions, Angostura bitters are available in every grocery store. Usually, they're in the soda aisle near the pre-mixed cocktail syrups (ugh) and they cost about $6 for a 2-ounce bottle. Even drinking a cocktail per night, that bottle would still last a year. I always recommend keeping a bitter or two on hand because they won't go bad and you never know when you're going to need them.
Comments (0)