Repeal Day Cocktails

By Adam Rains

As legend and history will say, on a dark January day in 1919 the United States Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment, outlawing alcohol and put an end to public drunkenness… so they thought!

For thirteen years, Prohibition in the United States was a dark time, as the criminalization of alcohol not only led to a rise of civil delinquency and organized crime but also to the loss of American craft, distillation, and consumption of fine spirits.

Below are some classics and modern twists on the cocktails overflowing this celebratory day.

The Glenfiddich Blood & Sand cocktail itself dates back to 1922 and Rudolph Valentino’s movie “Blood & Sand” during the heart of the Prohibition era. Glenfiddich is the pioneering brand of the family owned William Grant & Sons distillery.

Blood & Sand

Ingredients:

1 part Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
1 part Cherry Herring Liqueur
1 part Lillet Rouge (or other Sweet Vermouth)
1 part fresh orange juice
1 Orange half-moon slice

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Pour over fresh ice in a rocks glass and garnish with an orange half-moon slice.

Celebrate the end of prohibition with a classic cocktail like Hendrick’s Cucumber Southside, a vibrant and refreshing libation that will take you on an unusual voyage and instill a feeling of true appreciation for the gin cocktails of yore.

Hendrick’s Cucumber Southside

Ingredients:

1 1/2 parts Hendrick’s Gin
3/4 part fresh lemon juice
3/4 part simple syrup
3 cucumber wheels
5 to 8 mint leaves
1 cucumber wheel to garnish

Preparation: Combine ingredients in a mixing container. (We keenly suggest a gentle muddle.) Add ice, shake with vigor and strain. Garnish with a fourth cucumber wheel and serve in an iced rocks or chilled martini glass.

Lillet: To pay homage to one of the most classic cocktails from the 20th century, try the Vesper Martini, made popular in the 1950’s by Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale. Lillet, the French aperitif, is a key component of this cocktail as well as many of the classic cocktails created after Repeal Day.

Vesper Martini

Ingredients:

1/2 part Lillet Blanc
1 1/2 parts Hendrick’s gin
3/4 part Reyka Vodka

Preparation: Shake—do not stir!—with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

The Girvan Sour

Ingredients:

2 parts Girvan Patent Still No 4 Apps
3/4 parts fresh lemon juice
3/4 parts simple syrup
2 dashes Bob’s vanilla bitters

Preparation: Combine ingredients and shake well. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

The Tullamore Dewlep

Ingredients:

2 oz. Tullamore D.E.W. Original
1/2 oz. white vanilla sugar syrup
Dash peach bitters
12 mint leaves

Preparation: Pour all ingredients into a cup. Gently muddle mint. Fill with crushed ice and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a sprig of mint and straw (Requires use of Julep cup for maximum impact)