The other night I had an insanely disturbing dream. I woke up panicked in a pool of sweat. I dreamt that I was living during the height of Prohibition, and couldn’t get a drop to drink. Gasp!
Apparently not everyone suffered without a drink during Prohibition in the roaring ’20s. In the remake of the movie based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great American novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, the booze is readily flowing. The boot-leggin adventures splash around the story, but the only cocktail called out by name in the book is the classic Gin Rickey.
Coincident with the opening of the movie, Tanqueray Gin brand ambassador, Angus Winchester, rolled into Austin to give a history lesson on the lovely spirit and pimp his version of “Dutch courage,” aka gin (gin is enjoying a resurgence in the past few years. Watch for my story on Texas gins on June 1.)
Mr. Winchester poured us tastes of Tanqueray London Dry, Tanqueray Ten and Tanqueray Rangpur, made from the Indian rangpur lime, as well as mixed a couple cocktails to show off the versatility of gin. The main botanical in gin, juniper, will jump in bed with any flavor. It snuggles up to sweet fruit juices, puckers with sharp citrus flavors and fondles bitter flavors like Campari.
So what does that have to do with The Great Gatsby? Bathtub gin was purportedly all the rage during Prohibition and it’s rumored that the well-heeled got their grubby mitts imported gins like Tanqueray by delivery of floatable cases.
If you are feeling a bit nostalgic after watching the flick, skip getting the pixie flapper haircut that Carey Mulligan is sporting and instead try a few of these classic Prohibition-era gin cocktails with recipes courtesy of our friends at Tangueray.
Gin Rickey
Said to be the preferred pour of F. Scott Fitzgerald, this simple serve is best imbibed on a hot summer day. Don’t forget the chunky ice cubes.
- 1.25 ounces Tanqueray London Dry gin
- 1 ounce lime juice
- 5 parts soda water
Build in a highball glass, stir, top with soda water. Drag to mix and garnish with a lime wedge.
French 75
This snappy little champagne cocktail’s claim to fame is that it’s the only drink in the classic canon created during Prohibition.
- 1.25 ounces Tanqueray Ten
- 0.5 ounce simple
- 0.5 ounce lemon juice
- Top with champagne
Shake and strain into a rocks glass and top with champagne.
White Lady
Introduced in the late 20’s, The White Lady was born from the drink the “Delilah,” which included crème de menthe. The Savoy’s Harry Craddock replaced it with orange liqueur and it became an instant classic.
- 1.5 ounces Tanqueray London Dry Gin
- .75 ounce orange liqueur
- .75 ounces lemon juice
Pour all of the ingredients into a shaker, fill with ice, shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass.
The Southside
The Southside is the signature cocktail at the legendary former speakeasy the 21 Club. It’s also said to be the favorite drink of notorious Prohibition-era bootlegger Al Capone and his gang.
- 1.25 ounces Tanqueray Ten
- 0.5 ounce lime juice
- 0.5 ounce simple
- 2 sprigs of mint
- Soda
Muddle one mint sprig with lime & simple. Add Tanqueray and shake well. Pour into glass over crushed ice and stir until the outside of the glass frosts. Top with soda and garnish with sprig of mint.
The Franklin
Let’s not forget Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously celebrated the end of Prohibition with a dirty gin martini. Whether it was with Tanqueray – one of the few gins today that was in production in the 30s – or not is lost to history, but this classic cocktail ushered in a new era of American drinking.
- 1.5 ounces Tanqueray London Dry Gin
- 1 tbsp dry vermouth
- 2 tbsp olive juice
- 2 olives
Fill a mixer with all ingredients including the olives. Cover and shake hard 3 – 4 times. Strain contents of the mixer into the cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive.
Thank god my nightmare isn’t real and I don’t have to buy gin from bootleggers. I’ll be mixing these all summer. Drop by and join me.
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