They're called "classics" for a reason!

As I type this I am happily enjoying what one writer called "basically, a perfect martini with an ounce of OJ." He would be correct. As I am always looking for new ways to satisfy my (un)healthy fascination of all things gin-ish, I have been meaning to try this most simple of classic cocktails, the Bronx Cocktail, forever. Why I never got around to it I have no idea. Must be that flood of gimlets, negronis, side cars, and Last Words...not to mention martinis....that have been enlarging my liver lately. And don't even get me started on the advent of G&T season. Christ, it's like I'm in the middle of an ADD-driven, alcohol fueled funhouse! Also you long time drinkers....er, readers, know of my respect for tradition on the planet Cocktailania, and this pre-prohibition tipple harkens back to a time of crashing stock markets, lost fortunes, and loose morals. Which I guess makes it the perfect drink for today. Gee, everything old IS new again!
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Bronx Cocktail
from various sources

ingredients:
ice
2 ounces gin
1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 ounce sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce dry vermouth
dash or two of orange bitters
twist of orange peel for garnish

method:
Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full with ice. Add the gin, orange juice, sweet and dry vermouths and the bitters. Shake well, then strain into a cocktail (martini) glass. Garnish with the twist of orange peel.

The Last Word in going green!

I have to say I am intoxicated by the whole "going green" thing that is apparently the thing to do right now. I thought I would actually have to change my life and my way of interacting with the outside world. Turns out the only interacting I had to do was with the guy behind the counter at my local liquor store, and he's a pretty nice guy who was only too eager to help me be a better human. And the biggest change in my world is a more well stocked home bar. Sustainability has never felt better.

Turns out the Last Word cocktail is a pre-prohibition drink that was reborn (according to this article in The Seattle Times) just up I-5 from Portland by Murray Stenson at the Seattle bar Zig Zag Café. Stenson discovered it an obscure 1951 cocktail book called "Bottom's Up" by Ted Saucier. Since Stenson put it on his menu it has washed across bars all over the country. It is definitely one of my new favorite ways to get my glow on. It's intense, with the sweetness that many old school cocktails have, yet the lime juice component is the perfect counterbalance to keep everything in check. A beautiful light green color also makes this, for me, the ultimate spring sipper. A little too heavy for hot weather imbibing, this is a perfect transition cocktail between the Manhattans of winter and the G&T's and margaritas of summer.
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The Last Word Cocktail

serves 1
ingredients:
1 ounce gin
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce green Chartreuse
1 ounce maraschino liqueur

method:
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: cocktail capers at PDX's Teardrop Lounge!