Keith Richards on stage during the “cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour”, 1972
In the crazy 1960s, the youth turned against the previous generation as perhaps none other ever has. Parents are always seen as squares, and more boring than your peers, but in this tumultuous time everything seemed out of control. By the end of the decade, sex was free, drugs were cool, and cocktails were kicked to the curb with your dad’s jazz record collection. By 1970, hippies, long hair, flower power, black power, and psychedelic drugs were in. The alcohol industry was in a free-fall and put itself into a medically induced coma for two decades, thanks to canned juice, corn syrup, and vodka.
1970 is calling. And its bringing vodka!
Drinking has been at the center of many ills in society since prehistoric populations realized that grain sitting in water would form a crude beer. Residue from a beer-like fermented drink was recently found in stone vessels in Raqefet Cave in Israel that is thought to be 13,000 years old – which predates the earliest evidence of civilization and early cities. Ever since, alcohol has played a role in safe hydration, nourishment (it was referred to as liquid bread), and religious and political ceremony. And while it was expected that alcohol would be present and consumed from dawn to dusk, it was never socially acceptable to drink to excess. Sometimes it happened, and people were given a pass when life turned on them and they need ‘a bender’, but it was, across virtually all civilized places, unacceptable to become a problem drinker. Drinking to the point of drunkenness was looked down upon in the eyes of religion and civilized society. Until the 1970s.
In the late 1960s, marijuana, acid, LSD, and a whole host of drugs were used to alter reality. Tortured writers had been drinking to excess while creating for centuries, and heroin supercharged, then killed off far too many jazz greats. But this was mainstream – your next door neighbor. Alcohol had a problem. It was for sipping, celebrating, and socializing – not for going on a trip. Drinks very quickly turned from the 4oz Martini to16oz Harvey Wallbangers to respond and compete. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger referred
to their 1972 tour to promote the ‘Exile on Main St.’ album as the cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour. They traveled with an army on a custom painted 747, including a private doctor who’s official job was to keep Mick Jagger alive, but his real asset was a suitcase full of every kind of drug known, and a pad of prescriptions so he could write scripts on the fly for anyone in the entourage – or any of the beautiful girls who were allowed to pass the security guard.
Binge drinking in the 1980s
Vodka has been around in Poland and later Russia since the 14th century. It didn’t really hit the world scene until the 1920s, coming along with the Russian political refugees fleeing the newly formed Soviet Union. Just in time for Prohibition in America. It would be another two decades until it hit the shores of the US in any volume to be counted – but boy did it take off. It was typically a replacement for gin in the host of cocktails made popular by the Mad Men of the 50s and 60s. But by the 70s, the flavorless and odorless spirit began to be dumped into juices and mixers. These huge alcoholic drinks were meant to compete with drugs for the attention of the youth of America. Getting drunk was no longer looked down upon – it was now the goal of social drinking. By the end of the 1970s, drunk driving and binge drinking were common, and tearing at the fabric of society. Two-fer nights, ladies’ nights, upside down margaritas, and fishbowl drinks were what the kids wanted – not craft cocktails. Bar owners realized that quality of materials had no impact on sales. So juices with artificial flavors and grenadine made from corn made their way onto the speed rail. The 100 year history of crafted cocktails and mixed
drinks was virtually forgotten overnight. The nuances of the martini, dry martini, wet martini, perfect martini, dirty martini, and the Martinez were replaced with the Screaming Orgasm, Sex on the Beach, Adios Motherfucker, and of course the Slow Comfortable Screw Against the Wall. And shots. Nothing says let’s get drunk like shots. The Buttery Nipple, the Redheaded Slut, the Wet Dream, Cum in a Hot Tub, and of course the Blow Job. Full of artificial flavors and dyes, they resulted in a drink that sounded fun when you were drunk and ordering it but tasted terrible.
Luckily by the latter part of the last century, signs of life were emerging. Thankfully we never seem to drink what our parents drank, and small serious cocktail bars started opening up in New York, San Francisco, and London – and along with them a small army of bartenders who began looking to the past and saw the future.
In 1994, Angel’s Share, a Japanese-style speakeasy, opened in New York in the Japanese restaurant Village Yokocho, restoring an emphasis on traditional Japanese bartending technique. The craft of cocktail making never left Japan, and they raised the nuanced technique of mixing drinks to an art form while we were slurping Martinis, and later Cosmos. Then in the late hours of December 31st, 1999, the influential craft cocktail bar Milk & Honey opened in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, eventually expanding and moving to the Flatiron District. Inspired by Angel’s Share, Sasha Petraske focused on precision and formality – and drunkenness was not permitted. This is where you went to get a great – truly great – cocktail. He created a list of House Rules to distinguish the bar from the other meat market bars in New York:
1. No name-dropping, no star fucking.
2. No hooting, hollering, shouting or other loud behavior.
3. No fighting, play fighting, no talking about fighting.
4. Gentlemen will remove their hats. Hooks are provided.
5. Gentlemen will not introduce themselves to ladies. Ladies, feel free to start a conversation or ask the bartender to introduce you. If a man you don’t know speaks to you, please lift your chin slightly and ignore him.
6. Do not linger outside the front door.
7. Do not bring anyone unless you would leave that person alone in your home. You are responsible for the behavior of your guests.
8. Exit the bar briskly and silently. People are trying to sleep across the street. Please make all your travel plans and say all farewells before leaving the bar.
The small establishment had no menu and seated just over 20 people – making it virtually impossible to get into. But they had a laser-focus on the making of perfect cocktails and found a new breed of craftsmen wanting to work and create behind the bar, using freshly squeezed juices, infused spirits, and house-made bitters. Many of those creating drinks at Milk & Honey have gone onto become owners of world-class cocktail bars in their own right. Soon copies were springing up across the country from Dallas to San Francisco, accelerating the crafty cocktail renaissance.
The quest for quality materials has resulted in a bevy of small craft distilleries, and niche providers of everything from bitters to mixers. Thankfully, artisanal olives, real grenadine, small batch spirits, and highly crafted bar tools for the home are now easily available. You can still throw one of those red Frankenstein not-really-a-cherry-anymore maraschino cherries in your drink, or you can choose to drop a proper Luxardo gourmet maraschino cherry or homemade brandied cherries in and take your drink to the next level.
Cheers!
- Bill Stott
AotCB-016
