Episode 57 - Cooling Cocktails - A Fizz and Florodora

What happens when you combine hot hot weather with a broken refrigerator?  You lose a Gentleman of Elegant Leisure, that’s what happens.  With Gentleman Jason out of commission, Gents Fred and Dave carried on though and have brought this combination of cooling cocktails to you to help beat the heat. 

What happens when the writer of this blog also happens to be the Gent that wasn’t there?  You get a very flimsy blog post. 

First up was the Crushed Strawberry Fizz.  This is based on the classic gin fizz as made by Jerry Thomas and is taken from David Wondrich’s book, “Imbibe”.  The difference between the gin fizz and this drink is that this has crushed strawberries in it.


Crushed Strawberry Fizz
-Jerry Thomas 1876, from Imbibe by David Wondrich

2-3 fresh strawberries
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 ounces gin
4-5 dashes (1 1/2 tsp) of gum syrup
soda water

Use a small mouthed 6 to 8 ounce glass.  Muddle strawberries with lemon juice and sugar syrup in a cocktail shaker.  Add gin and ice and shake well.  Double strain into the glass and fill glass with chilled soda water.

Knock this one back quick.  It’s not meant to be lingered over.  You don’t want a slightly warm, slightly fizzy drink.  You want a really cold, sparkling drink.  You’ll have to listen to the Gents to see what they thought of it.  

Also from Imbibe, Gents “D” and “F” tossed together a Florodora.  This drink is named after a musical that was first performed in London and then crossed the pond to entertain the Broadway audiences of New York City.  

Florodora
-The New York Evening World, 1901 from Imbibe by David Wondrich

2 tsp raspberry syrup
juice from a whole lime
1 1/2 ounces gin
ginger ale (the Gents used ginger beer)

Put the first 3 ingredients in an “ordinary glass” and half fill it with cracked ice.  Fill the remainder og the glass with the ginger ale and stir until it is ice cold.  Pour the whole thing into a “cold stein” (how about a chilled glass) and garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.  You could also build the whole thing in the glass you’re serving it in.

Again, dear reader, you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out what the Gents thought of it or, better yet, make it yourself and leave a comment below.

Gentleman Jason's fridge is working fine.  Thanks for asking!