# Cocktails/Drinks by Generations



## Sweetness (Aug 25, 2005)

My friend and I are throwing a party where we will feature music from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, which have been remixed into modern music. During this party, we will have drinks from each of these decades and since this forum is fulled with old fogies D), I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on drinks which classified these eras. Thanks!
-Louis


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## WisBadger77 (Jun 12, 2005)

Can't go wrong with marts and G&T's.


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## The Gabba Goul (Feb 11, 2005)

how about Scotch all acrost the board???but seriously...I've only been _legally_ drinking for a bit more than a year, so I couldnt tell you about the other eras...but going out one tends to notice that the cosmo is deffinately THE drink of it's era (although I find it to be the quint-essence of a "girly drink")...my personal favs are the Martini, Old Fashioned, Highball, G&T, and Sidecar...I have no idea what era any of those are from...but I think they're all pretty old time-ey...

*****
[image]https://radio.weblogs.com/0119318/Screenshots/rose.jpg[/image]"See...What I'm gonna do is wear a shirt only once, and then give it right away to the laundry...eh?
A new shirt every day!!!"​


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## Sweetness (Aug 25, 2005)

Actually, I found what I was looking for!
https://web.archive.org/web/2000090...om/food/cocktails/library/weekly/aa061799.htm (if anyone was curious)


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## ChubbyTiger (Mar 10, 2005)

Odd, all of my favorite drinks are listed between the 1870s and 1930s. Guess that makes me pretty old fashioned (1920s). 

CT


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## AddisonBelmont (Feb 2, 2006)

I don't know the answer to the question, but since the answer is already located, I'll just tell a story. Actually, two stories. One funny, one very, very sad.

Funny: In the mid-195Os, I was 5 or 6 years old, and at my grandmothers' house for the day when I was caught by the cleaning woman eating--or maybe just chewing: I can't remember--the berries off the bushes out front. She dragged me into the house by my ear and presented to my grandmother who grilled me about which berries I had been eating. After she determined it was only the juniper bush, she calmed down and called off the trip to the doctor to get my stomach pumped.

I can still remember her words: "Sweetie, I'll bet you'll love a good martini when you grow up!" She was right, and I not only do I love them, I was also lucky enough to be old enough to drink them with her at her favorite supper club--also a mid-195Os survivor--before she died. 
................
Sad.
Martinis are my winter drink. In summer, I wasnt something just as old, but more casual. A few years back, the big ocean-liner-style beach house at Lake Michigan & North Venue was redone, and it has an outdoor deck/bar, which is the ideal place for a drink on a cool June evening, with the pink sky & the blue water & the purple deco silhuoette of the Palmolive building just down the way. Just the perfect place evening for...a daiquiri.

Addison Belmont: I'd like a Daiquiri, please. 
Waitress: Oh, I'm sorry, wer'e all out of strawberries.
AB: I didn't ask for a strawberry Daiquiri.
W: Oh, I'm sorry. What do you want?
AB: A Daiquiri.
W: I'm not sure if we have those...
AB: Could you check?

(later)
W: I'm sorry, the machine is broken. We can't do frozen drinks.
AB: I didn't ask for a frozen Daiquiri.
W: What is it you want?
AB: a Daiquiri. On the rocks.
W: Well, I don't think we have the ingredients.
AB: you don't have _rum?_
W: Oh, we have rum. Would you like rum?
AB: Do you have limes?
W: Yes, we have limes.
AB: Do you have sugar.
W: Sure.
AB: And you have ice?
W: Of course.
AB: Then you can make a Daiquiri.
W: OHHHH! You want a..._rum....Margarita_...without salt!


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## ChubbyTiger (Mar 10, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by AddisonBelmont_
> 
> Addison Belmont: I'd like a Daiquiri, please.
> Waitress: Oh, I'm sorry, wer'e all out of strawberries.
> ...


lol I've gotten the same thing! My other pet peeve is having to specify that I want my Martini with gin and not vodka. 

And getting a weird look when asking for a Margarita straight up. Or trying to explain the recipe for a Negroni. Then explaining that, no, it doesn't need crushed ice or an umbrella just because it's red.

CT


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## JBZ (Mar 28, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by AddisonBelmont_
> 
> I don't know the answer to the question, but since the answer is already located, I'll just tell a story. Actually, two stories. One funny, one very, very sad.
> 
> ...


The second story is the reason that, more often than not, I'll simply order a Maker's Mark on the rocks. Everyone has it, and it beats pounding my head against a wall over and over and over...


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## I_Should_Be_Working (Jun 23, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Louis M_
> 
> My friend and I are throwing a party where we will feature music from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, which have been remixed into modern music. During this party, we will have drinks from each of these decades and since this forum is fulled with old fogies D), I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on drinks which classified these eras. Thanks!
> -Louis


How about...

50's...Tang and Vodka
60's...Gin and Cola
70's...Blue Nun
80's...Bartles and James

The very best fads from each decade.


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by I_Should_Be_Working_
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I saw the list and Tequila Sunrise (the Eagles?) and Pina Colada (you know, that song about drinking those and getting caught in the rain, etc. etc.) So which came first, the songs or the popularity of the drinks?

Agree with Cosmopolitans for the 1990s. Kamikazes, too.

In the 1980's, I recall Corona beer being really popular.


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## I_Should_Be_Working (Jun 23, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by VS_
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And how about Zima? Metrosexual in the 90's, before its time.

I'd also have on hand some wine in a box, though I saw that's recently making a re-appearance on the strength of screw caps and plastic corks.

Maybe some Michelob Dry, Mai Tai mix, and lemon/lime juice in a bottle. I'm rambling...


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## jbmcb (Sep 7, 2005)

Not exactly sure about the timing, but:

80's - Colt 45, Harvy's Bristol Cream
90's - Apple Martini, Ice beer (Molson ice?) 


Good/Fast/Cheap - Pick Two


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## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

For a 50s drink that is almost unheard of now (in 10 years in the restaurant and bar industry, I never served one), I would go for the Harvey Wallbanger although this would require that you go buy a bottle of Galliano (which you will probably never use for anything else). 

For the 60s, you could have Cuba Libres. Rum and coke with lime is still a popular drink today but hardly anyone realizes that it has a name (probably because Americans don't vacation in Cuba anymore). Most won't even realize that it is just rum and coke if you use a high quality rum.

Edit: Spelling mistake

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## I_Should_Be_Working (Jun 23, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Badrabbit_
> 
> For a 50s drink that is almost unheard of now (in 10 years in the restaurant and bar industry, I never served one), I would go for the Harvey Wallbanger although this would require that you go buy a bottle of Galliano (which you will probably never use for anything else).
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My mental image of a rum and coke has forever been co-opted by "Bacardi" and "Cola Guy". Not that I have ever been one for this drink, but those commercials...I'd never think Cuban again.


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## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by I_Should_Be_Working_
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That is why I suggested high quality rum not rubbing alcohol and sugar (which I think are the main ingredients in Bacardi). Since Cuban rums are unavailable in the US, you can look for the Ron Matusalem distilled outside of Cuba that is made in the Cuban Style or better yet find the real thing (Havana Club) through a more daring (and less law abiding) distributor.

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## bosthist (Apr 4, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by Badrabbit_
> 
> For the 60s, you could have Cuba Libras. Rum and coke with lime is still a popular drink today but hardly anyone realizes that it has a name (probably because Americans don't vacation in Cuba anymore). Most won't even realize that it is just rum and coke if you use a high quality rum.


Cuba Libres are a particular favorite of mine, but date to a little earlier than the 1960s. They're good for parties because they are easy to make. From Charles Baker Jr.'s _The Gentleman's Companion: The Exotic Drinking Book_ first published in 1939:

"After clinical experimenting for which our insurance carriers heartily dislike us, we tested several variations of the original [Cuba Libre], with this result: the Improved _Cuba Libre_ consists of 1 big jigger of Carta de Oro Bacardi, the juice of 1 small green lime, and the lime peel after squeezing. Put in a Tom Collins glass, muddle well to get oil worked up over the sides of the glass, add lots of ice lumps, and fill up with a bottle of chilled coca cola. Stir up once, and _salud y pesetas_!"

The version I favor has a dash of bitters and splash of gin in it. The key is to use the juice of a whole lime to cut the Coca Cola.


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## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by bosthist_
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I was actually just guessing as to time frame (I'm 31). I do remember seeing a great many references to the drink in books I've read from the 50s and 60s so I assumed that this was when the drink was most popular.

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## bosthist (Apr 4, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by Badrabbit_
> I was actually just guessing as to time frame (I'm 31). I do remember seeing a great many references to the drink in books I've read from the 50s and 60s so I assumed that this was when the drink was most popular.


I'm 38, so I don't remember the heyday of the Cuba Libre either. But I am a historian so I have to do what historians do. 

I've recommended it before, but anyone looking for a fun read should track down The Gentleman's Companion, which covers food in one volume, drinking in the other.


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## Badrabbit (Nov 18, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by bosthist_
> 
> I've recommended it before, but anyone looking for a fun read should track down The Gentleman's Companion, which covers food in one volume, drinking in the other.


I'll check that one out. I'm currently writing a book about my former life tentatively called "How to Party Like a Rock Star and Not Pass Out and Choke to Death." It's probably not going to be in the same vein as the one you suggest. Mine is mostly about Jagermeister, Rock'n'Roll and women with absolutely no morals. I hope to collaborate with Keith Richards as he seems the worlds foremost expert on the subject.

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Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets. 
Anthony Burgess


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## eromlignod (Nov 23, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Louis M_
> 
> My friend and I are throwing a party where we will feature music from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, which have been remixed into modern music. During this party, we will have drinks from each of these decades and since this forum is fulled with old fogies D), I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on drinks which classified these eras. Thanks!
> -Louis


Fifties = Gimlet, Martini (regular)
Sixties = Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour
Seventies = Harvey Wallbanger, Screwdriver
Eighties = Fuzzy Navel, Kamikaze
Nineties = Silly Shots (Sex on the Beach, Buttery Nipple, etc.)

Don
Kansas City


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## WisBadger77 (Jun 12, 2005)

One of the best rums I've ever had was Wray and Nephew's Coco Mania, bought at the duty free store in the airport in Jamaica. $5 for a 750ml bottle. Way better than Malibu.


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## Full Canvas (Feb 16, 2006)

The 1960s cocktail for a student who was "soooo fisticated!"

If you will kindly allow one more member reminiscence, the AAAC James Bond fans may enjoy this. In 1969, as undergrad student, I was taking an extra-curricular course in wine tasting from Harold and Frances Torbert in La Jolla. 

Two of us (on the sly) were taken along by Dr. and Mrs. Torbert to a garden party at the home of Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. The home overlooks La Jolla from what was a hillside WWII watchtower location that scouted for Japanese submarines!

From my reading of Ian Fleming's novels, I decided that one of Bond's martinis would be just the ticket when a roving waiter asked for my drink order. I recited Bond's "shaken, not stirred" formula, and the waiter sent me to the bar beneath a huge canopy alongside the house to go toe-to-toe with the bartender about my crazy request.

The bartender saw a naive, underage student coming from twenty paces and decided to have some fun. When he asked "dry or extra-dry?", I confidently stated: "extra-dry!"

Well, the bartender's way of making my martini "extra-dry" was to stir the vodka and ice before straining it into a proper glass. The vermouth? Extra-dry meant slowly passing the vermouth bottle between a strong light source (the afternoon's bright southern California sun) and the glass of chilled vodka poured for me only seconds before. He explained that a mere dry martini meant unscrewing the vermouth bottle cap two turns and shaking an actual drop of vermouth into the chilled vodka.

I washed-down my green eggs and ham with an extra-dry martini!


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## iammatt (Sep 17, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by bosthist_
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I agree. They are not hard to find at used book stores. The recipes in the food book are hilarious. It is hard to imagine that prople took "Tiki" seriously in recent history.

My favorite drink is a Negroni. This is probably due to the fact that it was the specialty of the bar closest to where I lived after college. Americanos were served in summer, but the amount of Campari is just too much in those. I also like a martini if my wife is making them. Gin only, not too dry.


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## southampton man (Mar 15, 2006)

My parents (socially active in the 1950's) used to love a " gin and It"...50% gin and 50% Italian (dry) vermouth..basically a martinified dry martini.My Dad also loved a Pink Gin..gin with a dash of Angostura Bitters.At Christmas my Grandmother drank Port and lemonade.

never wear brown after six


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## Rich (Jul 10, 2005)

Frank Zappa had a song called WPLJ (white port and lemon juice). Was this a fashionable 70s/80s drink or is it code for something else? There is a NYC rock radio station called WPLJ (but why?).


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## 44XT (Aug 2, 2005)

70's, has to be Harvey Wallbangers


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## KenR (Jun 22, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Rich_
> 
> Frank Zappa had a song called WPLJ (white port and lemon juice). Was this a fashionable 70s/80s drink or is it code for something else? There is a NYC rock radio station called WPLJ (but why?).


And WPLJ has been around since the 70's. Coincidence?


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

For the 60s and 70s, the Manhattan was really common.


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## Chris Despos (Nov 30, 2005)

I remember White Russians and Southern Comfort Manhattans in the 70's.


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## bosthist (Apr 4, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by KenR_
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WPLJ was a song from the 1950s by the Four Deuces, part of a proud tradition of doo-***/rhythm and blues songs about drinking, along the lines of "Nip Sip" and "One Mint Julep" by the Clovers. Zappa covered it. An excellent list of 1940s/1950s songs about drinking can be found here:


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by bosthist_
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Outstanding. Another nagging question from adolescence answered by the incredible bosthist.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Badrabbit_
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Amazon can sell it in tandem with mine: "Alcohol _Is_ a Food."


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## bosthist (Apr 4, 2004)

Patrick and Badrabbit:

If you all haven't read Greil Marcus's essay "Rock Death in the 1970s, A Sweepstakes" you should. The premise can be found here: 



A quote from the story I linked to:

"Back then -- as now -- you scored major points for dying young or in an accident or by committing suicide, but tellingly, Marcus awarded zero points for a heroin overdose. Marcus described that manner of mortality as 'the common cold of rock deaths.'"


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## Mr. Knightly (Sep 1, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Badrabbit_
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Zaya is an unbelievable rum. No, it's more than that. It's one of the finest spirits I've ever had.

Perhaps the cocktail "culture" of this decade is the reason I don't like going to bars frequented by people my own age. The only thing the bartenders know how to do is "JAEGER-BOMBS ALL AROUND!!!"

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.


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