Introducing a new Guest Writer: Nora will be contributing pieces on food and drink in cinema. Her feature, "The Celluloid Pantry," promises to feature off-beat films not typically known as food movies ("no Big Night, Babette's Feast, super-recent or super-commercial"). Nora has an ever-growing collection of over 500 DVDs, so you can bet she won't mess around. Welcome, Nora!
We all know the Manhattan - a bracing blend of whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters - but there's a near-forgotten cocktail called the Bronx that's worth the trip uptown.
In The Thin Man (1934), suave, dry-witted detective, Nick Charles (William Powell, far right), takes things into his own hands and shows the barmen the way to mix a drink: "The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you always shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time."
Bronx Cocktail
makes one
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. orange juice
1 oz. gin
Combine in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake, strain into a glass, and garnish with a slice of orange. Round up the usual suspects.
- Nora
And all the Thin Man movies were released as a DVD boxed collection last year. They're all pretty great!
I think these are even nicer if you use sour/Seville oranges which are in season year round in LA, but in grocery stores right now. And use nice vermouth, it makes a difference!
Great feature.
regards,
trillium
Nora, it sounds like we have the same taste in movies.
Now you're talking! I already LOVE this feature! (PS I'm shaking one of these up when I get home.)
How cool! I love The Thin Man films. And how appropriate that Nora started out with it...
I love that she will focus on older or offbeat films. Having said that, this is probably too recent and too overt of a food film, but I really liked Bella Martha.
What a great first choice. As a dancer and a drinker, this was perfect. Love it!
This is pretty cool Nora!
I look foward to more!!
I shall test this out at the weekend and let you know. But as a gin lover, I'm already in favor of it!
Nora,
Independently, good writing and good drink lift spirits, together they make souls soar; there is no better balm. Here's to imbibing both!
I have a great recipe from Breadloaf '05 featuring Chartreuse.
Do I have that right, Chartreuse, like the color?
Penemp is about to mix some of these cocktails for a family gathering!
Ah Yes, Moira...Through a fabled haze I seem to recall you & yrr man Bert telling me about this "Bronx" libation. Long live the Stone Ages! For obvious reasons I'm unsure of the date, but this memory may well belong to the 20th century. I think we even tried to order a "Bronx" somewhere, receiving a barman's blank stare in return.
Here it is 20-aught-6 & I still haven't tried the Bronx, dammit! I have a hard enough time finding a decent Sidecar. We need to resolve this issue.
NORA~ Thank you so much! I've been curious for literally decades as to the "Bronx" cocktail Nick was referring to in "The Thin Man". Actually, all that vermouth sounds pretty dubious to me, but whatever floats your olive.
But don't forget the most important part of the recipe; always shake it "to two-step time".