Cocktails from the parlor of a Lady mixologist
Hello Darling! If you were living some two centuries ago, the season would be in full swing by now. With garden parties, luncheons, and coming out parties all on the calendar, a Regency hostess would likely be pondering the most fitting drinks to serve for the occasion. Because to the hostesses of the early nineteenth century, knowing what to serve when and doing so finely and elegantly was a matter of duty and great pride. Indeed, one misstep in her menu etiquette and the whole ton would surely hear about it!
So, for the Austen-inspired hostess with modern sensibilities, here is a suggested menu of drinks to serve from the first high tea of spring to the last ball of summer. Learn these recipes by heart, and you’ll surely earn the right to the title “Lady Mixologist” on your next calling card!
CHAMPAGNE
It’s no secret that the English have always loved champagne, especially the sparkling or brisk variety. However, far from popping the cork on birthdays and big occasions alone, Regency hostesses served champagne with almost every grand dinner and oftentimes in between. Of course, tastes were sweeter back then, and a spoonful of sugar helped a prudent hostess cover a lesser vintage’s imperfections. Indeed, mixing champagne into a cup with lemon, sugar and gin was a popular recipe of the time, immortalized many years later by urban cocktail bars in the form of the French 75 cocktail.
However, you are cordially invited to join us for a weekend in the country with this Regency-inspired rendition, featuring the genteel and delicate touch of lavender cut straight from the garden.
LAVENDER 75
1 oz Pomp & Whimsy Gin Liqueur
½ oz lemon juice
¼ oz simple syrup
dash lavender bitters
Champagne, chilled
Add the first four ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake briefly to chill. Strain into a champagne flute and fill with champagne. Garnish with a sprinkling of dried lavender buds or a fresh lavender sprig.
CORDIALS AND LIQUEURS
Cordials have been around for centuries and were naturally at the heart of home entertaining during the Regency era when a hostess would offer a sip of her cordial to her lady friends while the gentlemen retired to the library for brandies.
Ratafia, an amaretto-like liqueur made from bitter almonds, peach pits, or cherry stones and spices, was a popular tipple served after dinner and at debutante balls. Here, we share an interpretation of the tradition that we think brings the men and women together – a kind of ratafia meets brandy digestif for the post-modern dinner party guest.
RATAFIA BRANDY
1 oz Pomp & Whimsy Gin Liqueur
1 oz amaretto liqueur
1 oz cognac or brandy
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Divide between two cordial glasses for smaller sips or up singly in a cocktail glass for a larger appetite.
For Cherry Ratafia Brandy, substitute the amaretto for maraschino liqueur.
For Apricot Ratafia Brandy, substitute the amaretto for an apricot liqueur.
CUPS
While punches were famously all the rage throughout the 18th century, by the 19th-century, punch’s more elegant and refined cousin, the cup, had taken over in society. Traditionally served before a hunting party or at an outdoor social event like a garden party, tennis match, or picnic, it was a lower alcohol beverage typically composed of wine mixed with fruits, juices, and liqueurs.
This next cocktail is easy to pull together with wine leftover from last night’s dinner to make individual cocktails or with a fresh bottle in a pitcher to serve a whole party.
CLARET CUP
1 oz Pomp & Whimsy Gin Liqueur
1 ½ oz medium or full-bodied red wine
½ oz lemon juice
¼ oz simple syrup
3 oz club soda
strawberry, orange, cucumber slices, mint to garnish
Build ingredients over ice in a highball glass and top with club soda. Garnish with a selection of sliced fruit. If serving as a punch, leave all ingredients except the club soda to steep for an hour and top with the club soda right before serving.
FRUIT PUNCH
And finally, for those ladies who may be legal to marry but not yet legal to drink or were simply not drinking for their own good reasons, the Regency era hostess had many recipes up her sleeve for a non-spiritous beverage that was equally pleasing to the eye and palate. Here she looked to her next favorite beverage after champagne, claret, and ratafia – tea!
Cold tea makes a delightful and refreshing substitute for liquor in a traditional fruit punch. Below, we share a julep version featuring mint tea and ginger beer, another popular beverage of the period.
TEA JULEP
1 quart of mint tea
2 oz simple syrup
2 oranges, sliced
½ medium cucumber
juice of 2 lemons
12 strawberries, sliced
fresh mint
2 cups ginger beer
Make the tea infusion by pouring a quart of water over two teaspoonfuls of tea and allowing it to stand for six minutes. When cool, pour into a large bowl; add the oranges sliced thinly, the juice of the lemons, the half cucumber, peeled and sliced, and simple syrup. Refrigerate for an hour. When ready to serve, strain into a tall glass pitcher half-filled with ice. Add the sliced strawberries, fresh mint, and last, the ginger. Serve in julep cups or small glasses.