‘‘The cocktail party has a simple function in modern society. Its basic purpose is to pay off social debts.” … American newspaper columnist Hal Boyle, 1950. The 1950s and 60s were the heyday of cocktail parties. Women wore glamorous dresses and guys looked sharp. Cocktail dos were two or three hours long, falling anywhere between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Dinner they weren’t, but they did revolve around cocktails, canapés and good times.
Boyle aside, there’s nothing better than a look back at a way of entertaining that was simpler, civilized and fun than by throwing a retro-style cocktail party of your own, with a few modern updates of course.
Today it’s all about getting together with friends and not necessarily about repaying obligations. First up, decide on the guest list. Ideally you want to have more people than seats since cocktail parties are all about mingling.
COCKTAIL PARTY BASICS
INVITATIONS
Paper invitations are a must. Make or buy them and mail a couple of weeks in advance, earlier if it’s holiday season. Include the start and finish time and specify “cocktail attire.”
DRESS
It’s cocktail dresses for the women and smart slacks, with or without a jacket, for dapper dudes. Guys can take it up a notch with a white shirt and a skinny tie. For inspiration, tune into Mad Men on AMCTV. It’s set in the happening 60s.
MUSIC
Use a turntable for effect or load up the iPod with swinging 50s and 60s tunes from artists like Julie London, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Louis Prima, Tom Jones and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
DRINKS
Settle on a couple of key spirits and feature them in a few stylish cocktails. Gin is the main ingredient in a classic martini, gin and tonic, Pink Gin, French 75 and Tom Collins. Vodka is a mainstay in a Gimlet, Screwdriver, Harvey Wallbanger, Bloody Mary and Black Russian. Scotch figures in Whiskey Sours, Rusty Nails and Rob Roys, but nothing says retro like a rye and Coke, or Seven and Seven (Seagram’s and 7-Up). Rum rocks Cuba Libres and sparks up store-bought eggnog. Use a cocktail book or check out the Internet for classic drink recipes galore.
If you’ve got liqueurs, they’re pretty in stemmed liqueur glasses. A bottle of bubble for Champagne cocktails is a definite “do”. Have Canadian beer – Alexander Keith’s, Molson’s, or Labatt’s are authentic oldies – on hand. Punch is easy and can be alcoholic or not.
MIXES
Stock up on the basics like tonic water, soda water, 7-Up or ginger ale, orange juice, tomato juice, bitters, plus any recipe-specific additions. Most do double duty and satisfy the designated drivers.
GARNISHES
Olives (the pimento-stuffed ones if you must, but better to “modernize” with a better quality olive), cocktail onions, maraschino cherries, lemons, limes and oranges are key.
BAR ACCESSORIES
These will really set the tone. A cocktail shaker is a must. They’re inexpensive and available at cookware stores. Seltzer bottles and soda siphons add the right note, as do barspoons, jiggers, swizzle sticks, cocktail picks and cocktail napkins. Polka dot or oliveemblazoned ones are fun.
GLASSWARE
Martini and highball glasses, plus Champagne flutes or old-fashioned saucer-style glasses will cover the bases.
FOOD
This is where things get creative and colourful. Canapés are the stars of the day. These are simply tasty bites, often with creamy white spreads (try goat’s cheese or cream cheese) on Ritz crackers, rye bread, or cucumber rounds. Top with smoked salmon, crab, charcuterie, or teensy tomatoes. Garnishes are the key. Think pimento strips, olives, crumbled bacon, asparagus tips, chives, cornichons and capers. Tobiko (red, yellow or green flying fish roe) or seaweed caviar are delicious sub-ins for the real thing. Prosciutto-wrapped bread sticks are great, meatballs are essential. Ditto pigsin- blankets and cocktail wienies – use real sausages from your local charcuterie. Ensure everything is bite-sized and can be eaten out of hand while holding a drink.
Have some spiced nuts, nuts and bolts, deviled eggs, olives and crudités and dips – placed about the room. Update old recipes by using a soft spreadable cheese like cambazola to stuff celery sticks. Teensy cream puffs piped with savoury or sweet fillings are a cinch to make and old-fashioned rum balls are perfect endings.
HELP
Hire someone to make drinks and to pass canapés, refresh drinks and clean up. Don’t over-serve your guests. Ensure everyone has a safe ride home be it a designated driver, public transit or taxi.
THE FUTURE OF MIXOLOGY
Manhattans, Rob Roys and Cosmopolitans are cool in a retro way, and swinging to the sixties can make for a hip celebration but what is the future of mixology? As shown elsewhere in this issue, mixologists, no longer just “bartenders,” are perusing markets for fresh, local ingredients and inventing cocktails with a diff erence. No rum and Coke for the cutting edge cocktail crowd, it’s all about the combination of spirits with fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, that have never before touched a taste bud.
Moving even further forward, mixologists are experimenting, and succeeding, with “molecular mixology,” a style of drink creation that takes inspiration from molecular gastronomy, described as the “scientific study of deliciousness.” This technique applies science to both cooking and drink mixing. On the culinary side, foods with similar chemical compositions are paired, yielding some very unusual combinations. The father of molecular gastronomy, Hervé This, for instance, has presented tobacco-flavored ice cream made with liquid nitrogen and sardines on sorbet toast.
In cocktail culture, the concept has contributed to liquid “caviar,” tiny, pearl-like beads containing a burst of liqueur adding to the presentation and taste of signature sips. The technique was first introduced by Cointreau, who developed a series of chemical steps to produce irridescent (using edible gold!), Cointreau-filled beads as surprising additions to glasses of Champagne.
Some futuristic behind-the-bar scientists have now graduated to edible cocktails, using the magic of chemistry to design firm, biteable “drops” that are cocktails you can eat. Spirits and their mixes are concentrated, gelatinized and transformed into morsels that can be served like appies – with colours and shapes that bring to mind a plate of the best-made sushi.
Retro or astro, nostalgic or space-age, pick a signature cocktail and make your next party one your guests will remember long into the new year.
