[Feature]

The Boston Cocktail Party

New England lore deserves a tipple or two

By DIG STAFF [INTERVIEWS | BY KATHERINE PERRY + CRIS RODRIGUEZ]

History class never was this fun (except for that one time polishing off the Bailey's right before midterms—whoooo boy). Boston's many contributions to the storied annals, items both fair and failed, provide the perfect vehicle to spotlight cocktails that could be seen as tribute to the following historical events. Inspired, derived or merely hinging on threadbare logic, these paired drinks serve as the best complement to pondering treasured local milestones. We sip, ponderously.

For kicks, we've also plumbed the minds of local bartending brethren for the finer details of Boston's relationship to the cocktail. Which, one finds, can be convoluted and unexpected—kinda like that tiny molasses disaster, yeah?

Bottoms up, Dig

 

May 19, 1780: New England's Dark Day

 

GARGOYLES ON THE SQUARE | ESPRESSO MARTINI "EYE OPENER" FLIGHT ($15)

New England's Dark Day kept most people in a mysterious, nearly unexplainable darkness for more than 24 hours. It would have been nice to kick back one of these flights—a triumvirate of café espresso, Italian espresso and French espresso mini martinis—keeping you tipsy, wired and completely Circadian-rhythmically fucked all at the same time.

[219 Elm St., Davis Sq., Somerville. 617.776.5300. gargoylesonthesquare.com]

 

MARY GRAHAM | BARTENDER, THE BLUE ROOM

DIG: What cocktail embodies the soul of Boston?

MG: A perfect rye Manhattan. It's a little bit dry, it's a little bit old-fashioned and it's just pretentious enough to say that it's perfect.

[The Blue Room, 1 Kendall Sq., Cambridge. 617.494.9034. theblueroom.net]

 

November 9, 1872: Great Boston Fire

 

SAGE | TUSCAN FLARE ($10)

The Great Fire of 1872 offered up an unexpected show for Bostonians. As many as 100,000 onlookers (a number of them drunk) were reported to have seen the blaze. Though the Tuscan Flare did not set the city afire, it could have aptly quenched their parched palates with a roaring glassful of Bombay Sapphire gin, muddled rosemary, orange bitters and fresh orange juice.

[1395 Washington St., South End. 617.248.8814. sageboston.com]

SCOTT MARSHALL | BAR MANAGER, CITY BAR AT THE LENOX HOTEL

DIG: When you think of Boston, what's a cocktail that comes to your mind?

SM: Well the Ward 8 was the first cocktail that was ever created in Boston, and it was basically created so that a politician could win an election in a crooked district. He made up the Ward 8 and gave them out to voters so that he could get elected to office, and it worked. So it doesn't get much more Boston than a Ward 8. Created in Locke-Ober about 1890.

[City Bar, 61 Exeter St., Boston. 617.933.4800. citybarboston.com]

 

April 19, 1897: First Boston Marathon

 

RADIUS | SKIN DEEP ($14)

Togarashi pepper clears the sinuses, lime juice's Vitamin C boosts the immune system, simple syrup sweetens the strain, Stoli Ohranj heals cramps and kumquats cure nipple chafing. OK, so we made that up. Perhaps the drink won't solve all your athletic ills, but the booze surely will alleviate the pain—the pain!

[8 High St., Boston. 617.426.1234. radiusrestaurant.com]

 

 

 

JASON KACZMARCZYK | BAR MANAGER, GRAFTON STREET

DIG: Boston's a true American immigrant city. Give us a "melting pot" drink.

JK: You do have a lot of European influences and you also have Irish influences, and with all the colleges you have a multitude of people living here. I'd have to say ... God. We've got beer, wine and liquor all at the same time. It's such a melting pot you can't come up with just one cocktail for it.

DIG: So maybe like a triple-liquor drink? Maybe like a scorpion bowl?

JK: No! No.

[Grafton Street, 1230 Mass. Ave., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 617.497.0400. graftonstreetcambridge.com]

 

1908: Establishment of Crystal Spring Rum Distillery

 

BEACON HILL BISTRO | BLACK FLOWER ($10)

The Crystal Spring Rum Distillery in Jamaica Plain was bought by local rum manufacturers Felton and Sons. Fredrick L. Felton may have objected to the Black Flower's use of Mount Gay rum (it's from Barbados, not Boston) infused with vanilla bean, orange zest and cane syrup. However, shaking it with freshly-squeezed lime juice may just work to soften the sweet blow.

[25 Charles St., Beacon Hill, Boston. 617.723.1133. beaconhillbistro.com, distilleryboston.com]

 

 

JAY BELLAO | BAR MANAGER, AUDUBON CIRCLE

DIG: If you were caught in the great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, what would you mix it with?

JB: What would I mix with molasses? Hmm. I'm a Patrón and High Life guy.

DIG: So ... you would put Patrón and beer in molasses?

JB: I think if I was dying. No, bourbon is my new answer—lots and lots of bourbon.

[Audubon Circle, 838 Beacon St., Boston. 617.421.1910]

 

January 15, 1919: Boston Molasses Disaster

 

PHO REPUBLIQUE | PERFECT STORM ($9)

Although certainly a tragedy that took the lives of 21 people, the thought of a molasses flood—where 2.3 million gallons of the sticky stuff sped through the streets at 35 mph—is pretty bizarre. It was an unusually warm day in January, and the tanks just burst. Sounds precisely like the Perfect Storm, a hot mess of ginger beer, gold rum and Zen Green Tea liqueur, placated with a lime.

[1415 Washington St., South End, Boston. 617.262.0005. phorepublique.net]

 

 

JOHN GERTSEN | BAR MANAGER, NO. 9 PARK

DIG: Gertrude Stein said, "The intolerance of these New Englanders is overwhelming. There is never a curve—all the lines are hard and straight. The word sympathy is not in their vocabulary. A large number of my subjects were New Englanders, and their habit of self-repression, the intense self-consciousness, the morbid fear of 'letting oneself go' that is so prominent an element in the New England character, was a constant stumbling block." Sometimes I feel like that. Do you have a cocktail for that?

JG: Absolutely. Whiskey. A bottle and an empty glass. The reason New Englanders were so uptight was because they were drinking wimpy things like cider back then. If you really wanna get someone to stop being so square, puritan and prurient, whiskey's really the cure for that.

[No. 9 Park, 9 Park St., Boston. 617.742.9991. no9park.com]

 

April 26, 1933: Theft of the Sacred Cod

 

REDBONES BBQ | AWESOME VACATION ($6)

The sudden snatching of the Massachusetts State House's beloved wooden fish was not necessarily the Harvard Lampoon's affront to the government, but was rather designed to one-up the hoaxes of the Harvard Crimson, the humor magazine's fiercest rival. For 50 hours, the cherished mascot went on what we can only imagine is an awesome vacation, sipping a tropical blend of Malibu, Bacardi, cranberry, orange and pineapple juices on the lam. Though, we doubt it got any further south than Quincy.

[55 Chester St., Davis Sq., Somerville. 617.628.2200. redbones.com]

 

EVAN HARRISON | HEAD BARTENDER, THE INDEPENDENT

DIG: A man with a bayonet and a bloodstained uniform comes in, and he asks you for a "William Dawes." What do you make him?

EH: A William Dawes?

DIG: He had the less famous midnight ride with Paul Revere.

EH: Make me a William Dawes cocktail?

DIG: And he's covered in blood and he has a bayonet and he wants his William Dawes!

EH: He wants his William Dawes?

DIG: What are you gonna make the man? I mean, he fought for your freedom.

EH: A man on the verge of bleeding to death asks me for a William Dawes? Well ... I would give him a tall boy of 'Gansett and a shot of Old Weller 107. A local beer and good old American bourbon to help him nurse his wounds.

[The Independent, 75 Union Sq., Somerville. 617.440.6021. theindo.com]

 

January 17, 1950: Great Brinks Robbery

 

TC'S LOUNGE | MONEY SHOT ($5.50)

The largest heist in US history at the time, the Great Brinks Robbery was masterfully executed. Dudes with nicknames like "Specs," "Big Joe" and "Jazz" supposedly buried their bounty somewhere north of Grand Rapids, Minn. They most likely celebrated with this shot (a mix of amaretto, Irish cream and melon liqueur) smeared all over their greedy, grinning faces.

[1 Haviland St., Boston. 617.247.8109]

 

 

DAVE FERGUSON | HEAD BARTENDER, CUCHI CUCHI

DIG: Retro drinks are really huge here. What do you think is gonna be the "Raspberry Lime Ricky Ricardo" of 2030?

DF: I think we're gonna go for a greener, more healthy drink. Everything is getting healthier. Heart smart. Environmentally smart.

DIG: Like a vegetable martini?

DF: Well, we've tried that a few times. Like the cucumber's come back.

[Cuchi Cuchi, 795 Main St., Cambridge. 617.864.2929. cuchicuchi.cc]

 

BROTHER CLEVE | ESTEEMED COCKTAIL REVIVALIST

DIG: The Cape Codder—a cocktail Boston should be proud of, or malformed bog baby?

BC: If there was ever one drink in the cocktail cannon I would never drink again, it's the Cape Codder. A lot of that is due to the fact that it was an easy "go-to" cocktail for many years, and I had waaaay too many of them in the '70s. But my issue now is that, basically, it sucks. Vodka is for children, and this is the most childish of drinks. Just blah and inconsequential. There are braver things to do with cranberries, and they can stand up to a more fully flavored spirit like gin, rum, cachaça, mezcal, pisco ... even whiskeys! Be inventive, not bland.

[Brother Cleve spins at Village Underground at the Estate. Wed 4.23. 1 Boylston Pl., Boston. 617.351.7000. $10 adv, $15 dos. villageunderground.org, theestateboston.com, myspace.com/brcleve]

 

October 1958: Smoot unit of measurement established

 

RENDEZVOUS | MIOKO'S COCKTAIL ($12)

Oliver Smoot, a pledge at MIT's Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and namesake of Boston's infamous unit of measurement, was laid across the Mass. Ave. bridge 364.4 (and one ear) times. Made with "1 + 1 = 3" Cava Brut, a Mioko's is the perfect complement to math geek lore, while the cassis, lychee and lemon twist nicely complement a dry academic wit.

[502 Mass. Ave., Central Sq., Cambridge. 617.576.1900. rendezvouscentralsquare.com]

 

So, why did we stop at 1958? Let's just say there's a part two.