Let Us Bask in Dickens

May Celebrations; Martin Chuzzlewit's Derby; Italian Aperitivo Tour

Happy May, Cocktailers ~

May is one of those months that is full of celebrations - Derby Day, Mother’s Day, Graduation Day, and more.

I think of it as the first month warm enough for crushed ice (think Derby juleps), but it’s also a time of celebratory bubbles, strawberries, peas, radishes, rhubarb, and flowers. May overwhelms the senses - in a very good way.

Because I associate May with crushed ice, I also associate it with Charles Dickens. That’s due to Dickens’ great scene involving that julep cousin, the Sherry Cobbler, in his book The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit.

As we do of May’s flowers, let us, as Nabokov says in his lectures on literature, “bask in Dickens.”

“‘This wonderful invention, sir,’ said Mark, tenderly patting the empty glass, ‘is called a cobbler. Sherry cobbler when you name it long; cobbler, when you name it short.'” – Martin Chuzzlewit, 1844

By 1841, it was possible to transport ice by train in the U.S. Its movement expanded rapidly, so that by the end of the 19th Century ice was being shipped across the country in insulated cars. Besides opening new opportunities for shipping meat and produce, the production and transportation of block ice helped launch the cocktail’s first golden age.

The entire world was interested in this American ice trade and in the new-fangled liquid inventions it made possible to a wide audience. The writer Charles Dickens was there for the moment.

First, a note on the mechanics: one of the early problems with iced beverages was the impact freezing temperatures had on bad Victorian teeth. This led to the invention of the straw - at first made from reeds, but soon fashioned from metal. In Dickens’ famous scene we witness a straw being employed.

Here is one of the great cocktail scenes in literature. Let’s bask in it:

“He produced a very large tumbler, piled up to the brim with little blocks of clear transparent ice, through which one or two thin slices of lemon, and a golden liquid of delicious appearance, appealed from the still depths below, to the loving eye of the spectator.

‘What do you call this?’ said Martin.

But Mr Tapley made no answer; merely plunging a reed into the mixture—which caused a pleasant commotion among the pieces of ice—and signifying by an expressive gesture that it was to be pumped up through that agency by the enraptured drinker.

Martin took the glass with an astonished look; applied his lips to the reed; and cast up his eyes once in ecstasy. He paused no more until the goblet was drained to the last drop.” – Martin Chuzzlewit, 1844

That first sip of sweet liquor - Chuzzlewit rolls his eyes in ecstasy!

DRINK RECIPE

Something that’s struck me whenever I look at old American Julep recipes, is how often peach brandy (homemade) is used as a base spirit. The Julep (gulab) hails from the Middle East, and originally called for rose petals as part of a medicinal drink that was thought to help with a number of ailments.

In the early colonies, the base spirit would have been either rum or brandy (imported), but then switched to peach brandy as it became available on many Southern farms. Only later did the base spirit become domestic gin or whiskey (after the Civil War). Whiskey then solidified its primary claim when the Julep became the official drink of the Kentucky Derby in 1938.

I’ve been playing around with peaches in my juleps for a few years now. A slice of whiskey or brandy-soak peach also shows up in old recipes - and so I’m offering this cocktail as a sort of Derby Julep-meets-Cobbler Dickensian sendup. If you want to soak peach slices (fresh is better, but you can use frozen) in liquor for a week or so in the fridge before the big day, they’re a big hit as a surprise at the bottom of a julep cup - you’ll want to use straw-spoons. Enjoy! Bask in it!

Boozy peach slice

2 ounces bourbon whiskey

1/4 ounce mint simple syrup

1/4 ounce peach liqueur (optional)

Mint sprig, for garnish

Add peach slice, whiskey, mint syrup, and peach liqueur (if using) to a julep cup or glass. Add crushed ice and stir until the outside of the cup is frosted. Top with more crushed ice and garnish with a mint sprig.

Italian Aperitivo Tour

I have just handed in the manuscript for the 10th anniversary edition of The New Cocktail Hour, and I am headed to Italy next week. I hope to have a few Martin Chuzzlewit moments as my eyeballs roll up into my head in pure beverage ecstasy. Maybe my next newsletter will be entitled “Let Us Bask in Tuscany.”

My itinerary is Venice → Milan → Bologna → Florence → Vernazza → Genoa → Turin → London. I’ll be posting on social media.

If you’d like to pre-order Booze & Vinyl Country (Sept 23), do it here.

THANK YOU FOR READING