Stravinski's Italian Restaurant
Chapter 7 | Scene 1
Marcus pulls up to the bar window in the corner alcove of the dining room. He puts a tray of dirty bar glasses on the window ledge and pokes his head through. He doesn’t see either Nick or Lawrence. But Pete Yorn’s “Pass Me By” is playing over the bar sound system, which means Lawrence is working tonight. A few customers at the bar look his way for a second, then turn back to the silent TV above the bar.
He walks around to the kitchen, drops off a couple of appetizer orders, grabs two fresh baskets of hot bread, swings through the dining room to deliver the baskets to tables 12 and 13 – and pulls up to the bar window again. This time the tray of glasses is gone and Lawrence is there, already washing them.
"Oh, there you are Lawrence," said Marcus. "I was looking for you."
"Yes sir. What can I do for you?" said Lawrence, drying his hands on a towel.
"I got this old couple. They're asking about some 'old fashion drink' that the 'young bartender' told them about. Do you know what they're talking about?"
Lawrence smiles. "Ah, yes. Mr. and Mrs. Montefiore. Shirley and Tom. Manhattan drinkers."
"Yeah, well, can you make them an Old Fashion?"
"Old Fashioned," corrects Lawrence.
"What kind of drink is that?" asks Marcus.
"An Old Fashioned is one of the oldest known cocktails and was invented and re-invented and re-invented several times over the past 160 years. It never really had a name, and was only referenced as the drink made 'the old fashioned way' – which evolved into its official name – 'The Old Fashioned'."
Marcus leans through the window and plucks an olive out of the garnish tray and pops it into his mouth. "Well, how's it made?" he asks, genuinely interested. He was thinking about upgrading from waiter to bartender someday and Lawrence seemed like the guy to help him.
"How was it made, is really the right question," says Lawrence.
"Okay…how was it made?" repeats Marcus.
Lawrence pulls a couple of lowball glasses off the shelf and a cocktail mixing glass. "Well," he starts, "legend has it that bartenders during the post-prohibition era, mid-1930s, used to serve patrons a bar glass with a single chunk of ice, a few splashes of bitters, a lump of sugar – and a full bottle of bourbon – to let them pour their own drink." He smiles. "The old fashioned way."
As he talks he drops a few chunks of ice in the mixing glass. He splashes in four shakes of Angostura bitters and two spoonfuls of simple syrup.
Marcus is half expecting Lawrence to hand him a bottle of bourbon to bring back to the Montefiores.
"But," Lawrence continues, "while bourbon, since prohibition, has become the present day preferred liquor for making an Old Fashioned – there is an even older reference to an 'Old Fashioned Dutch Gin drink'. This drink is mentioned in the Jerry Thomas' Bartenders Guide, which was published in 1862, right in the middle of the Civil War, and is considered the first cocktail recipe book ever published in the United States."
Lawrence reaches up to the top shelf and grabs a bottle of Barr Hill Tom Cat gin and puts it on the bar for Marcus to look at.
"That doesn't look like gin," says Marcus. "It looks like bourbon."
"Exactly," says Lawrence. "This gin is considered an 'old tom' style gin and is aged in oak bourbon barrels. It's distilled by Vermont-based Caledonia Spirits who use botanicals of juniper and local honey which gives it its rich flavor and darker color."
He pours four shots of the Tom Cat gin into the mixing glass. As he starts to mix he continues, "Old tom style gin is different than your dry gins. Gins like Beefeater, Bombay, or Aviation are all dry gins. Meaning – they have no added flavoring and is simply neutral grain alcohol distilled with the natural flavor of juniper. Old tom gins add other botanicals to enhance the sweetness, such as licorice or honey."
He stops mixing. Drops a large ice cube into each lowball glass and pours the mixture through a strainer into each glass.
"I really like the way this Barr Hill Tom Cat gin mixes. But it's also delicious by itself." He peels off two lemon twists, rubs the lemon peel along the edge of each glass and drops them in. "And it makes a great, classic, Old Fashioned." He puts the two glasses on the window ledge for Marcus. "Tell Mr. and Mrs. Montefiore – this is a classic 'Old Tom' Old Fashioned."
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Classic 'Old Tom' Old Fashioned
2 ounces Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin
1/2 teaspoon simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir ingredients with ice, strain into lowball glass with large ice cube and garnish with a lemon twist.
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