Want to try some classic Depression-era cocktails? Don’t look for vodka in the ingredients
Last month, a bar called the Silly Goose a few blocks away from the Mid-South Alcoholic Supply World HQ started doing Depression Mondays, in observation of the recent economic downtown. From 5 to 7 PM they sell 16 classic Depression-era cocktails for a dollar each. Cocktails like the Rob Roy, the Manhattan, the Cuba Libre, and the Tom Collins are on the list. They also serve free tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches in honor of the ’30s soup and bread lines. For beer drinkers, they sell PBR for a buck.
This weekly event is quite popular with my group of friends. We go down the list every Monday, trying various cocktails. There are lots of gin drinks, some bourbon drinks, rum, even one made with absinthe. But, one of my friends pointed out, “There’s not a single drink on this list made with vodka.” I wondered why.
This Detroit Examiner article on flavored vodkas has the answer. We were slow to adopt vodka in the United States after Prohibition, seeing it as a Commie liquor. As of the end of World War II, the article explains, not one in a thousand Americans had tasted vodka. It finally gained acceptance in the 1950s, when a cocktail called the Moscow Mule, made with vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer, became a big hit.
Nowadays, we Americans can’t get enough of vodka. Check out our bartenders’ guides for classic cocktail recipes and modern vodka-based recipes.
