Celebrate anniversary of Prohibition's repeal with 1920s-themed party
It is anniversary time ...
No, not yours, silly (you can stop freaking out that you forgot). It is the 75th anniversary of the lovely 21st Amendment that is creeping up on you.
What is the 21st Amendment you inquire? Well, we would not have "Sex and the City," happy hour, champagne Thursdays or good old Manischewitz without it. On Dec. 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment passed, which repealed the 18th Amendment, passed in 1919, outlawing alcohol. Otherwise known as one of the darkest times in our history - Prohibition.
From the smoky speak-easies during the Prohibition era to the carousing of the quintessential college student's right of passage - a party just is not a party without spirits!
So grab your sweetie and celebrate with a grand tribute!
You can throw a cocktail party at home featuring a 1920s theme and host as gangster and moll. Here are a few things to get your mind rolling on a theme:
• Silent movies
• Speak-easies
•Gangsters and flappers
• Jazz
• Bathtub gin
• The Cotton Club
Now that you have your theme down pat, you will need a few drinks to keep the charade going. Speak-easies were formed in the 1920s as a means to get around the everyday hassle of law enforcement catching people violating the 18th Amendment. For every legitimate saloon that closed as a result of the new law, a half-dozen underground places sprung up. No respectable flapper would be seen without her flask tied to her leg.
At the time, most cocktails only masked the taste of substandard booze. Fruit was added to the standard Old-Fashioned during this period to do just that. Even though the Mint Julep dates back before the 1800s, the drink received a popularity boost in the 1925 novel "The Great Gatsby."
Drink specials
Here are a few recipes to get your party in full swing:
Martini cocktail
1½ ounces gin
½ ounce dry vermouth
Stir with ice cubes, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an olive or a twist of lemon.
Mint Julep
4 to 6 leaves of mint
½ ounce of bourbon whiskey
1 tsp. powdered sugar
2 tsp. water
Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice, garnish with a mint sprig and serve with a straw.
Old-Fashioned
2 ounces whiskey or bourbon
Splash of simple syrup, bitters and soda
Fill rocks glass with ice, add simple syrup, bitters, liquor and soda. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.
Gin Fizz
3 tbsp. gin
1 half lemon, juiced
1 tsp. superfine sugar
Seltzer water
Combine gin, sugar, lemon juice and ice. Shake until sugar is dissolved. Pour into glass with ice, top with seltzer.
Just because the party is 1920s themed does not mean you should hold back tossing a new drink into the mix. After all, it is 75 years of legal drinking that you are celebrating!
Double Cross Luxury Vodka introduced Amendment 21 - a specialty cocktail recipe to usher in the cheer of this momentous anniversary.
Amendment 21
3 ounces Double Cross
1 ounce dry Madeira
1 bar spoon Scotch whisky
1 bar spoon of honey
Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and shake well. Strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lime twist.
Ambiance
Now that you have your theme and drinks all set, you need a little entertainment. A few ideas to get you going:
Screen gangster films.
Dance and listen to jazz. Popular dances of the 1920s included the Charleston, fox couples and singles. With this fun theme, your mixer will be the bees' knees!
Don't want to plan your own party?
Village Tavern, 135 Old McHenry Road in Long Grove, is hosting an end of Prohibition party from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6. Village Tavern has been open since 1847, serving as an ice-cream parlor during Prohibition, and plans to celebrate in style with its staff dressed in Roaring '20s attire. Prizes will be given to customers in costumes. Check out the new downstairs tavern called the Speak-Easy with its swanky private bar and pool table. More info, call (847) 643-3117.