OK...Another Period Question

[Tom Collins]

What kind of mixed drinks were available in bars in the late 60s?
Could someone have ordered Port?
What about a Salty Dog?
All suggestions would be helpful.
I know you couldn't get a Screaming Orgasm on the Beach at least, not in a bar...lol

 

[oggbashan]

Depends where.

Port has been available in the UK for hundreds of years.

Many mixed drinks were invented in the 1930s.

Og

 

[zeb1094]

Depends where.

Port has been available in the UK for hundreds of years.

Many mixed drinks were invented in the 1930s.

Og

See if you can find a bartenders guide from the era, there may even be pdf's of it online.

 

[LadyJeanne]

Martinis and scotch and the rocks.

 

[Tom Collins]

Depends where.

Port has been available in the UK for hundreds of years.

Many mixed drinks were invented in the 1930s.

Og

Sorry, being an egocentric American, I keep forgetting that the net is international...LOLing @ self.
America, the west California.

 

[Stella_Omega]

The Harvey Wallbanger
Whee!

 

[Tom Collins]

See if you can find a bartenders guide from the era, there may even be pdf's of it online.

Good suggestion. I'll look into that, zeb, but I wont hold out much hope. I'm a terrible googler. Thx.

 

[Weird Harold]

Could someone have ordered Port?
What about a Salty Dog?

A Salty Dog would probably be available as would a Martini, Tom Collins, Vodka Collins, Cuba Libra (Rum and Coke), Harvey Wallbanger or Screwdriver. Gin and Tonic, Scotch and Soda, Seven and Seven (Seven Crown Whiskey and Seven-up) and other similar drinks have been around as long as the mixers they're made with

I know Tequila Sunrise was a popular drink in the early 70's but I don't know whether is was widely known or availble in the 60's.

I didn't really start drinking until 1970 and even then, I drank mostly beer.

One very popular "mixed drink" of the 60's was a "Purple Jesus" -- but you wouldn't find that in a bar, you'd find it at frat parties and the like; it was made with Welch's Grape Juice and whatever kind of booze was contributed, usually at least a quart of Everclear and a Quart of Vodka but the recipe was very flexible.

PS: check out some period fiction like the early James Bond books, Valley of the Dolls, Fear of Flying, or The Happy Hooker -- there's a lot of drinking in fiction from the sixties.

 

[impressive]

Can't help.

In the late 60s I was still drinking apple juice from a sippy cup

 

[Tom Collins]

A Salty Dog would probably be available as would a Martini, Tom Collins, Vodka Collins, Cuba Libra (Rum and Coke), Harvey Wallbanger or Screwdriver. Gin and Tonic, Scotch and Soda, Seven and Seven (Seven Crown Whiskey and Seven-up) and other similar drinks have been around as long as the mixers they're made with

I know Tequila Sunrise was a popular drink in the early 70's but I don't know whether is was widely known or availble in the 60's.

I didn't really start drinking until 1970 and even then, I drank mostly beer.

One very popular "mixed drink" of the 60's was a "Purple Jesus" -- but you wouldn't find that in a bar, you'd find it at frat parties and the like; it was made with Welch's Grape Juice and whatever kind of booze was contributed, usually at least a quart of Everclear and a Quart of Vodka but the recipe was very flexible.

PS: check out some period fiction like the early James Bond books, Valley of the Dolls, Fear of Flying, or The Happy Hooker -- there's a lot of drinking in fiction from the sixties.

Thanx for all the input, WH. Extreamly informative.
I'm gonna go with the Salty Dog and one of your suggestions, the Scotch and Soda.
My dad always said to use the K.I.S.S. prencipal. Keep It Simple Stupid.

 

[Guest]

Popular drinks from the late 60's and early 70's:

Tom Collins (duh)
Martini
Gimlet
Bloody Mary
Manhattan
Rob Roy (Scotch Manhattan)
Scotch and Soda
Gin and Tonic

 

[MissBri]

 

[R. Richard]

[off-topic]

A couple weeks ago I was at a party, and the hostess had an entire gallon of Everclear her cousin had left behind when moving out. Neither of us had actually ever tried Everclear; the closest I'd come was 151. So we each tasted it, maybe 1/2 a teaspoon each. I have a strong stomach for liquor (unless it's chartreuse, gin or plain brandy - can't stand any of those), and I immediately thought I was going to toss my lunch. Later on I tried a teensy bit mixed with punch, and the taste still made me want to be ill. How can people drink that stuff? My stomach was pissed at me the rest of the evening, while I sipped my hot cocoa spiked with peppermint schnapps...

[/off-topic]

I am having a bit of a problem understanding here. Everclear is just 180 proof grain alcohol. In short, it is supercharged vodka! It is almost never taken straight, but rather mixed into a punch.

[I would also like to take this opportunity to disjunctively deny that I was the guy who spiked the punch at the prom. I have no idea who added the Everclear.]

 

[MissBri]

 

[australwind]

Pimms No 1 Cup was very popular for the ladies..............as was port and lemonade.........

Chinzano (vermouth) was also making its way onto the scene......mixed with soda, ginger ale or tonic.

Champange cocktails ........ specially served in the flat glasses with sugar encrsted around the edge of the glass.

 

[Weird Harold]

We just tasted it because we're silly and were curious what it tasted like; I still thought it was awful in punch! It tasted just like rubbing alcohol to me, and stung my lips. If anything, it was worse in the punch because there was so much more liquid to try and choke down. Maybe I'm just hypersensitive to stuff like that.

There are several different liquers that I can't understand how anyone could develop a taste for them -- Brandy, tastes like purfume; Mogen David 20/20, tastes like deisel fuel; Guiness and other Stouts, taste like liguid barn sweepings. I understand that other people can and do like them, but then some people can actually stay in the same room with cooked brussel sprouts without barfing.

The Odd thing about a properly made "Purple Jesus" is that is has so many contrasting tastes from different kinds of booze that it winds up tasting like Welch's Grape Juice. With Everclear it's pretty close to 80 Proof Grape Juice and without, it's only about 40-50 Proof.

Sorry, being an egocentric American, I keep forgetting that the net is international...LOLing @ self.
America, the west California.

I grew up in Oregon. Those decandent Californians down south were probably mor adventuresome in their bars.

 

[Tom Collins]

I have to say, WH, your Purple Jesus sounds alot like my Purple Hooter. I have no idea what's in one. All I know for certain is that it tastes just like concord grape juice and will kick your ass.
My problem with them is that I L O V E concord grape juice.

 

[Weird Harold]

I have to say, WH, your Purple Jesus sounds alot like my Purple Hooter. I have no idea what's in one. All I know for certain is that it tastes just like concord grape juice and will kick your ass.
My problem with them is that I L O V E concord grape juice.

If your "purple hooter" is made with Welch's Grape Juice, it's a "Purple Jesus" -- the name comes in part from the history of Welch's Grape Juice being first developed as a non-alcoholic communion wine and in part for the "Oh Jesus!" prayer to the porcelin gods it usually leads to -- cause who doesn't like concord grape juice?

 

[dr_mabeuse]

We just tasted it because we're silly and were curious what it tasted like; I still thought it was awful in punch! It tasted just like rubbing alcohol to me, and stung my lips. If anything, it was worse in the punch because there was so much more liquid to try and choke down. Maybe I'm just hypersensitive to stuff like that.

You can end up in the hospital trying to drink grain alcohol straight. Ethanol (chemical name for the alcohol that gets you drunk, which is what grain alcohol is) is hygroscopic, meaning it will absrob water from any source it can find. !00% ethanol (200 proof) right out of the still absorbs water out of the air to become about 95% ethanol. It's then adjusted to 90% or 180 proof. It's still hygroscopic enough to suck the water right out of your tissues though.

I've known people to do a shot or two for showing-off purposes (this old Polish carpenter who was used to shooting vodka while he worked would occacionally take a shot), but it's kind of a dumb thing to do. It can still burn your esophogus by dessicateing the tissues on the way down.

Once it's diluted, it's fine, and tastes pretty much like vodka. I have a friend who buys it by the case and that's all he drinks (He likes the idea of its chemical purity) but he cuts it about 10 to 1 with water.

If you're going bar to a bar in the 60's, remember that they didn't have pop-top cans or twist-off bottles then either. A can opener (or church key) was mandatory, and cans were made of steel, not aluminum.

They didn't have all these pop-booze drinks and cute names we have now either. A Harvey Wallbanger probably came closest, but those didn't really take off till the early disco era in the 70's. A woman might have a sweeter drink--a whiskey sour, a black Russian, Old Fashioned, rum and coke--a man was more likely to take his just on the rocks or as a high ball with a splash of soda. 7 & 7 was popular, but it was kind of a trailer-trash drink. Scotch and bourbon and blended whiskey were the big drinks, and vodka was smart, popularized by James Bond movies more than anything. There were no "designer vodkas" or single-malt scotches, no one drank tequila, and rum only rarely and always mixed.

No one drank wine in bars either, unless you were European, in which case you might drink Lancer's rose or mix up a batch of Sangria to impress your friends. Port was a wino drink--usually Gallo or Christian Brothers--thin, harsh, sweet stuff in the same league as early pop wines like Thrunderbird and Bali Hai and Ripple (a fifth of T-bird cost $1.29 as I recall). No one ever drank port out of a glass: the bottle and the paper bag were pretty much de rigeur.

 

[oggbashan]

Port

Port in the UK has been a gentleman's drink for hundreds of years. After the ladies retired, the decanter of Port would be passed around the table.

The Monarch's health would be toasted in Port (the gentlemen standing for that toast - unless Royal Navy officers who were allowed to remain seated because of the low headroom in Ships-of-the-Line).

Most drunk port in the 1960s was Cockburns (pronounced 'Co' - as in Co-Worker - 'burns'). Pronouncing the ck showed that you were no gentleman.

Port and lemon was the ladies equivalent. Many women drank Gin or Vodka and Lime, and various combinations with Pimms. In the West of England locally made Sloe Gin and Bitter Lemon was popular. There were also horrible things such as Babycham and Wincarnis.

The Winos drink was 'British Sherry' - a brown sickly mess - Rough Cider or Methelayted Spirit.

Og

 

[Tom Collins]

Wow! You guys are so awesome. I never thought I'd learn this much about booze in my life. Before I started this thread that is.
I want to give everyone my profuse thanks for helping out. All the help has been amazing cuz I doubt that most of ya'll will even want to read the story this was for, considering the catagory it falls into.
'Course if you decide you want to it should be posted in a few days. I just subbed it a bit ago. I'll start crowing when it comes out.

Again, thank you so much.