The American Cocktail

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

American Public Media

Arts, Food

4.3 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2002

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Americans first mixed spirits and poured them over ice, they took a path with alcohol that set them apart from the rest of the world. William Grimes, restaurant critic for The New York Times and author of Straight Up Or On the Rocks, joins us with the story of how the cocktail came to be and why it has a place alongside other Americana like animated cartoons, comic strips, and jazz. He shares recipes for a Vesper (the James Bond martini) and a Champagne Cocktail.

Jane and Michael Stern are eating shrimp boats in New Orleans, and wine maverick Joshua Wesson of Best Cellars recommends white Burgundies we can actually afford. Reporter Scott Haas is back from a cow pasture in Switzerland where he discovered what makes Swiss milk so special, and Joey Green, author of Clean Your Clothes with Cheez Whiz, gives us reasons to stock up on the stuff.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

March 23, 2002

Transcript

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1:18.7	Hi, it's Lynne Rosetta Casper, and you're listening to The Splendid Table, a show for people
1:23.4	who love to eat.
1:24.9	Our program is produced by Minnesota Public Radio for PRI.
1:29.4	Today, it's the Renaissance in the Bar Room, the return of what H.L. Manken called America's
1:35.4	greatest gift to mankind, the cocktail. Our guest is William Grimes, restaurant critic to the
1:41.7	New York Times, and author of Straight Up or On the Rocks, the story of the American cocktail.
1:47.9	Consider this a case of show me your martini, and I will tell you who you are.
1:53.2	The King of the Wine Bargain, Joshua Wesson, joins us with a list of affordable white burgundy's, not an easy task.
2:00.7	Report of Scott Haas is trying to find out what makes Swiss milk so special.
2:05.2	He reports from a pasture in Switzerland.
2:08.1	Then we found a good reason to stock up on Cheerios, Cheese Whiz, and Cool Whip.
	...

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