Quivira’s Contribution to World Cocktail Day
World Cocktail Day, a global celebration of cocktails, marks the publication date of the first definition of a cocktail on May 13, 1806. On that day, the New York tabloid The Balance and Columbian Repository defined a cocktail as “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters.”
Originally, the Oxford English Dictionary had a different meaning for the term, describing it as a horse with a tail like a cock’s, with its tail ‘cocked up’ instead of hung down.
While cocktails as a drink were a British invention that began in the 19th century, American ingenuity played a part when Jerry Thomas, a Connecticut-born bartender, wrote the book “The Bartender’s Guide” in 1862. This guide, subtitled ‘How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon Vivant’s Companion,’ endures as a manual for the manufacture of cordials, liquors, fancy syrups, etc.
During American Prohibition in the 1920s, many cocktails were invented that remain firm favorites today. With not much high-quality alcohol available, cocktails were the perfect way to make smuggled rum or bathtub gin just a little more palatable. Rum Mojitos and Tom Collins flourished at a time when recreational alcohol wasn’t legal.
Fast forward to the present. Mixology is enjoying a golden age to rival the Roaring Twenties, with creative bartenders experimenting with unusual or exotic flavor profiles unheard of just a few years ago.
Quivira is honoring World Cocktail Day with Tennessee Citrus, the inspired creation of one of the company’s most talented mixologists, Hector Michel Fregoso. He’s a fixture at The After at The Market at, the urban-themed sports bar known for its fabulous décor and superb cocktails.
According to Fregoso, “I use Tennessee whiskey in this cocktail for its woody flavor and because it’s lighter than bourbon, with notes of caramel and fruits. Tennessee Citrus is now one of the most in-demand cocktails with our guests.”
Fregoso uses a rocks glass for his signature drink, “for its elegant and sophisticated appearance.”
Here’s his easy-to-follow recipe for the Tennessee Citrus:
Ingredients
- Jack Daniel’s - 60 ml
- Peach liqueur - 30 ml
- Lemon juice - 30 ml
- Pineapple juice - 15 ml
- Pineapple small cubes - 20 gr
- Tajin – 2 tbsp
- Lemon – 1 piece
- Ice
How to make it
Prepare your glass:
Cut a slice of lemon and run the wedge on one side of the rim of the glass.
Sprinkle tajin on a plate and pass the rim of the glass over it.
Combine the ingredients:
A cocktail shaker is ideal, although any container you can close and shake will work.
Add half of the pineapple to the shaker and macerate for 30 seconds.
Pour the whiskey with the peach liqueur, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and ice into the container and shake it for 10 seconds. If you have a cocktail shaker, shake it until icy cold on the outside.
Fill the glass with ¾ of ice and strain the cocktail into it.
Decorate with the rest of the pineapple cubes on top of the cocktail. This assembly gives us a surprisingly fresh drink with citrus and sweet elements that can be chewed to maximize the experience.
Salud!