Jack Rose Cocktail: A "Literate" Drink

Ernest Hemingway mentions this cocktail in "The Sun Also Rises" and it was one of John Steinbeck's favorite drinks. The name combines the "jack" of applejack and "rose" from the color of the cocktail. 

Please don't let yourself be consumed by glass types for various drinks. No question about it, sometimes the glass type can make a great impression in a drink's presentation, but I wouldn't go out and buy every shape and size cocktail glass in sight. Once this cocktail is shaken or stirred, it will produce a cocktail of about 4 ounces, which means you can't use a 3 1/2 ounce glass, and I know that, after much trial and error. hahaha  I've seen this cocktail in fluted glasses and in coupe glasses, but myself, I've made it while wearing sunglasses. hahaha (Hey, you try pouring 4 ounce drinks into 3 1/2 ounce glasses, drinking your mistakes, and see what kind of remarks you make.) 

 

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

2 1/2 ounces applejack or apple brandy

3/4 ounce lime juice (or lemon juice)

1/2 ounce grenadine

slice of lime (or lemon) for garnish + cherry

ice

shaker or other container for stirring

strainer

5 ounce glass (coupe or other)

 

Put the ice, applejack or apple brandy, lime juice (or lemon juice), and the grenadine into a cocktail shaker or other container, like a measuring glass or bowl. Shake or stir the ingredients for about 10 to 15 seconds. Strain the drink into the glass of your choice, garnish with lime slice and drop a maraschino cherry into the cocktail (this is, to my knowledge, purely my own addition, but I can't say that with 100% certainty). 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Letter-This word is related to "alliteration," "literal," "literate" and "literature," all Latin-derived words borrowed by English directly from Latin, and to "literary," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from French. The origin of  "letter" is more than a little uncertain, and there is a theory that connects it to Greek via Etruscan, with sound/spelling changes. I can't say it's not possible, but at this point, I'm not really accepting of all of this. What is known is, "letter" goes back to Latin "littera," which meant "a character or symbol used to represent a sound in writing;" that is, "a letter of the alphabet;" thus also, especially in the plural, "writing, document, written message (modern, 'a letter'), book/books." This passed to Latin-based Old French as "letre," meaning "character used to represent sound in writing, a message," and this later became "lettre." English borrowed the word around 1200.     

Roy Rogers Mocktail

Another "mocktail," but this time named after cowboy actor and singer Roy Rogers. When I was a kid in the 1950s, Roy Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, were popular in movies and in a television series that aired on the NBC network in those times.

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

6 ounces coca-cola (or other cola)

1/2 ounce grenadine

(optional) squeeze of fresh lime juice from a small lime wedge (use the wedge as a garnish)

2 or 3 maraschino cherries for garnish

ice

tall glass (10 ounce glass is good)

 

Real easy ... Add some cola to the glass, then add the grenadine and stir. Now add plenty of ice, then add a squeeze of lime juice from a small lime wedge, then put the squeezed lime wedge into the glass along with 2 or 3 maraschino cherries. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Sober-This compound word (actually prefixed word) goes back to Indo European "se/swe," which had the notion "away, separate, apart;" thus also, "lacking, without," and to Indo European "(h)eg" (to drink) which gave Latin the adjective "ebrius," meaning "drunk." (This makes "sober" related to "inebriate," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from that language.) Latin combined the two parts into "sobrius," which meant "not drunk ('without alcoholic drink');" thus also, "self-restrained, not given to immoderate behavior." This passed to Latin-based Old French as "sobre," meaning "not drunk, not given to drinking alcohol, modest, laid back in behavior or personality." English borrowed the word in the 1300s, initially as "sobre," but it wasn't long before that changed to "sober," where it has been for hundreds of years. The idea of not being drunk, then also, not given to immoderate behavior, led to the more direct meaning of "serious, solemn," which is still a secondary meaning to the word's primary meaning of "not drunk." A verb form also was present in the 1300s, initially with the meaning "to bring someone to a condition of calm," which by the earlier 1700s added "to have or develop a state of seriousness toward something," and by circa 1825 "to bring out of a state of drunkenness," which not many years later was paired with "up," as "sober up." (Notes: 1) English once used "undruncen" as its word for "sober," and that is a word that would still work well in modern English, although with the modernized spelling to "undrunken;" 2) Latin "sobrius," see above, had a common spoken form "subrius," that was reduced to "suber," meaning "modest, level-headed, prudent, clean from alcohol," and it was borrowed by the West Germanic languages, giving Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "syfre," meaning "modest, without blemish, spotless, pure." The English word died out, as did its relative in Low German, "subri/sufra (?)," but forms are still kicking in its Dutch relative "zuiver," meaning "pure, clean," and its German relative "sauber," meaning "clean," but also "perfect, without flaw," in some contexts, and in parts of Bavaria and Austria it can also mean "cute.")       

Singapore Sling Cocktail

This cocktail is thought to have been invented at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in the World War One era. The use of "sling" for some cocktails seems to be from the idea of "swallowing, throwing back a drink," "seemingly" taken from German "schlingen" (now more commonly "verschlingen"), one of the meanings of which is "swallow (quickly), gulp" (the German form is related to English "sling," a word of confusing history, because of its various meanings over time, although undoubtedly from Germanic, but perhaps there was more than one Old Germanic form; that is, variants; thus, the divergent meanings in the Germanic languages.   

 

Back in the mid to late 1980s, I would occasionally order this cocktail at a Chinese restaurant on Playhouse Square here in Cleveland (unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the restaurant). There are variations in recipes for this cocktail and some shake the ingredients and strain them into a glass, but I prefer ice in the drink (not just this drink, but generally speaking, I'm not terribly fond of strained cocktails, although very occasionally I'll have one). 

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

1 ounce gin

1 ounce cherry liqueur

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

2 ounces pineapple juice

1/4 ounce grenadine

1 or 2 dashes of angostura bitters

1 to 2 ounces of club soda

ice 

tall glass or another large glass (whatever the glass, it needs to hold 10 ounces, but preferably 12)

orange slice, pineapple chunk or section, cherry garnish 

 

In a tall glass, add the gin, cherry liqueur, lime juice, grenadine and angostura bitters; mix well, now add ice, stir, then top with club soda and stir again briefly. Garnish with an orange slice, pineapple chunk or section and a cherry. 

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Dove-This word for a pigeon goes back to Indo European "dheu(b)," which meant "smoke, haze, dust, mist;" thus also adjectivally, "dark." This is "seemingly" in reference to the dark color of many pigeons. This gave Old Germanic "dubon," which meant, "pigeon," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "dufa," with the same meaning, and this then became "douve" and "duve," before the modern form. While the original name seems to have had association with dark-colored pigeons, the lighter-colored birds, especially white, were associated with "peace, both personally and in reference to people getting along." The use of white doves as a symbol of peace seems to date to the World War One era (known as "the Great War" in those times, the war came to be known as "the war to end all wars," apparently a slight alteration of the H.G. Wells statement and title, "the war that will end war," as the war was so horrific, it was thought that humans would never allow such an event again; comment: such idealism and naivete can be very dangerous, which was proven when an even more horrific war took place, primarily in the first half of the 1940s). "Dove" also came to be applied to antiwar activists in the latter part of the World War One era; later, as opposed to "hawks;" that is, those who favor using military actions or military might to settle disputes. English generally uses "pigeon" now, but "dove" is used more for "turtle dove/mourning dove." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Taube," Low German has "Duuv" ('Duffer' is a male pigeon), West Frisian "do," Dutch "duif," Icelandic "dúfu," Danish and Norwegian "due," Swedish "duva." 

Caribbean Rum Punch

Punch, with or without alcohol, is generally something that is for multiple servings which can be prepared in a pitcher. Lots of Caribbean flavors here. 

 

Ingredients (4 to 5 servings):

 

4 ounces light rum

4 ounces dark rum

2 ounces coconut rum

8 ounces pineapple juice

8 ounces orange juice

4 ounces mango nectar/juice

4 ounces Sprite or club soda

2 ounces fresh lime juice

2 ounces grenadine 

1 cup ice 

4 or 5 tall glasses (8 to 12 ounce glasses)

Add all the ingredients to a pitcher, except the club soda or Sprite, stir well, then add the soda/Sprite, stir again. You can certainly mix the punch in a pitcher without the ice, then distribute the ice to individual serving glasses and pour the punch into the ice-filled glasses.

WORD HISTORY:

Fletch (Fletcher)-A variant pronunciation, and thus spelling, of the verb form of "fledge"^ that developed in the 1600s, but under the heavy influence of the noun "fletcher," which is also related to "fledge," and a word borrowed as "fleccher" in the early 1300s from French "flechier," meaning "arrow maker" (French "fleche" means "arrow" ), as an arrow is a shaft or rod with "feathers on the end" (the connection with "fledge"). French got the word by absorbing the form from a close cousin of English, Germanic Frankish (flegja??). I don't know about England, and the rest of the English speaking world, but "fletch" and "fletcher" are not common words in American English, although "Fletcher" is sometimes heard as both a family name and as a given name: from the mid 1980s until the mid 1990s, British actress Angela Lansbury played the character "Jessica Fletcher" on the popular CBS television series "Murder, She Wrote."^^ "Fletcher Christian" was part of the crew of the ship "HMS Bounty," the subject of books and three major films. I also knew a man here in Cleveland with the given name "Fletcher." 

 

^ For the history of "fledge," it is included at the bottom of this article: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2022/06/shirley-temple-mocktail.html

 

^^ Lansbury was born in England, and her father was English and her mother was from Northern Ireland. In the television series, "Fletcher" is Jessica's married name from her deceased husband Frank. 

Shirley Temple Mocktail

The story is, this non-alcohol "cocktail-like" drink was devised for child actress Shirley Temple at a restaurant where she was having dinner with her parents, who both had cocktails. You can use either Sprite, 7 Up, ginger ale or the more potent ginger beer, which has a spicy kick to it.* Grenadine is a type of syrup made from pomegranate juice. It is VERY red and it adds that red color, as well as and a sweetness, to numerous drinks. It is easily found in supermarkets and liquor stores, although it is non-alcohol.

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

2/3 cup ginger ale or ginger beer or Sprite or 7 Up

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons grenadine

2 maraschino cherries 

ice

10 to 12 ounce glass

NOTE: Add 2 ounces of vodka for what is called a "Dirty Shirley Temple Cocktail" 

Start with just a little ice in the glass, then add the 2/3 cup of whatever carbonated beverage you choose, lime juice and grenadine; stir well, then add more ice. Garnish with a couple of maraschino cherries. 

* Brewed ginger beer seems to have been first made in England in the 1700s and it became a popular drink in all of the British Isles and in numerous (then) British colonies and possessions like Canada, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa. It is my understanding that the original fermentation process produced both an alcohol content, as well as the sparkling fizz of the drink, which was made with yeast; but that later, the process was altered to make an alcohol free brew, and later still, the carbonation process (injecting carbon dioxide under pressure) was used to give the drink its fizz.   

WORD HISTORY:

Fledge (Fledgling)-"Fledge" is the main word here, and it is related to a number of words, including to: "fly" (also the the noun used for "a flying insect"), "float," "flow" and "fowl," all words from the Germanic roots of English, and it is distantly related to "pulmonary," a word borrowed by English from Latin, with influence via French. "Fledge" goes back to Indo European "pleu" (extended form "pleud"), which meant, "to flow, to run (of water/fluids), to stream;" thus also with implications of "to fly." This gave Old Germanic "fleugan(an)," the ancestor of "to fly," and this gave Old Germanic (perhaps just West Germanic?) the adjectival "flugjaz," meaning "feathered to be able to fly." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "flycge," meaning "capable of flight, feathered to be able to fly," which then became "flygge," then "flegge," before the modern form. Often used as "full(y)-fledged;" that is, "one totally capable of flying, one capable of being out on their own, one now passed into young adulthood." The noun "fledgling" developed from "fledge" in the 1830s (?), the basic meaning of which is, "a young bird or insect that has matured to the point of flight;" with the expanded meaning, "inexperienced or unproven person or animal;" thus also, "a young naive person, someone new at something." German has "flügge," Low German has "flügg," both meaning "fledged, capable of flight," Dutch has "vlug" meaning "swift, fast," from the old notion of being able to fly.       

Malibu Sunset

This is a really good drink in my opinion, "apparently" invented in the 1980s, as coconut rum wasn't really marketed to the public until the early 1980s, so that pretty much shoots a year like 1977 in the hind end. With the "Malibu Sunset," the coconut flavor comes through and the sweetness of the grenadine mixes well with the fruit juices. Grenadine is a type of syrup made from pomegranate juice. It is VERY red and it adds that red color and a sweetness to numerous drinks. It is easily found in supermarkets and liquor stores. It is non-alcohol. 

 

For coconut rum, there are quite a number of choices, but "Malibu Coconut Caribbean Rum" and "Bacardi Coconut Rum" are likely the easiest to find. To my knowledge, "Malibu" is the best selling coconut rum in the world.    

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

2 ounces coconut rum

3 ounces pineapple juice

2 ounces orange juice

1 tablespoon grenadine

1 orange slice

1 or 2 pineapple chunks

2 maraschino cherries

ice

tall glass (12 ounce)

 

Fill the glass with ice, add the rum and juices, stir to mix, then add the grenadine along the side (it will sink). Garnish with orange slice, chunk or two of pineapple and 2 or 3 cherries.  

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Doom-This word is related to "do," "deed" and "deem," all words from the Germanic roots of English, and it is distantly related to "defect," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from French, and to "deficient," another Latin word, but in this case borrowed by English directly from Latin. "Doom" goes back to Indo European "dhe," which had the notion, "to make, to bring about (later in English, as in, "to do harm"), "to be engaged in an activity (later in English, as in, "they got ready to do battle"), to put (into place)." This gave Old Germanic "domaz" meaning "a decision made, a judgment," and this gave Old English "dom" meaning "a judgment, decree, a law, a sentence (in legal sense)." This later became "doom(e)," and "doom." The idea of judgments having bad consequences for some seems to have led "doom" more and more toward its more modern ominous meaning, with its use in Old English as "dómdæg," meaning "judgment day," also "domes dæg," using the genitive case and meaning, "day of judgment," both later becoming modern English "doomsday," and both having a major influence on the direction of the meaning, with the meaning in the religious sense (per 'doomsday'), "undesired or bad fate" taking firm hold as a strong meaning, and with that broadening to "impending danger, feeling of inevitable destruction" becoming the main meaning by the latter part of the 1500s and early 1600s. The verb developed in the latter part of the 1300s, as "domen," from the noun and initially meant "to judge, to give a judgment about," but its meaning followed that of the noun to "give a bad judgment to someone as to their fate;" thus also, "to condemn someone to an undesired punishment or fate," and further, "to bring about a severe or destructive consequence," as in, "The amount of damage inflicted by the iceberg doomed the Titanic." The other Germanic languages have: German once had "tuom" (judgment), Dutch has "doem" (a condemnation, a curse/jinx) and the verb "doemen" (to condemn), both Low German and Frisian once had "dom" (judgment), Icelandic has "dómur " (judgment, legal sentence/punishment), Norwegian "dom" (judgment), Danish "dom" (verdict, judgment, conviction, but also "damnation," maybe this sense borrowed from English?), Swedish "dom" (judgment, verdict).

Tequila Sunrise

What has been known as a "Tequila Sunrise Cocktail" for the last few decades is not the same cocktail as had first been given that name in the 1930s. Back then it was made of tequila, lime juice, club soda, and creme de cassis (liqueur made from black currants), served over ice, and invented at the "Arizona Biltmore Hotel," in Phoenix, Arizona. (Note: I've seen the supposed "original" also include some grenadine, for what it's worth.) Now typically served in a tall glass with the basic ingredients below, not totally mixed together, it was seemingly developed in the San Francisco area in the first part of the 1970s.

 

Grenadine is a type of syrup made from pomegranate juice. It is VERY red and it adds that red color and a sweetness to numerous drinks. It is easily found in supermarkets and liquor stores. It is non-alcohol.  

Ingredients (per drink):

3 or 4 tablespoons tequila (depending up desired alcohol content)

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon grenadine

orange slice

cherries

ice

tall glass of about 12 ounce size, to hold the ice and the cocktail ingredients properly 

Add plenty of ice to the glass. Add the tequila, then the orange juice, stir to mix, THEN add grenadine slowly along the side of the glass (it will sink to the bottom). DO NOT STIR! Garnish with an orange slice and some maraschino cherries.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Strict-This word is related to "strain" (verb and sometime noun, with the verbal meaning of "overexerting, to stress a point to the utmost, to pour a liquid through a sieve"), to "strait" (noun and adjective, meaning "tight or narrow"), both Latin-derived words borrowed by English from French, and to "stringent," another Latin-derived word, borrowed by English from Latin. "Strict" goes back to Indo European "streygh," which had the notion, "to press, to exert pressure on;" thus also, "to pull with force." This gave Latin "stringere," meaning, "to pull tightly, press together." The past participle of "stringere" was "strictus," meaning, "tightened, drawn close;" thus also, "narrowed," and English borrowed this, initially as "stricte," in the first part of the 1400s. By the second half of the 1500s, the word was being used in reference to rigorous adherence to laws, but shortly thereafter this meaning broadened beyond adherence to laws, but to rules or procedures of any kind.