How Classic Cocktails Were Lost—and Found | Ted Haigh

This is a Vintage episode from 2006.Why This Episode MattersHow America’s cocktail golden age flourished from the Gilded Age through Prohibition and how it eventually gave way to highballs and vodka.Why pre-Prohibition whiskey was stronger, more aromatic and dramatically different from much of what followed.How cocktail historians reconstruct forgotten drinks using antique bar guides, vintage bottles and nearly vanished ingredients.Why Ted Haigh believes cocktails should engage an adult palate rather than conceal alcohol beneath sweetness.BanterMark Pascal and Francis Schott explore the emerging trend of beer cocktails, from shandies and Black Velvets to some considerably more questionable corporate creations.The ConversationCocktail historian Ted Haigh, better known as Dr. Cocktail, traces the rise, decline and early revival of the American cocktail. He explains how elaborate Gilded Age drinks survived Prohibition, only to be displaced by blended whiskey, highballs and increasingly neutral spirits.Ted shares how he uncovers forgotten recipes in antique books and newspapers, then searches for the obscure bottles needed to recreate them. The conversation moves from bonded whiskey and Amer Picon to drinks that deserved to disappear, vodka’s reliance on marketing and the disputed 200th anniversary of the cocktail.Guest BioTed Haigh, widely known as Dr. Cocktail, is a cocktail historian, author and award-winning graphic designer. His research, writing and extensive collection of historic bar books, bottles and artifacts helped introduce a new generation to overlooked drinks from the pre-Prohibition and Prohibition eras. He was also one of the founders of the Museum of the American Cocktail. Timestamps00:00 Beer cocktails, shandies and pairing beer with food08:24 The golden age of American cocktails—and the rise of the highball12:19 Pre-Prohibition whiskey and the value of acquired tastes16:31 How forgotten cocktails are discovered and reconstructed20:05 Amer Picon, obscure ingredients and drinks best left behind25:20 The cocktail’s disputed anniversary, vodka and raw eggsInfoTed’s book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: Prohibition Centennial Edition Museum of the American CocktailCafe D’Alsace https://www.cafedalsace.com/We're bringing our kitchen to the farm!Join us at Dreyer Farms in Cranford, NJ for a Table-to-Farm Dinner.Sunday, September 13 @ 5:30https://www.stageleft.com/event/91326-table-to-farm-dinner/ Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The [email protected]