If Babu goes somewhere and has a drink, we read about it in her expert record taking:
We had a drink and went to Stretch’s, drank there, went to Eddie’s, drank and ate supper there, came to Jake’s had two or 3 drinks, then to Nat’s and last of all Zosh’s.
If only she ever told us what she was drinking.
Ha ha, of course, she does!
Friday, May 24th, 1940
Filo, Jake and I drove to Shankie’s afterward for a glass of beer. Got home pretty late.
And sometimes some stiff mixed drinks:
Saturday, June 1st, 1940
Took a long time to get started but we all finally got to Brookside. Jake and Edmund drove us down, stayed for supper, played chess with our chaperones, Mr. And Mrs. Cawley, who asked them to stay at the counselor’s house over night. The boys went to town for refreshments. We had two quarts, ginger ale and coke. We mixed drinks and drank stiff ones. Jake entertained all of us girls by reading about wines. But when the boys left and we hit bed, most of us were sicker than the boys. Ernie undressed me and held my head out the window, put me to bed.
Nothing beats the telling of the enjoyment of a good ole cocktail, though. Even better, these are retro cocktails. Classics. Old Fashioned, if you will. What, do you think nothing has changed in the history of cocktails?
Well, have you ever had an Old Fashioned?
Thursday, November 30th, 1939
Got up at noon today. Just had time to eat breakfast and dress when Jakey came up. Nelly and Frank followed and we played cards till 5:30. Jakey stayed for supper and Mr. And Mrs. Moziarz also ate with us. Yvette and I disagreed about where to go and she and Billy went to a stage show, while Frank, Peggy, Jake and I ended up at Bray’s. We had a grand time and danced a lot to Vic Carly’s orchestra. I had my old fashioned and Jacob too and after I while I began to feel gay. The kids all thought the drinks affected me that way but they laughed so I put on a good act. Of course the drinks helped.
The only record keeping Babu falls short on is giving us the recipe. Thankfully, that’s my job. I am a filler-in-of-blanks.
Want to know more? I don’t know where this article came from but it’s a fun read!
What about a highball?
Thursday, April 18th, 1940
We should have gone to bed early but went up to Mt. Tom. Jakey had a high ball when we stopped for his mother at a shower and after that-there was no holding him.
Imagine my embarrassment to find out a highball is not a drink, but a classification of drinks. According to Wikipedia:
Highball is the name for a family of mixed alcoholic drinks that are composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer. Well-known examples of highballs include the gin and tonic, Seven and Seven, Scotch and soda and Cuba Libre. A highball is typically served over ice in a large straight-sided highball glass or Collins glass.
According to this same source, Scotch and Soda was the most common Highball combination.
Here is an interesting article and another highball recipe.
And could you even imagine drinking a Scarlett O’Hara cocktail?
Saturday, December 7th, 1940
Stopped at the Peter Pan’s and drank Scarlett O’Hara cocktails, which are delicious. I took Jakey’s ring for the night and he took my earring just to have something to take that belongs to the other.
Here is the delightful recipe. Sounds yummy!
Here is an interesting article about said cocktail:
Cocktails that Shook the World
It says in the article they don’t know when The Scarlett O’Hara was created. We know Babu drank one in 1940 so, I just solved a major historical mystery! OK, OK, sometimes history is not a straight line. It is possible these cocktails were popular when the movie came out and died off in interest and came back when Ocean Spray ran its cranberry juice campaign. I could very much see that happening.
Speaking of advertising campaigns, these ones, which seem rather popular for the time, really frost my cookies! See if you can tell why.
Yes, you figured it out. I just can’t stand that the salad is on the floor.
My mother has recently chastised me for publicly shaming Babu with this post:
Sure, in the passage she writes about drinking too much and in the picture she is reenacting how the night ended with Ernie holding back her hair. But you know what? I say, as Babu would, “Hooey!” She’s in her early twenties and rebelling with some spirit, and some spirits. So what? We know this is Babu’s only rebellion. Well, that and smoking, oh and staying out late most nights, oh and not helping her parents around the house…
Yes, in all seriousness, we know Babu is a goody two shoes. Too bad, because a bit more wildness could make for a much more interesting blog. But we don’t got that and I got to work with what I got. Babu may not be rebellious and she may be a Polly Anna, but thank gawd she’s no stick in the mud!
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