Vincent Price, the master of the macabre and Angostura Bitters. Talk about a union in culinary and cocktail heaven (or hell if you want to go the horror route.) With this as a jumping point, down the hole I go to see what else I can find.
Vincent Price was quite the party-smarty (the term foodie yet to become common place.) So much so that he had a couple of cookbooks published including a cookbook with his wife Mary. Here are two examples:
There was an ad campaign that had Price and Angostura Bitters offering a free cookbook via mail. The ads had Price highlighting a recipe along with a cocktail to enjoy with the meal. I was only able to find four of those ads. Two of them advertised the Gin and Bitters aka Pink Gin:
" To be blunt, most parties go wrong in the dreary sameness of the drinks," says party-smarty Vincent Price. "So, next time switch to tots of frosty gin 'n bitters (or, as the English say, Pink Gin). A generous dash of Angostura aromatic bitters and 1 1/2ounces of a fine dry gin over ice - that's all.
The ad shows a bottle of Seagram's Extra Dry Gin in between the cocktail and the bitters.
Seagram's entered the gin market with their Seagram's Gin known as the "Ancient Bottle" in 1939. As the company grew, they branch out with their Extra Dry Gin which hit the market during the early 1960s. I haven't had the Seagram's Extra Dry Gin before. Here is how Seagram's describes it on their website:
If you don’t have a go-to gin, now you do. Smooth and mellow since 1939, Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin is fit for all of your everyday occasions. The award-winning recipe is versatile enough for your favorite mixers yet complex enough for the gin connoisseur.Seagram's had a heavy advertising campaign for their Seagram's Extra Dry Gin that I will look at in a later post. The Price/Angostura ads also focused on two classic cocktails, one of which Price highlights a variation of in the second ad:
Over ice, stir 2/3 any good whiskey, 1/3 sweet vermouth, two dashes of Angostura.And as you can see in the picture, it was strained out into a coupe glass. Nicely done.
The second ad has the riff of an Old Fashioned called a New Fashioned:
A lump of sugar dissolved with 3 dashes Angostura and a splash of club soda, plus two rocks, a twist, a cherry and 1 1/2 ounces light Canadian whiskey. That's what makes it a New Fashioned.Thankfully the recipe doesn't call for muddling of the cherry. If you like that sort of cocktail, then rock on. But I like for my Old Fashioned cocktails to look nice and clear with the oils of the twist on the surface and a nice brandied cherry, if requested. Though back when I drank cocktails (over one year and counting,) I did prefer orange bitters in both my Manhattans and Old Fashioneds. But to each his own.
The last cocktail from the Vincent Price/Angostura ads that I came across was for Beef Wellington paired with a Bloody Mary.
Those of you who love an extravagant Bloody Mary with all the garnishes will not like this recipe which simply calls for 3oz icy tomato juice, plus 1 jigger of vodka, 2 dashes of Angostura. Bloodies sure have changed since then.
Anyone have the mail in recipe book? Drop me a line in the comment box if you do. With that I will leave you with the following inspirational quote that is attributed to Vincent Price:
Keep an eye out for the next post. Be safe and healthy out there. See you soon.
Until Then May You Have Some Happy, Safe and Responsible Drinking,
SiscoVanilla
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