Category Archive for gin
-
The Birth of Swing and the "Hep Benny"
Turns out, "swing" wasn't always the thing. When legendary bandleader Benny Goodman played it on his band's first tour, audiences threw bottles at him. But that all changed on the last stop of his tour, at L.A.'s Palomar Ballroom on Aug 21, 1935. Hear why the City of Angels thought the new sound was the bomb, and then take a swig of this ultra-cool cocktail. Read more...
-
Pop Goes Art and "Warhol's Bloody Mary,"
This week back in 1962, Andy Warhol unveiled his first images of Campbell's soup cans... not in NYC, but at a legendary LA gallery. Learn about the tasty (and relatively inexpensive) beginnings of pop art, then silkscreen this custom cocktail. Read more...
-
The Liquid Propaganda
This week back in 1949, an American judge sentenced Mildred Gillars - better known as "Axis Sally" - to prison. Learn about the All-American gal who became the seductive voice of German propaganda during WWII... then take a swig of bitter drink with a deceptively sweet surface. Read more...
-
The Boardwalk Fizz
In 1904 Elizabeth Magie patented a board game called The Landlord's Game, in the hope that it would teach people about the evils of landgrabbing. Learn about how her game eventually inspired Charles Darrow's "Monopoly" (first marketed by Parker Bros this week in 1935), then sip this drink while building your real estate empire. Read more...
-
The Pong Pong
This week in 1972, a fledgling company called Atari unveiled its first-ever video game. Hear the story of how the simplest game ever launched a $60-billion-dollar industry... then bounce this custom cocktail down your gullet. Read more...
-
Edsel
This week back in 1960, the last Edsel automobile rolled off Ford's assembly line, marking the end of one of the worst blunders in automotive design. Learn why Edsel became a synonym for disaster, and then try not to wreck yourself with this stiff drink from Motor City. Read more...
-
The 4th and Clyde
This week back in 1863, Charles Sherwood Stratton -- better known as Tom Thumb -- was married in what might've been the wedding of the century. Read more...
-
Tybee Bomb
This week in 1958, the U.S. military lost an H-bomb. It's still lost... possibly somewhere off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia. Read more...
-
The Corpse Reviver Royale
This week in 1927, on the eve of releasing the first "talkie" feature, a tooth infection rendered studio chief Sam Warner forever silent. Read more...
-
Rob Me Ronnie
This month back in 2001, Ronnie Biggs, an unrepentant UK criminal who spent decades as a fugitive, returned to England for a pint of bitter, knowing full well he'd be arrested for his role in one of the most audacious robberies in UK history. Read more...
-
Blood & Ashes
Krakatoa and the "Blood & Ashes". This week in 1883, the island of Krakatoa unleashed one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history -- an explosion so loud it could be heard 2,000 miles away. Read more...
-
The Stork Club
Jack Paar was a popular television talk show host with an emotional streak -- this week in 1960, he walked off the set of "The Tonight Show" in the middle of a live broadcast. Read more...
-
The 52 Fizz
For much of the 20th Century, England's romantic mist was actually a not-so-romantic brew of coal smoke and fog -- the word "smog" was coined to describe it. Read more...
-
The Jersey Devil
Seventy years ago this week, Orson Welles freaked out millions of American radio listeners with his radio dramatization of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds." Read more...
-
The French 75
Created by French WWI fighter pilots. Read more...
