Category Archive for simple syrup
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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...
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Spider-Dan and "Trumped"
On Memorial Day, 1981, Dan Goodwin did some climbing. Which sounds normal enough for a guy who was a rock climber... except his target was the surface of the (then) tallest building in the world - Chicago's Sears Tower -- and he scaled it dressed as Spider-Man. Read more...
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Astor Place Riots and the "Cobbler Rouge"
This week back in 1849, New Yorkers rioted...over Shakespearean acting. Learn about Edwin Forrest, William Charles Macready and the brawl they spawned... and then smash down a custom, era-appropriate cocktail from a Broadway bar. Read more...
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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...
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My Delight
This week back in 1980, "Rapper's Delight," by the Sugarhill Gang, became the first top 40 rap hit ever. Learn about the song's intrepid producer and its bizarre origins, and then order up this future hit at the bar: Read more...
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Spencer's Sour
This week back in 1955, the average home kitchen changed forever. You can thank Raytheon's Percy Spencer - and the candy bar in his pocket - for being able to nuke your leftovers. Hear the radioactive history of the microwave, then get toasted in no time at all with this custom cocktail. Read more...
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Under the Desk
This week back in 1835, the fledgling newspaper The Sun started publishing a sensational series of stories about the discovery of life... on the moon. Hear about how New Yorkers bought outright lies about lunar unicorns and man-bats, then reach for this liquid tribute to reckless journalism. Read more...
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Trumped
This week in 1981, outdoor adventurer Dan Goodwin did some climbing. Which sounds normal enough...except his target was the surface of the (then) tallest building in the world - Chicago's Sears Tower -- and he scaled it dressed as Spider-Man. Read more...
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See No Weevil
Back in 1915, the insidious boll weevil decimated the cotton crops of Enterprise, Alabama... and paradoxically paved the way for a stronger local economy. Read more...
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The Piltdown Daisy
In 1912, English fossil collector Charles Dawson claimed to have found evidence of the 'missing link' between apes and humans -- people called it "Piltdown Man". This week in 1953, news broke that the only thing "missing" from Dawson's discovery was even a single grain of truth. Read more...
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Deception
This week in 2001, British Army Major Charles Ingram, his wife Diana, and college lecturer Tecwen Whittock teamed up to win £1 Million on the UK version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" And if you're thinking that show doesn't allow teams... you're right. Read more...
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Zamenhof Fizz
This week in 1887, linguophile L.L. Zamenhof completed his decade-in-the-making magnum opus: the Lingvo Internacia -- a universal language that came to be called Esperanto. Read more...
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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...
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Detonator
This month back in 1958, Ripple Rock, an underwater mountain in Canada that caused hundreds of shipwrecks and deaths, is blown up in the largest non-nuke peacetime explosion ever. Read more...
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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...
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King of Albania
Otto Witte and the "King of Albania" This week in 1959 Otto Witte, an illiterate circus magician who impersonated the King of Albania, died. We celebrate his con -- or at least his imagination -- with a "Ranglum" cocktail dressed up in King's clothing. Read more...
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The Edison
On November 21st, 1877, Thomas Edison announced he'd invented the first working recording device -- the phonograph. Read more...
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The French 75
Created by French WWI fighter pilots. Read more...
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The Lolita Haze
- Inspired by scene in book in which Humbert Humbert eats a plum. Read more...
