Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Floradora!

So, last week, How's Your Drink, my favorite column in the Saturday Wall Street Journal, turned its spotlight on a cocktail popular around the turn of the century--the 19th century that is--called the "Florodora." The drink was named after the smash musical of the same name, which opened on Broadway in 1900. Florodora's signature piece was a tune called "Tell Me, Pretty Maiden, Are There Any More At Home Like You" which was sung by a chorus of girl stunners known as the Florodora Sexette. These ladies were the Spice Girls of their era; during the show's run over seventy gorgeous chorines passed through the Florodora ranks. Graduation from the Sexette was almost always via marriage to a millonaire, and the most famous of the Florodora Girls, Evelyn Nesbit, became notorious when she unwittingly inspired her playboy husband to murder noted architect Stanford White.

Ayah, ayah--but what about the drink? Well, the Florodora sounded lipsmackingly good, so I immediately ran out, procured the necessary libations, and mixed up a batch. It was lipsmacking good, but boyo did it pack a powerful punch. Definitely not for the family crowd. And that seemed so unfair, that I retired to the Conjuring Closet, and, after some rearranging, omissions, and subsitutions, came up with a receipt that can be enjoyed by imbibers of all ages. One of the substitutions I made was an A for an O, so I give you now:

The Floradora!

2 oz raspberry syrup
6 oz good ginger ale
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Mix together in a tall glass, well-filled with ice.
Serve with a lime garnish, and sip from a silver straw.

Ut!

With apologies to Evelyn Nesbit & Poor Stanny White, and also to Eric Felton, author of How's Your Drink.

1 comment:

Splinister said...

Dear Ysabeau,

I consider myself as hardy as a turn-of-the-century showgirl, and would love to see the recipe for the original version of the Florodora. Could you post it?

Your version looks delicious, but sometimes you want the stronger stuff. :)

Thanks for the introduction to the Florodora girls, Nesbit, et al. Times might change, but human foibles rarely do.