In Good Spirits

by Lesley Parilla, Field Book Project

As summer vacations begin, I’ve been thinking about how our collectors relaxed in the field. For me, this usually involves good food and drink. Luckily, this is also true for many collectors. Some have been kind enough to record details about their leisure time. Most references discuss food, but we have come across several relating to beverages. These have been found in the journals of collectors in the Caribbean from the early twentieth century, the age of the cocktail. Most of the drinks described are now well-known, like the daiquiri. However, we came across an original recipe in the journal of Paul Bartsch.

Photograph of Mollusks Exhibit, Conference on Future, with Paul Bartsch in foreground, 1927. Smithsonian Institution Archives, RU 000046, Negative No. 17887-E.

In honor of all our intrepid collectors, I have included the recipe below, so our readers can get a peak at the more relaxed side of field work. Paul Bartsch recorded it in the journal he kept during the Tomas Barrera Cuban Expedition,  May 1914 (mentioned in my April 2012 post). According to the diary, the drink was an original concoction by locally hired staff, and greatly enjoyed by the participants. The recipe is intriguing in how specific several of the ingredients are, seeming to indicate not just the name, but also the location where it was made. Ironically, even with that level of specificity, I have not been able to determine the identity of all the ingredients. Maybe you’ll have better luck than me. Enjoy!

1 ½ glass of Agua diente

1 ½ glass Hector Cubana (Chapparra M. negreira Sen. C Habana)

½ glass Italian Vermouth

½ glass Dry Gordon Gin

2 glasses Water

Sugar to taste

2 Eggs

Pinch of lemon peel

Shake with ice, and, like my beverage, consume with a receptive mind, to say nothing about the tummy. It may be added here that a bandage for the head in the morning would not be out of place, and an ice cap comes in mighty handy.

Page 19 of Paul Bartsch’s journal from the Tomas Barrera Cuban Expedition, 1914. Smithsonian Institution Archives, SIA2012-1778.

Comments

[Dan]

I have begun my own Cocktail Archeology and have determined the following modern incarnation of the above recipe.

1.5 cups Aguardiente (Cristal from Columbia)
1.5 cups Chaparra (Anejo style dark rum with Bianco Vermouth and angostura added)
.5 cup Italian Vermouth (Antica or Punt e mes)
.5 cup London Gin (Gordon's)
2 cups water
8 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
Lemon Peel garnish
Shake with ice, strain and garnish with lemon peel.

The original proportions would have been for a punch style mixture, but the proportions easily scale down to the 1.5 ounce to .5 to 2 ounce ratios (and 2 tbsp sugar) commonly used today (reduce the egg to only 1 though).

We mixed and taste tested both formats and the flavors held true. It would be closest to a high octane egg nog, but a definite Carribean flavor from the spices in the vermouth and bitters.

If you can't find Aguardiente, Rhum Agricole made a most palatable substitution, though a bit greener (grassier). We also tried a version with Cachaca instead of Chaparra and the result was excellent.

Ice Caps are optional!