“Twisted,
Shaken and Stirred cocktails”
(Story)
Drinking alcohol was not
“verboten” in our family. Among the Newars, alcoholic beverages are
culturally prescribed.
My Dad’s mother brewed
her own. Her drinks were made of pomegranate, mango, orange, various
berries, guava – they were the colors of gemstones - sparkling, inviting,
100% proof. If one was not used to it, one sip could knock you out cold!!
My mother and her mom enjoyed an aperitif occasionally, usually sherry. Of
course, my Grandpa in Assam, and my Dad could drink anyone under the
table. The only one who did not imbibe or smoke was my Dad’s father. He
died at 50! My dad’s still around. He is 89.
No one in the family I
know of attended AA or anything equivalent. However, no one was permitted
to imbibe to the state of rowdiness or oblivion!
(In the photo is a
friend, who eventually married my aunt, and yours truly “twisting away" at
the Gymkhana. 1963-64)
During our college years
in Darjeeling, India, the Gymkhana Club was a popular place for local
dances. Often my grandmothers would accompany us to keep a watchful
eye. We cha-cha’d and twisted and did the Bossa Nova and the Watusi.
The grandmothers sipped their sherry, or their gimlet, and beamed.
Rum and gin were popular with the college crowd.
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Twisted, Shaken and
Stirred cocktails
(Recipe)
Bees Knees (The Bee's Knees is a variant of the
gimlet)
Ingredients:
2 oz gin
1 tsp honey
1/2 oz lime juice (freshly squeezed)
Cherry (optional)
Directions:
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker over cracked ice. Shake well. Pour
into a well chilled Martini glass and garnish with a cherry.
Note: You can substitute Pineapple and/or grapefruit juice for the lime
juice.)
The Bossa Nova
Ingredients:
1.5 oz dark rum
0.5 oz apricot brandy
0.5 oz Galliano liqueur
10 oz pineapple juice
1 oz lemon juice
Directions:
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker over cracked ice. Shake well.
Pour into chilled highball glass.
