As master mixologist harry craddock observed in 1930, the pegu club cocktail has travelled, and is asked for, around the world. No real rocket surgery here, but its still a great drink, its blue and it rhymes. The history is fascinating and the recipes are awesome. And few ingredients have as rich a history or serve as fundamental a role in our beverage heritage as bitters. Harry mcelhone, of the american bar in paris, included it in his cocktails and barflies and the savoy cocktail book featured it as well. Pegu club drink recipe how to make the perfect pegu club. Originally published as a separate book packaged inside the nomad cookbook, this revised and standalone edition of the nomad cocktail book features more than 100 brandnew recipes for a total of more than 300 recipes, a service manual explaining the art of drinkmaking according to the nomad, and 30 new fullcolor cocktail illustrations for. The pegu club eventually found its way into harrys new york bar owner harry macelhones. This gin drink was invented in a british social club in burma.
The recipe appears in the savoy cocktail book of 1930 by harry craddock as the pegu club cocktail, and the 1930 edition of cocktails by jimmy late of ciros london as pegu club. How the pegu club connects contemporary cocktail culture with. History, such as americas prohibition laws, art movements, such as the art deco style of the 1920s and 1930s, and the great drinking holes of the world can all be found in cocktail books from the past. An exact replica of the pegu club cocktail but with blue curacao instead of orange. The clubs guest list included acclaimed novelist, rudyard kipling, and the cocktail synonymous with the clubs name gained popularity. When thinking about the pegu club, two things come to mind. News came last week that audrey saunders pegu club, that elegant atelier of modern cocktails, has closed. Wonderful recipe for the pegu submitted by wasabijazz on wed, 01232019 12. Invented in burma, at a british club called the pegu club, this tropicallytinged cocktail found its way into the savoy cocktail book. Its as peruvian as llamas, machu picchu, and ceviche and is a drink that many tourists visiting peru fall in love with. You made it this far because youre interested in the pegu club cocktail.
On the road to mandalay, where the flyin fishes play. Over the years, the club remained an intimate part of yangons history and went on to inspire worldfamous novels and cocktails. And few ingredients have as rich a history or serve as fundamental a role in. Cocktails for the history books the new york times. Audrey sanders created one of the most famous iterations of the equal parts martini at pegu club. The pegu club is a tart, mouthwatering gin based cocktail that offers a.
A 2,000year history of dining out was published in. How to be a better home bartender, according to a cocktail. Like all of its ilk, the pegu club had a bar, and like all such bars, this one had its house cocktail. The pegu clubs tasty tipple is back where it belongs, as the highlight of a historic club brought back to life in modern times. Harrington had made a pegu club cocktail for another patron and decided to. And in true british style, the house cocktail was based on, youve guessed it, gin. How pegu club forever changed the cocktail game grub street. A delicious cocktail recipe for the pegu club cocktail with lime juice, gin, angostura bitter and orange liqueur. Pegu club cocktail via andrew willett gin, curacao, bitters, orange bitters, key lime, lemon peel shots and stripes forever gin, blue curacao, peychauds bitters, orange bitters, lemon juice, vanilla syrup. Jul 20, 2015 whatever the pegu club and its cocktails history, its future is most telling. Aug 26, 2019 this was the house cocktail in the 1920s at burmas pegu club, a gentlemans establishment for british army officers and government officials. The pegu club on pyay road and zagawar street was originally established in 1882 by the british. Heritage landmark the pegu club yangon was originally established in 1882.
However the real reason i like the pegu club cocktail is that its a cocktail with a romantic, oldworld history attached. The pegu club is named for the bar it was invented in, which was built in rangoon, burma now yangon, myanmar in 1880 to serve british army officers. The first time cocktail historian and boozeworld icon david wondrich walked into. I knew that if i opened a bar called pegu club that bartenders who. Shake the ingredients in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. If a hint of sweetness is preferred, splash in a dash or two of simple syrup 1. The club was named after the pegu, a burmese river. From myanmar to manhattan, the legend of the pegu club cocktail. Pegu club, the soho bar that kicked the cocktail revival in new york city into high gear when it opened in 2005 and quickly became one of the most influential cocktail bars in the world, will not. Oct 30, 2007 like all of its ilk, the pegu club had a bar, and like all such bars, this one had its house cocktail.
The drink was created with a view to becoming the bars signature cocktail, and offered great refreshment in a hot country. Gone are the days when a lonely bottle of angostura bitters held court behind the bar. Jim meehan is a renowned bartender and author of the pdt cocktail book. The pegu club or the pegu is a ginbased cocktail that was the signature drink of burmas pegu club.
The closing of pegu club is the end of a cocktail era. Pegu club, a pioneering manhattan cocktail bar, wont reopen. In yangon, the pegu club cocktail is available in the strand hotel, the governors residence, and as of 2018, at the original pegu club. This brief novel highlights the diminishing power of british imperialism using fictional accounts in burma as an example. The cocktail went viral and even inspired a new pegu club in new york. Bombay sapphire 34ounce orange liqueur recommended. A collection of cocktail world figures lined up saturday at the manhattan cocktail classic, the annual new york drinks convention, to shoot down some sacred cows many a preprohibition libation has been glorified in recent years as the cocktail demimonde began to resurrect and lionize the drinks of days gone by.
Shake cointreaur, lime juice, and bitters together for the perfectly balanced pegu club cocktail, a gin makeover of the classic margarita. Cointreau or orange curacao, not triple sec 12ounce fresh squeezed lime juice. May, 2015 making this drink more interesting than simply a sweet and sour, boozy kick in the ass. The cocktail faded into obscurity only to be revived during the heady early years of the vintage cocktail revival of the aughts. Savoy cocktail book, in which harry craddock credits the drink to the pegu club. I have written about the pegu club in connection with the gin gin mule which is also a very recommendable cocktail by the way so i do not want to repeat it here. It survived, outliving its namesake, because it is certainly one of the great cocktail inventions, a delightful and summery gin sour. While the pegu club as a cocktail has all but disappeared from memory in presentday myanmar, the drink ventured far and wide. Resembling an early ancestor of the long island iced tea, it called for six kinds of liquors, adding up to a full eightandonehalf ounces of booze. Were not sure precisely when it was invented, but it had to be. The recipe appears in the savoy cocktail book of 1930 by harry craddock as the pegu club cocktail, and the 1930 edition of cocktails by jimmy late of ciros. The story behind the popular jasmine cocktail the seattle times.
Its history is very closely linked to that of a club in todays myanmar, the historic burma. From the history of the cocktail to spirits production, assembling the right arsenal of tools, as well as, of course, over 100 recipes, including some. News came last week that audrey saunders pegu club, that elegant atelier of modern cocktails, has closed its glass front door for good. See the ingredients, how to make it, view instrucitonal videos, and even email or text it to you phone. Ill guarantee you that the pegu club cocktail did not survive because of white suits and atmospherics. Pegu club helped craft a wonderful template for cocktail bars, but like every great movement, the followers watered down the concept. Wondrich laid into the bath cure, the house drink at chicagos famous pump house. A delicious classic cocktail with gin, orange liqueur, and fresh lime juice. Whatever the pegu club and its cocktails history, its future is most telling. David chang, chefowner of momofuku thanks to brad thomas parsonss inquisitive detective work, readers can discover how cocktail bitters rose from the ashes of prohibition to become an indispensable ingredient for the countrys top mixologists. Created in the 1920s at the pegu club, an expat gentlemens club in british colonial rangoon, burma. Oct 17, 2017 bartender jim meehan talks to us about being a better home bartender, why gin and tonics matter, and how cocktail bars have changed in the past decade. Named after a victorian era gentlemens club in rangoon, burma now yangon, myanmar. After being popularized in burma now myanmar, the pegu clubs reputation spread far.
Maybe you first heard rumors of it from harry craddocks the savoy cocktail book. Unlike the muthaiga country club and the ootacamund club, though, the pegu club managed to. It dates back to the early 20th century, first mentioned in the 1930 savoy cocktail book, in which harry craddock credits the drink to the pegu club in burma myanmar today. The club wined and dined british royalty and many highranking officials within its walls, and its name lives on through its signature ginbased cocktail, the pegu club, thats still served in. Imagine the great victorian storyteller rudyard kipling on his visit to the pegu club in 1889, sipping the signature drink as he writes his famous lines. Featured in his new book the martini cocktail, robert simonson explains, for orange bitters, she used a house mix of regans and fee brothersthe only orange bitters brands widely available. Amy zavatto has two decades of experience writing about wine, spirits and food and consults for restaurants and wine and spirits retailers. A captivating gin sour, you can think of the pegu club cocktail as gins answer to the daiquiri and margarita. Savoy cocktail book where he notes, the favourite cocktail at the pegu club. In this book, he shares his story and what hes learned since helping audrey saunders open pegu club in 2005. Apr 30, 2020 pegu club, the soho bar that kicked the cocktail revival in new york city into high gear when it opened in 2005 and quickly became one of the most influential cocktail bars in the world, will not. The pegu clubs bartenders produced a truly fantastic cocktail that has stood the test of time.
How the pegu club connects contemporary cocktail culture. The cocktail became popular in the 1930s when it was featured in the savoy cocktail book. According to harry mcelhone, add 4 cl monkey 47 schwarzwald dry gin, 1 cl orange curacao, 1 tsp. Pegu club, a pioneering manhattan cocktail bar, wont. Making this drink more interesting than simply a sweet and sour, boozy kick in the ass. Pegu club cocktail recipe pegu club david lebovitz. He is the author of countless newspaper and magazine articles and five books, including the hugely influential imbibe. Oct 03, 2019 from the history of the cocktail to spirits production, assembling the right arsenal of tools, as well as, of course, over 100 recipes, including some originals from meehan himself, this books. May 14, 2012 this may be the only bad cocktail in the savoy cocktail book, mr. However the real reason i like the pegu club cocktail is.
He would make them for patrons regularly at the savoy. Whether it becomes a bar, hotel, museum, restaurant, or remains an. He would make continue reading pegu club cocktail history and recipe. Over the years, the club remained an intimate part of yangons history and. Kipling is gone, and the club has vanished along with the british, but the pegu club cocktail is still the drink of goodfellowship. Sep 16, 2019 audrey sanders created one of the most famous iterations of the equal parts martini at pegu club. Whether it becomes a bar, hotel, museum, restaurant, or remains an empty shell, it will be a marker of myanmars. He worked at some of new york citys most revered restaurants and bars, including gramercy tavern and pegu club, before opening the james beard awardwinning bar pdt in 2007. This was the house cocktail in the 1920s at burmas pegu club, a gentlemans establishment for british army officers and government officials. Pegu club cocktail was first introduced in the 1920s. The cocktail appears in the 1923 harry of ciros abc of mixing cocktails with the following recipe 1 dash of angostura bitters, 1 dash of orange bitters, 1 teaspoon lime juice roses, 16 curacao orange 23 gin which transposes. Over eight chapters, meehan starts with cocktail history and then moves onto chapters covering bar design, tools, techniques and hospitality, along the way including tips from more than fifty of some of the bestknown names in the bar. The club was located just outside rangoon, and its members were those britons who were senior government and military officials and prominent businessmen. The language of drinking in style and fine company is universal.
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