Richard Sax

Entertaining 101 for 2011

A good place to start when planning a successful dinner party is with special cocktails, specifically a vintage cocktail which is both glam and delicious. A little nostalgia always works and vintage cocktails set the stage for an evening of surprises culinary and otherwise. You could consider Gin Fizz, a Brandy Alexander, or even a Hemingway Daiquiri (white rum, maraschino liqueur, grapefruit juice, simple syrup, and fresh lime juice). Memory- lane cocktails as professional bartender Brian Van Flandern explains in his new book Vintage Cocktails (www.assouline.com) capture an earlier time, the era of the Rainbow Room and the Stork Club. His book is crammed with recipes from the 30s and 40s when bars were smoky and bartenders wore tuxedos.

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