 photo: liquor.com I used to paint furniture as a hobby. Now that I do it for a living, my new hobby is cocktails! I don’t mean it in a passed-out-party-girl way. I mean that I genuinely have an interest in mixing cocktails – especially classic cocktails. I like the research, and I like the history. I’ve always enjoyed learning how the average person lived during various times in history and I think knowing what people were drinking, what was popular at the time, provides a little glimpse.  Paul has his own interests (besides drinking my cocktails) and his primary interest is music. Almost every day, shoppers in our store comment on the music and they ask what we’re listening to. I tell them that I have my own, better version of Pandora – I have Paul. The store iPod has thousands of songs and more playlists than I can count. I actually think it’s only a fraction of Paul’s complete music collection. So, while I make cocktails in the evening, Paul cues up the music. A match made in heaven! One evening during cocktails, we started talking about music that would pair well with the cocktails we happened to be drinking and that was the inspiration for this post! So, what’s better than a cocktail and music on a Friday night? Tonight’s cocktail is one of my current favorites, a classic gin drink... The 20th Century Cocktail
Add all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled for about 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe, and top with a lemon twist. This tasty drink is a little sweet (thanks to the Lillet), a little tart (thanks to the lemon) and there’s just a hint of chocolate in the finish (thanks to the crème de cacoa). So, smooth and tasty! The 20th Century was created in 1937. It was an eventful year, too. Amelia Earhart disappeared, the Hindenburg went up in flames, the Duke of Windsor married Wallace Simpson, and a British bartender named C.A. Tuck, created the 20th Century. He named it in honor of the celebrated Twentieth Century Limited train which ran between New York City and Chicago from 1902 until 1967. So, what playlist did Paul give me for this one? He started off with Jackson Browne’s About My Imagination. I thought he chose it because of my deep-seeded feelings for Mr. Browne, but he explained that he started with this one because it put you in the mood to close your eyes and open your imagination. With your imagination warmed up, JJ Cale’s Travellin’ Light puts you on the move to somewhere and then Little Feat puts the tracks under you with Red Streamliner: Red streamliner rollin' Crosby, Stills & Nash keep the train moving with the classic Marrakesh Express but Paul surprised me by wrapping up the trip with Jason Isbell’s reflective Traveling Alone finishing the playlist off with: I’ve grown tired of travelin’ alone  Hopefully you’ll give the 20th Century a try and if you do, I highly recommend putting on the playlist and enjoying the ride.
Cheers! Johanna & Paul (photo & recipe are from liquor.com - my favorite cocktail site!)
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