The long, hot summer lends itself toward refreshment from any one of a number of cocktails under the loose grouping of long drinks.  That is, drinks served in tall glasses, typically cut with a quite a bit of sparkling or still water.  Among the classic long drinks is the Tom Collins, first recorded in 1876 by the often-nicknamed “Professor” Jerry Thomas, in “The Bartender’s Guide”.

Thomas’s “gin and sparkling lemonade” mixture grew in popularity not long after a hoax which swept through 1870s pop culture.  The prank would begin by asking someone if he or she had seen Tom Collins. Reliably, the answer was “no”, and the pranker would then tell the unknowing victim that Mr. Collins had said rather unkind things about the person, and that he or she should seek him out.  The hoax was propagated further by publicized false sightings in newspapers and on local radio in locations around the United States in 1874.  The fruitless search for Collins often prompted seekers to do foolish things, all while taking the story of Collins and his antics as serious fact.

Latching on to this hype, an enterprising bartender devised a cocktail of the same name, as many seeking the fictitious Collins would come to a bar.  Or perhaps, it was introduced for those in on the joke.  At any rate, variants of the cocktail endure to this day.  While Thomas listed whiskey and brandy versions of the drink, it’s the gin version which would eventually solely claim the “Tom Collins” name.

The International Bartenders Association’s official recipe is 2 parts gin to 1 part freshly squeezed lemon, sweetened with a bit of sugar syrup, ice, and club soda to taste. Lemon slices and maraschino cherries commonly garnish the drink.

Over on the Imbibe blog here on Tumblr, the latest entry is a love letter to the one of the more storied creations in cocktail lore.  The sidecar, with its origins in World War I-era Paris, was once considered by writer David Embury as one of the six basic drinks for any bar, in his 1948 classic The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.  Like myself, Embury never had particularly formal training in the art and science of cocktail creation. His interest as a consumer tended toward what makes mixed drinks and their recipes work the way they do.

As the drink’s story goes, an American Army captain stationed in Paris during the war ordered the cocktail regularly — a concoction allegedly strong enough to warrant being transported in a motorcycle sidecar from the bar to the captain’s hotel.

Though it’s still not a weak drink by today’s standards, the sidecar’s profile and preparation have softened a bit.  Some debate the proportion of ingredients, whether to sugar the rim, and the favored brands of ingredients.  And somewhere along the way, sidecars became less ubiquitous, taking a back seat to margaritas and lemon drop cocktails among others.

When made well, a sidecar simultaneously carries sweet, sour, floral and rich notes.  And a fun story, for good measure.  It’s good to see a few places around Little Rock showing interest in introducing it to a new generation.  The way I like mine?  It’s pretty simple:

• 2 oz. cognac (Hennessy is a particular favorite)
• 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 0.5 oz. Cointreau (though Cointreau Noir or Grand Marnier also works well)

Shake the ingredients with ice cubes until well mixed and very cold, straining into a chilled cocktail glass that has been prepared with a cut lemon along the rim and sugar applied to the edge. Garnish additionally with a lemon twist.

One of the places where I’ve “worked” on my hobby has been The Flying Burrito Company in the River Market District of Little Rock, Arkansas.  Part of a small chain based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Burrito in Little Rock operates a full bar to complement the burritos, tacos, nachos and salads that are served.  Thing is, even with a heavy tilt toward Mexican influence — including a wide tequila selection — there are ways of seeking out creations from the bartender suggesting farther flung locales.

Fresh cilantro, lime, and jalapeños are nearly always in supply, since all three are needed for making pico de gallo.  But, it doesn’t take much to turn these ingredients toward Southeast Asia. Add in some coconut rum and a splash of club soda, and the result is both spicy and refreshing.  It’s also a nifty way for redeeming the over-the-top sweetness that sometimes comes from the coconut rum.

SIAM SMASH (serves 1)

• 1.5 oz coconut rum
• 3 to 5 large sprigs of cilantro
• 1/4 small lime
• 1 to 1.5 tsp chopped fresh jalapeño peppers
• 1 tsp sugar
• Club soda and ice cubes, to fill

1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle cilantro with lime, peppers, and sugar.
2. Add ice to fill halfway, then the rum.
3. Shake 10 to 15 times, then strain over fresh ice in a Collins glass, leaving room for about an inch of club soda to fill.
4. Garnish with additional lime and cilantro.

So, here begins a new little adventure, or some might say it’s a continuation.  See, for a while now, one of my hobbies has been fiddling with — from the other side of the bar, mostly — a number of cocktail creations.

Eventually, it led to posting various pictures of the drinks from hither and yon on Facebook. Some were classics. Others were contemporary spins.  I’d toyed with the idea of a book at some point, gathering all of them in one place.  While that might yet happen one day, I finally settled on channeling that energy into this blog.

I do like to mix it up (pun intended), as you’ll see.  Cocktail and bar history interests me, but so does creating a new classic, and reviving and rediscovering a culture with as many colorful stories as there are recipes.  I’m by no means an expert, but I know what I like and usually why I like it.  This much, I look forward to sharing.