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Greetings, dear reader! Today we will talk about a daring alcoholic cocktail with an unusual taste. It is called Stinger (translated from English, this word means “sting” – like a bee). The Stinger is the official cocktail on the IBA lists and is categorized as “unforgettable”. Let’s see how this mix came about, and how you can make it yourself at home.
Historical background
About who first mixed Stinger, nothing is known for sure. However, the cocktail appeared at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, and this story has three versions:
- It was first served at a gentleman’s cafe in San Francisco.
- It was invented by the famous bartender from New York, Tom Bullock, and wrote the recipe in the text of his book The Perfect Bartender (the book was published in 1917).
- The authorship of the mix belongs to the powerful dynasty from the USA – Vanderbilt (Wan Der Bilt).
One way or another, Stinger is an American cocktail that was very popular in the XNUMXth century. Now this allows us to attribute it to the “unforgettable” category.
The translators also say the name of the cocktail is an ambiguous play on words. Stinger can mean both a bee sting and a sharp blow or a state of extreme intoxication from alcohol.
Cultural influence
Stinger is a symbol of the American glamorous party of the middle of the 1956th century. This cocktail was especially loved in New York. Stinger was drunk by rich people (mainly, of course, men), sometimes it was even offered to women – for example, in order to “hit a hangover sharply.” This can be seen in the XNUMX American film High Society.
Stinger also appears in such films as:
- Kiss Them for Me (1957);
- Apartments (1960);
- Mad Men (TV series 2007-2015).
After the 60s, Stinger’s popularity gradually began to fade away, as there were no parties of such a scale as before – now the Americans wanted something simpler and more mundane.
Cooking equipment
Mandatory attributes for making Stinger are a shaker, a strainer (a special strainer to remove ice or fruit pulp), ice and a cocktail glass (can be used both with thick walls and a decorative Martini glass).
Well, if you cook at home and you don’t have a shaker, you will have to look for an alternative. For example, a jar with a tight-fitting lid is suitable as it: the main thing is that you can shake all the components, mixing them in this way and not splashing everywhere.
Stinger cocktail recipe
The classic ingredients for Stinger are:
- mint liqueur (clear) – 20 ml;
- cognac 70 ml;
- mint.
Step-by-step cooking:
- Put a few ice cubes in a shaker.
- Pour cognac and liqueur over ice.
- Shake well and pour the finished mix into a glass, straining through a strainer.
You can replace the clear mint liqueur with green liqueur, and then you get a variation of Stinger – Green Hornet. It is also acceptable to prepare Stinger with grape brandy (aged 4-7 years). Other similar cocktails are Dark and Stormy (made with beer and dark rum, similar in appearance) and Rocket (made with liquor and vodka).
How to serve
Stinger is a rather strict and stylish reddish-brown cocktail. It does not require voluminous decorations, a tube is also not needed, a mint leaf will be quite enough. If you decorate it more weighty, then the presentation will be overloaded, and this does not at all correspond to the spirit of American parties of the 50s.
General recommendations
Stinger is a strong cocktail served as a digestif.
A digestif is a drink that is drunk after the main meal in order to help digestion. If a cocktail is drunk as a digestif, then it is usually quite strong, because low-alcohol drinks will not be clearly perceived after a dinner of several dishes. The Stinger fits this rule perfectly.
A digestif is the opposite of an aperitif (a drink served before a meal to stimulate the appetite). There is also an unspoken rule that an aperitif should be light in color (for example, it’s orange Aperol or white vermouth), while a digestif, on the contrary, should be dark.
If Stinger is too strong and unsweetened for you, then you can try making a Grasshopper cocktail. It is also made on the basis of mint liqueur (already green, this is the name of the mix in honor of it), but not strong cognac is added to it, but cream, mint and cocoa liquor. Women, for example, prefer soft Grasshopper with a distinct mint flavor as a digestif.
On this, I say goodbye to you and remind you that you can subscribe to new publications and share the Stinger recipe with friends on social networks. Let’s explore the history of cocktails together! See you in new posts!