The cocktail lounge, the cocktail dress, cocktail music, all bring to mind a sleek, urbane and modern world – the boundless optimism of the post-war world. Little black dresses, Dean Martin on the stereo, hidden lounges with low and seductive lighting… Yes, it was a more innocent and prosperous time. From The Rat Pack to the Playboy Mansion, the golden age of the cocktail was a time when beautiful people drank sophisticated, serious drinks, when the US was so strong and powerful that the only thing drinkers had to fear was the sunrise.

 

Most of the cocktails from this post-war period are simple and often rather strong, at least to modern tastes, yet all are elegant and guaranteed to be made easily, and to impress your guests with your good taste and nonchalant mastery of mixology.

 

One of the greatest cocktails from the 1960s, indeed from any era, was in many ways the last gasp of the golden age of the Cocktail Hour. Not long after this drink was born in Beverly Hills, at Chasen’s Restaurant, the comfortable, bourgeois world of which the cocktail was such a symbol was ripped apart by social change, racial unrest and political upheaval, while the cocktail was passed over by a new generation looking for more illicit excitement.

 

There can be few more cheesy, earnest cocktail names than the Flame of Love’ but then the drink was created for velveteen crooner Dean Martin, who asked bartender Pepe Ruiz to mix up ‘something special’. His pal Frank Sinatra liked this gorgeous, aromatic cocktail so much, he promptly threw a party and ordered 200 of them. If that’s not a recommendation, we don’t know what is.

 

You’ll need a bottle of good fino sherry for this, which is about as retro as it gets. Before you scoff, this is not your grandma’s sherry, but the dry, elegant wine of southern Spain that is making a well-deserved comeback around the world. It is worth seeking out, or finding a good bar where the staff can make you a ‘Flame’ without a blank look.

 

2 parts42BELOW vodka

Splash of fino or Manzanilla sherry

2 orange zests

Orange zest to garnish

 

Rinse a chilled Cocktail or Martini glass with sherry, rotating to coat the glass, and discard the excess. Using a lighter or match, flame the zests of orange, so that the oils coat the inside of the glass. Then, chill a cocktail shaker, add vodka, and stir well, then strain into prepared glass, and garnish with an orange peel.

 

The Flame of Love may have been nearly forgotten, but the Black Russian shows how far the cocktail has fallen from its exalted position in the 50s and 60s. It is an elegant, dignified after-dinner drink, the spirituous equivalent of a strong cigarette, and in its original form, a far cry from the sweet cola versions served in pubs around the world. Make it cold, and when mixing, remember you can always make drinks sweeter by adding more a liqueur, but once too sweet, your drink is gone. For a more decadent touch, turn your Black Russian into a White by floating a layer of thick cream over the surface of the drink.

 

2 parts 42BELOW vodka

1 part coffee liqueur, e.g. Kahlua or Patron XO Café

½ part cream (optional)

Cherry to garnish

 

Combine all in a cocktail shaker then stir and strain into a chilled Cocktail glass. Alternatively, build over ice in a Tumbler. For a White Russian, float a little cream over the back of the spoon so that it sits on the surface of the cocktail. Garnish with a fresh cherry if you feel like adding a little vibrant colour. Light a cigarette if you don’t…