Tag Archives: Mad Men

Peggy, Joan and Betty: My Top Three Mad Wine Cocktails

The Ladies: Peggy (L), Joan (C) and Betty (R)

The Ladies: Peggy (L), Joan (C) and Betty (R)

It’s no secret that I love AMC’s Mad Men. In the spirit of its Season 6 premier tonight, I found some wine-based cocktails that made me think of my three favorite lady characters: Peggy, Joan and Betty.

The Peggy (Operator)

2oz chilled dry white wine

2oz dry ginger ale

1 tsp lime juice

Pour over some cracked ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with a slice of lime and a generous dollop of sarcasm.

The Joan (Cabernet Cobbler)

4oz chilled Cabernet Sauvignon

1tsp fresh lemon juice

1tsp superfine sugar

2oz soda water

Dissolve sugar in lemon juice and water in a big, beautiful wine glass. Pour in Cabernet, stir gently and garnish with a slice of orange and a knowing wink.

The Betty (Diamond Fizz)

2oz Gin

juice of 1/2 lemon

1tsp powdered sugar

chilled Champagne

Shake gin, lemon juice sugar and ice, then strain into a high ball glass and fill with chilled Champagne. Garnish with an icy stare and a touch of resentment.

After some of the shocks of last season, I’m honestly not sure where this season will take us. But if memory serves, the Mad Men way of dealing life’s challenges is to remain calm, fasten your seat belt and smooth the rough edges with a great cocktail.

Cheers!

©TheWineStudent, 2013

Maddicted With a Little French Kiss

It’s been said that confession is good for the soul, so I will tell you quite candidly: I’m a Maddict. And I have been going a little batty these past 17 months, waiting on my Victorian fainting couch for the premier of season 5 of Mad Men.

I dusted off my cocktail shaker, rescued my best Betty/Joan dress from its plastic dry cleaning bag, and dug my pearls out of the jewel case.

But what wine-based cocktail could I enjoy tonight? Luckily, I didn’t have to look any further than the Mad Men cocktail guide. With a short scroll down, I found the French 75, a kicky concoction of simple syrup, lemon, gin and Champagne.It seemed like a hip little mix to enjoy while watching the show.

I have to admit that when I make a cocktail, I like to shake it. It feels more…cocktail-y. Even though the recipe didn’t call for it, I shook up the first three ingredients and then topped off the glass with sparkling Dibon Cava Brut Reserve. While it wasn’t a true Champagne, the price point of $9.99 combined with the delicate, bubbly character made it very easy to pop my cork over. To make the simple syrup, I took equal parts water and sugar and…shook. And shook some more. About 2-3 minutes of vigorous shaking did the trick, and gave me a nice little workout. You can make the syrup a little richer with 1.5:1 ratio of sugar to water. That way you can have the same sweetness with less water in your cocktail.

The sparkling wine took enough of the sweetness off the rest of the cocktail, and provided a good balance with the gin, of which I’m not usually a fan. You could probably try this with vodka and it would be really fab.

I’m so excited for tonight’s premier, and I can’t wait to see what will become of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. A few more cocktails and I might even be ready to take their job interview quiz.

Cheers!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.