Tag Archives: Drink recipe

Cameron’s Kick

• 1 oz Blended Scotch
• 1 oz Irish Whiskey
• 3/4 oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 oz Orgeat

Garnish: Lemon peel

Shake and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.

(The image chosen shows this drink in a coupe, however the cocktail glass became particularly popular in the 30′s and is probably a more appropriate glass for this drink.)

Repeal Day

December 5th is known in the US as ‘Repeal Day’ and is a huge day for celebration (for those who enjoy a good drink anyway!)

Most people around the World know or have heard of Prohibition in the United States.  It was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution and the Volstead Act were what set down the rules for enforcing the ban during this time, and defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited. Prohibition ended with the approval of the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment, on December 5, 1933…hence the name Repeal day!!!

The original thought process of banning alcohol was so that crime would go down and people would live a more ‘Christian life’, it was pushed mainly by the women at the time who felt that their men became ‘devils’ when they drank.  Banning alcohol altogether of course, did the exact opposite of what they had hoped for.  The thirteen years of Prohibition were a dark time for the United States, and led to the rise of highly organized crime, viscious mafia gangs and turf wars.

The cocktail community in particular likes to celebrate Repeal Day because December 5th marks a return of skills that might have been lost had Prohibition continued, like craft fermentation and distillation.  It also helped to legitimize the American bartender once again as a contributor to society and social customs.  Before Prohibition the term ‘Bartender’ was not frowned upon or seen as a ‘job on the side until you pick a career’, it was a career in itself and one that was respected as part of the culinary arts.

I chose this drink because I felt that  a Scotch drink  from the 1930′s seemed the most appropriate.  Scotch (in particular Dewar’s Scotch) was the first legal whisky to arrive in the States and hit New York’s South Street Seaport docks the moment the law was put into action. Joseph Kennedy, Sr. (JFK’s father) happened to be the US agent for the brand and for a company named Somerset Importers. Somerset owned the exclusive rights to import Dewar’s Scotch and Gordon’s Gin, and right before Repeal Day they stocked up. Once Prohibition was over, they sold the premium liquors for a huge profit!

The Cameron’s Kick is delicious!  The two types of whiskey compliment each other rather than compete and with the lemon juice and orgeat it kind of tastes like a whisky sour mixed with a marzipan flavor.  Orgeat is an almond syrup scented with orange blossoms and I think tastes like liquid marzipan!  The drink itself is refreshing though and very tasty.  I should mention that the orgeat you buy in stores tends to be way sweeter than ones made at home or in bars, if you don’t want to make your own (which I admit is a time consuming process) then use just 1/2oz of the store brand orgeat to keep the sweetness down.