\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Many of the bars that opened in the past few years could have been spit out of a time capsule. <\/span>Glam Italian discotecas<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>LED dance floors<\/span><\/a> and mashed-up concepts, like a <\/span>\u201970s basement tucked behind a retro bowling alley<\/span><\/a> or a <\/span>neon-bathed wig shop\u2013turned\u2013cocktail lounge<\/span><\/a>, descended upon every corner of the country, Los Angeles to Cleveland to Boston. What do you find on the menu at these theme bars? Martinis, mostly. While it seems like everyone is eager to return to that frenetic, nostalgic decade, few are ready to return to its drinks.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The 1970s marked the nadir of the cocktail dark ages, an era defined by sugar rims, sour mixes, canned juices and glasses bearing a whole host of colors that you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find in nature. It was a time that said, <\/span>Sure, <\/span><\/i>pour 7UP on your whiskey<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and <\/span>Why yes, <\/span><\/i>a coupe of heavy cream sounds ideal for the dance floor<\/span><\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
But bartenders are a referential group, whether they\u2019re poring over the pages of <\/span>a centuries-old drink guide<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>making over a maligned cocktail<\/span><\/a>. Thanks to them, we can have a taste of the decade du jour, now with fresh citrus and balanced ratios. Here are eight 1970s drinks, updated for the modern day.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Nick Bennett, formerly of New York\u2019s Porchlight, updates the classic call drink<\/a> with layers of flavor. Instead of using the eponymous Seagram\u2019s 7 Crown, he blends five whiskeys, which he says \u201call bring something really interesting to the table,\u201d like smokiness or florality. Instead of 7UP, Bennett calls on a 7UP-inspired citrus syrup, made with the zest and juice of lemons and limes plus chopped ginger, sugar and powdered acids. It\u2019s a much more considered take on the typically two-part drink.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n First featured in <\/span>Jones\u2019 Complete Barguide,<\/span><\/i> the original Bocce Ball<\/a> simply combined amaretto, orange juice and soda water. At The Bronze Owl in New York, former head bartender Max Green brought the drink into the 21st century by making the orange juice \u201cfluffy,\u201d adding Peychaud\u2019s and orange bitters and garnishing the cocktail with a piece of fennel- and orange-flavored biscotti. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n A product of Chartreuse\u2019s marketing team, the Swampwater<\/a> (green Chartreuse, lime and pineapple) was originally targeted to college students in the 1970s; it was intended to be batched by the gallon for parties. Manolito, in New Orleans, tweaks the recipe by upping the ratio of Chartreuse to pineapple juice and adding fresh aromatics like basil and mint. The blended version also gets an optional\u2014but highly recommended\u2014rum float.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n The original Golden Cadillac\u2014a sweet mix of Galliano liqueur, white cr\u00e8me de cacao and heavy cream\u2014was created in 1952, but grew to popularity as a disco drink in the decades that followed. At Bottle Club Pub, a midcentury-themed San Francisco bar, however, saffron-accented <\/span>Strega<\/span><\/a> is the star. In place of ice cream, as it was originally designed, or heavy cream, as it\u2019s more commonly made with, the Solid Gold Cadillac<\/a> uses a hybrid, flash-blended mix of vanilla ice cream and cream. \u201cIt gives an eggnog-y feel,\u201d says Bottle Club\u2019s Jayson Wilde.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n Though the Rusty Nail\u2019s origins are in the 1930s, it rose to prominence at Club 21 in New York in the 1970s. It\u2019s typically a two-part drink of equal parts Scotch and the Scotch-based liqueur <\/span>Drambuie<\/span><\/a>, but some riffs, like <\/span>Bobby Heugel\u2019s recipe<\/span><\/a>, dial back the liqueur for a drier drink. <\/span>Bar Goto\u2019s take<\/span><\/a>, meanwhile, splits the base between Scotch and Calvados for a modern update.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n This recipe<\/a> is a revised, \u201celegant version\u201d of the 1970s drink once served at the historic Gage & Tollner restaurant, among other venues across the country. Gin replaces vodka, and a spritz of aromatic orange oils within the glass lends extra dimension. Instead of the requisite float of Galliano on top, a half-ounce of the liqueur is shaken directly into the drink, and the tartness of fresh juice gets balanced by rich cane sugar syrup.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n Like the Rusty Nail, the Godfather is a simple Scotch drink. Consisting of whisky sweetened with amaretto, the recipe is characteristic of many cocktails of the era: both overly sweet and hard-hitting at the same time. After the drink\u2019s <\/span>recent revival<\/span><\/a>, however, has come a wave of modernized versions, including those that <\/span>split the base spirit<\/span><\/a> for extra depth, <\/span>add an accenting few dashes of bitters<\/span><\/a> to the mix or <\/span>bolster the recipe with sherry<\/span><\/a>. Thanks to a leaner, modern amaretto<\/a>, our house recipe for the drink<\/a> dials back the sweetness of the original with a salty twist. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n More a category of drink than a cocktail\u2014and barely a recipe\u2014the \u201cMists\u201d section of <\/span>Playboy\u2019s Host & Bar Book<\/span><\/i> from 1971 outlined how to make one: Pour a spirit over crushed ice, with an optional lemon twist. For William Elliott, the amusing category <\/span>inspired several drinks<\/span><\/a> on the menu at his bar Tigre, in New York. Tigre\u2019s Mists pair less-common spirits, like bacanora or pastis, with fruits like prickly pear or watermelon. The <\/span>Guanabana Mist<\/span><\/a> is a showcase for sotol and soursop. They\u2019re \u201cmore two-dimensional, rather than layered, almost like agua fresca,\u201d explains Elliott.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n![\"Bocce](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Article-Rescuing-Bocce-Ball-Amaretto-Cocktail-Recipe-Bronze-Owl-NYC.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n![\"Chartreuse](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Article-Swampwater-Chartreuse-Cocktail-Manolito-NOLA-Frozen-Drink-Recipe.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n![\"Golden](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Article-Golden-Cadillac-70s-Cocktail-Recipe.jpg\")
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<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n![\"Rescuing](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Slide4-Rescuing-Harvey-Wallbanger-Galliano-Cocktail-Jelani-Johnson-Gage-and-Tollner-Brooklyn-NYC.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n![\"Godfather](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Article-Godfather-Cocktail-Recipe-Adriatico-Amaretto.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n![\"Mist](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Article-Mists-Tigre-NYC.jpg\")
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