So the ‘00s are long ago and “Sex and City’s” drink menu of cosmos and other fruity drinks for women has been supplanted by ostensibly harder stuff—or as Milwaukee author Jeanette Hurt puts it in her latest book: “There are no ‘girly’ drinks. There are no ‘manly’ drinks.” There are just drinks and in this postmodern consumer culture, we should feel free to slurp as we choose.
At the heart of Hurt’s book, Drink Like a Woman, are over 70 recipes for cocktails inspired by women from across history—real or imagined. In the latter category, the World War II poster gal for female defense workers is the model for Rose the Riveter, a cocktail of vodka, rose wine, lemon juice, rose water and soda.
Most of the namesakes for the cocktails actually lived and accomplished things during times when the average woman was hard put to emerge from the kitchen. Many of the inspiring women were involved in literature, the arts or entertainment. Next time you want to spike your coffee, try a Frida Kahlua! As a gothic fan, Bronte’s Brew caught my eye: its vodka, sherry, lemon juice and strawberry syrup mix seems suitable for those chilly nights on the moors.
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Boutique marketing aside, Drink Like a Woman is a book that any cocktail-drinking man could find useful. The illustrations are as bright and colorful as the writing and the bartending lessons are useful. I was disappointed that Marie Antoinette wasn’t honored with a drink (something sweet, like cake?) but maybe there’ll be room for her next time.
Jeanette Hurt will appear at Great Lakes Distillery on Nov. 7 and the Iron Horse Hotel on Nov. 10.
