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The Muse: French Trinity • Comments »

The Muse. What a fantastic name for a cocktail! The Muse is the second of three visits to Cognac from French Trinity. When bartenders take inspiration from a cocktail, its sometimes referred to “a nod” or “a wink” to the forefather. With that, The Muse owes some gesture to Charles H. Baker’s, Remember the Maine.

The Remember the Maine is a drink from The Gentleman’s Companion: An Exotic Drinking Book. Written by Charles Baker in 1939, the book, and the author, are cherished and studied by cocktail academics and aficionados.

Baker was a gifted writer and prolific traveler. He was basically Bourdain before Bourdain. The Gentleman’s Companion was a series of tales and recipes from his global drinking exploits. Below is his account of Remember the Maine.

"A hazy memory of a night in Havana during the unpleasantness of 1933, when each swallow was punctuated with bombs going off on the Prado, or the sound of 3″ shells being fired at the Hotel NACIONAL, then haven for certain anti-revolutionary officers"

The unpleasantness of 1933 refers to a coup of Cuban President Gerardo Mechado. After successfully taking out the President, he eventually rose the ranks and later appointed himself to presidency. The USS Maine sank in the Havana Harbor in 1898 after an explosion. There are contrarian accounts as to whether the boat was bombed or imploded by accident.

Stephen Satterfield is a Manager at nopa
Posted January 29, 2012 • Filed under Spirits