The two-hour season premiere of Mad Men is this Sunday, and we're desperate to catch up with Don Draper, Peggy Olsen, and Joan Holloway. We're pretty much guaranteed a couple of hours of smartly dressed people behaving badly, drink and cigarette in hand at all times. If only we could go back to those simple days when cigarettes were an effective way to unwind and every office had a fully stocked bar.
Turns out Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian loves Mad Men too. The chef/owner of Tudor House in South Beach and Lambs Club and the National in New York enjoys the show for its style and cocktails. We spoke with Zakarian about what cocktails the dysfunctional staff of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce drank back in 1966 and what we need to host the ultimate Mad Men watch party.
New Times: This season of Mad Men takes place in 1966. Can you tell us some of the cocktails that Don Draper and Roger Sterling would be drinking? And what would Joan Holloway and Betty Draper drink?
Geoffrey Zakarian: The ladies would be drinking sparkling wine or champagne cocktails. The men would be downing gin martinis, whiskey and 7, or a Tom Collins.
When setting up a Mad Men-style home bar, what are the essentials we absolutely must have?
Gin, vodka, Scotch, rye, sparkling wine, bloody mary mix, Collins mix, soda, tonic, lemon, lime, bitters, sugar cubes, and Tabasco.
What food should we serve at our Mad Men watch party that would have been served at a '60s cocktail party?
Angels on horseback (bacon-wrapped oysters), vol-au-vent (puff pastry) with chicken, smoked salmon on rye with cornichons, and deviled eggs.
What are three Mad Men cocktails we should be drinking?
Tudor House Manhattan
3 oz. Woodford Reserve
4 each macerated cherries
1 oz. sweet vermouth
Stir with ice gently, strain into martini glass, and garnish with macerated cherries.
The Drifter
2 oz. basil-infused Beefeater gin
.5 oz. St. Germain liqueur
.75 oz. house-made sour mix
Shake all ingredients with ice; garnish with sliced cucumber.
Mad Man Cocktail
2 parts fresh mandarin juice
1 part fresh ginger juice
1 part high-quality dark rum
1 part St. Germain liqueur
Watch Geoffrey Zakarian make a Mad Man cocktail for Jimmy Fallon:
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