The Tune-Up. Jana Bizzarri photo
This cocktail represents Vancouver during the late 1950s and early 1960s. After the vaudeville days, Vancouver became known as the “Tune-Up City,” where famous performers would come play at venues like The Cave. The Cave was an important part of Vancouver’s nightlife history and is still talked about today.
“There are even those who never went there who regret its demise, longing for the magic and excitement of a lost era. The Cave was the city’s premier venue during the height of the nightclub show era—the early 1960s when nightlife was stylish and sophisticated (Chapman 19).”
Performers often used Vancouver as a chance to rehearse and then would continue to tour across Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. This tour route is still commonly used today. Staying true to the sophisticated nightclub era, we “tuned-up” a whiskey sour using Southern Comfort Original and Chambord.
Source: Chapman, Aaron. Vancouver After Dark: The Wild History of a City’s Nightlife. USA, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2020
• 1.5 oz Southern Comfort Original
• 0.5 oz Chambord
• 1 oz Lemon juice
• 0.5 oz Honey Syrup or Simple Syrup
• 1 oz Egg Whites or a substitute
• 3 dashes Bitters
Combine everything except bitters into a shaker cup. Add ice and shake. Strain into a coupe glass. Add three dashes of bitters to the top of the cocktail.
—Recipe courtesy of Southern Comfort
