You may or may not have realized or read about the fact that August 2020 was the centennial of women acquiring the right to vote. Passage of the 19th Amendment was a long process, and once enough states ratified it, it went into effect on August 26, 1920, which is now known as Women's Equality Day. Knowing that this milestone anniversary was approaching, I started thinking about a special cocktail I could create to commemorate the occasion. I specifically wanted to feature women-owned brands.
Through the magic of Instagram, I identified three companies I wanted to work with: Legado Spirits of Sacramento, Boozy Botanicals of Kansas City, and The Bitter Housewife of Portland. I reached out to them, and to my delight, they all agreed to participate! All three companies sent me complimentary products to play around with for my custom creation.
The name of this drink is a nod to the fact that even though the fight for the 19th Amendment was promoted as "universal suffrage," we still haven't achieved true universal suffrage. White men have always had the right to vote in the United States. Black men were supposedly given suffrage (i.e., voting rights) with passage of the 14th Amendment after the Civil War. But the white population disenfranchised (i.e., prevented from voting) large numbers of Black and other non-white citizens. After women acquired the right to vote in 1920, Black and non-white women were still discriminated against.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed by President Lyndon Johnson, was a significant step toward universal suffrage, but prejudice finds a way. The U.S. Supreme Court dramatically undermined the Voting Rights Act with its 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder. To this day, efforts to limit the ability of non-white citizens to vote are perpetuated (almost entirely by the Republican party, by the way, because the groups they suppress tend to vote for Democratic candidates). For all these reasons, I named this drink:
Universal-ish Suffrage
2 1/4 oz. Legado rye whiskey
1 3/4 teaspoons Boozy Botanical Vanilla Spice syrup
3 hefty dashes The Bitter Housewife Barrel Aged bitters
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Stir to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a carved slice of orange peel. Peel a wide slice of orange peel, taking care not to include the white pith lining the peel. On a cutting board with a sharp knife, trim the ends and sides of the peel so they are straight. Carve a slit lengthwise in the peel, dead center. Run the orange peel around the edge of the glass (to apply the citrus oils to the glass). Fit the lip of the glass into the slit to balance the peel on the edge of the glass.
And please consider supporting these brands directly by purchasing through their websites (linked above) or supporting your own local women-based companies. Cheers!
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