Boston: famous for many things pertaining to this country, but producing good, classic cocktails was not one of them. However! The cocktail gods finally gave their blessing to the Ward Eight, which was created (perhaps, you know how this goes…) in 1898 to celebrate the election of Martin Lomasney to the Massachusetts state legislature. But Mr. Lomasney was not just a state elected official, it seems, but was also a political boss of Boston’s eighth ward. So, we would guess that he was the type of bloke who might “inspire” the creation of a cocktail to mark his “victory.” (It seems that he participated in some actual election rigging and succeeded…). Some accounts say that the cocktail was actually invented prior to his election — so certain was he that we would prevail. A political writer for the New York Times noted in 2002 that the cocktail “was invented at Locke’s [a bar in Boston’s eighth ward] for some of his henchmen one lively night before an election.”
Regardless of the political intrigue (and the disturbing lack of progress made politically in the good ol’ US of A…), the real winners of this election were Bostonian imbibers and eventually all of us, because this delightful riff on a whiskey sour goes down easy and sure is tasty. As with many classics, there have been countless versions of this cocktail through the years, but booze historian (and a favorite author of ours at The Fizzy Coupe) David Wondrich offers this one, which we enjoy and hope you do, too! (Perhaps save this recipe for a future election night and say a little toast to the cocktail gods that democracy will continue prevail!)
Ward Eight
2 oz. rye whiskey
1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz. freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons grenadine
Garnish: cocktail cherries
Add rye, juices, and grenadine into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously until well chilled. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with cherries. Sip & enjoy!
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