My friend Tim recently introduced me to The Thin Man, the 1934 detective film with the lovable Nick and Nora Charles.  Nick is a retired detective, who loves his cocktails and reluctantly gets dragged back into solving crimes.  His wife Nora has impeccable style and undeniable charm and can hold her own. [Nora to Nick: How many drinks have you had?; Nick: This will make six Martinis.; Nora to the waiter: All right. Will you bring me five more Martinis, Leo? Line them right up here.]

Nora and Nick (and their dog Asta)

The best parts of the movie are the clothes (they had amazing style in the 1930s!),  the flirty banter of Nick and Nora, and their love of cocktails. When we first meet Nick he is shaking a drink explaining the following to a staff of bartenders, “The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time.”

So, for my inaugural viewing of the film, it was only appropriate to make one of the cocktails that Nick mentions. I chose the Bronx, featuring gin, both sweet and dry vermouths with orange juice added.  Like most pre-prohibition cocktails, there are a few stories about this drinks origins.  Dale DeGroff credits Johnny Solon with creating the drink while tending bar at the Waldorf-Astoria.  For our drinks, I chose to bust open my newly purchased bottle of Carpano Antica (gosh that stuff is awesome!) and I think it added a nice richness to our Bronx.

The Bronx Cocktail

1 ½ oz gin

½ oz sweet vermouth

½ oz dry vermouth

1 oz orange juice

Shake well (to a two-step time, as Nick suggests). Strain and garnish with orange peel.

To Nick and Nora. Cheers!

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