Happy Fourth of July! Today we celebrate American Independence, which, as a recent article in the Atlantic noted, a European visitor once described as “almost the only holy-day kept in America.” As the same article noted, drinking has long been practiced in observation of the day. In that spirit, I bring you this short post to offer you a recipe for the Founder’s Fizz – a refreshing drink perfect for a hot summer day, conceived by Michael Anthony, the bar manager at the Richard Rodgers theatre, the Broadway home of Hamilton:
Like many classic and enduring drink recipes, this recipe is very simple, consisting of gin, simple syrup and lime juice, topped off with seltzer. Pour that over a glass full of crushed ice and you’ve got a drink that will help keep you cool as you wait for the sun to set and the fireworks to commence.
Now, to be clear, the Founder’s Fizz is a modern creation. But here’s a bit of history to put you in a July-4th-type of drinking mood. On July 6, 1803, the Washington Federalist recounted the Independence Day festivities in the District that year. On that day, “the Artillery and Grenadiers under their Captains, Edgar and Benjamin Patterson, with several respectable citizens, retired to the Federal spring on Rock Creek.” Following an “elegant dinner,” several “toasts were drank, under discharge of cannon and musketry.” As one does (don’t tell me you forgot to order the cannons and muskets for your Fourth of July party?). And here were the toasts: