Yes We Can (Drink Cocktails)

In the annals of mixology, one of Boston's best-known contributions to the recipe books is our very own traditional beverage of traditional election fraud: the Ward Eight. Created by some clever bartender at Locke-Ober, it was used to toast the victory of Martin Lomasney, a Democrat known as the "Boston Mahatma," in his 1898 state senate run, the night before the election.

This Bostonist is planning to make a massive batch of Ward Eights for her own (possibly election-jinxing) festivities, so we've tinkered with the historical recipe for efficiency's sake. We wouldn't normally recommend using non-fresh-squeezed juices in cocktails, but we know that you might not get around to squeezing ten lemons mid-party if you've got a pitcher to refill—we might not, either, so we've given the juice amounts in ounces rather than juice-of-one-lemons and half-of-one-oranges.

Ward Eight, lazy socialist style

(Multiply amounts below by number of servings.)

1 or 2 dashes of simple syrup, to taste
1 ounce lemon juice
1 ounce orange juice
1 totally optional dash of orange bitters
1/2 ounce grenadine
3 ounces rye whiskey
1 sprig mint

Shake with ice, but not too hard ("so as to avoid brutalizing the mint," as David Wondrich advises). Serve with a lump of ice or two in each goblet. Fill with chilled seltzer.*

The historically-accurate garnishes would be half-slices of orange or lemon, pineapple chunks, cherries, and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, a small paper Massachusetts flag. We'll probably opt for just orange slices. Don't bother with the cherries unless you're brandying your own, or splurging on the real maraschino things (try Brix).

*depending on how the night goes for your candidate, champagne may be a viable substitution here

Two more thematically-relevant cocktail recipes, after the jump.