A Stinger is a duococktail made by adding crème de menthe to brandy. The cocktail's origins can be traced to the United States in the 1890s, and the beverage remained widely popular in America until the 1970s. It was seen as a drink of the upper class, and has had a somewhat wide cultural impact.
History of the cocktail
The Stinger originated about 1890. The cocktail may have been derived from The Judge, a cocktail made with brandy, crème de menthe, and simple syrup found in William Schmidt's 1892 cocktail book The Flowing Bowl. It was immediately popular in New York City, and quickly became known as a "society" drink. According to bartender Jere Sullivan in his 1930 volume The Drinks of Yesteryear: A Mixology, the Stinger remained a critical component of the bartender's repertoire until Prohibition. The Stinger was not initially seen as a cocktail, but rather a digestif. Writing in the 1910s and 1920s, humorist Don Marquis's "Hermione" refused to refer to the Stinger as a cocktail, indicating its status in upper-class society. Over time, however, the Stinger came to be consumed like a cocktail. The Stinger was a popular drink during American Prohibition, for crème de menthe could mask the taste of the inferior-quality brandies then available. The Stinger began to lose favor with Americans in the late 1970s, and was not a well-known cocktail in the early 21st century.
Recipe
The Stinger is a duo cocktail, in that it uses only two ingredients: a spirit and a liqueur. The classic Stinger recipe uses three parts brandy and one part white crème de menthe. However, Stinger recipes vary, and some recipes call for equal parts brandy and crème de menthe. The mixture was originally stirred, although modern recipes call for it to be shaken with cracked ice. Early recipes required that the Stinger be served straight, but since the end of Prohibition in the United States it became more common for it to be served over crushed ice. Cognac, a type of brandy, was identified as the basis for the Stinger as early as 1905 in William "Cocktail" Boothby's supplement to his 1900 book, American Bar-Tender. In the 21st century, cognac is the most commonly used brandy cited by recipes for the Stinger's base liquor. Cocktail guides recommend that it be served in a cocktail glass if served straight, or in a rocks glass if served with ice.
Variations
The Amaretto Stinger uses a 3-to-1 ratio of amaretto to white crème de menthe, while an Irish Stinger uses equal parts Irish cream liqueur and white crème de menthe. The Mexican Stinger substitutes tequila for brandy. A "Vodka Stinger", also known as a White Spider, uses vodka instead of brandy. The White Way Cocktail, which celebrates Broadway theatre, is a Stinger made with gin rather than brandy. Mixologists Oliver Said and James Mellgren cite a cocktail known as the Stinger Sour. It is made with a 3-to-1-to-1 ratio of bourbon, peppermint schnapps, and lemon juice. This cocktail is not technically a Stinger, since it omits the crème de menthe.
Cultural impact
The Stinger's popularity in New York City was so great that urban legends attributed the cocktail's genesis to famous millionaire Reginald Vanderbilt. It was further claimed that the Stinger was Vanderbilt's favorite cocktail, and he spent hours making them for his guests. The Stinger's reputation as a high-society drink led to its appearance in several famous novels. James Bond and Tiffany Case each have a Stinger in the 1956 Ian Fleming novel Diamonds are Forever. The spy Alec Leamas drinks Stingers in John le Carré's 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. The Vodka Stinger was the drink of choice for Joanne in the play Company by Stephen Sondheim, with her calling for one in the song "The Ladies Who Lunch". The drink is also featured in the 2007 Mad Menseason one episode "Nixon v. Kennedy", set in 1960. The episode features Stingers made with Bacardi rum, as Bacardi was a series sponsor. The Stinger was widely mentioned in American motion pictures. Dudley the angel orders a round of Stingers while lunching with ladies from the church in the 1947 filmThe Bishop's Wife. The evolving Stinger forms a plot point in the 1948 film The Big Clock, when George Stroud orders one and a random woman in the bar already knows his name. In the 1950 Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame film In a Lonely Place, Dix Steele's lush friend Charlie orders a Stinger at Paul's bar before the first fight scene. In the 1956 Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra film High Society, Dexter-Haven's butler offers Stingers at lunch to those who over-indulged in champagne during the previous evening's party. Cary Grant again orders Stingers as he tries to tolerate character Alice Kratzner's empty-headed babbling in the 1957 comedy film Kiss Them for Me. Mr. Dobitsch instructs his Marilyn Monroe look-alike date in the 1960 filmThe Apartment to not spill the glasses of Stingers she is holding as they exit their cab and enter C.C. Baxter's apartment at night for a tryst. In the 1975Warren Beatty film Shampoo, at the Republican Party dinner scene Goldie Hawn says, "I'll have a stinger", to which Tony Bill replies, "Before dinner?" In the 1983 filmGorky Park, William Hurt orders a Stinger, and Brian Dennehy makes a rude remark indicating that the drink is not reputable.
