Brighton – Recipe from the ‘Old Waldorf Bar Guide’

So called from the race course near Brighton Beach, where many Bar habitues spent their afternoons when that track topped the racing calendar. 

Dash of Orange Bitters 

One-half Tom Gin 

One-half Italian Vermuth 

Stir

Brighton Beach Race Course opened in 1879 and sat down near Luna Park on a coastal strip to the south of Brooklyn known as Coney Island. It was an instant success and deemed the location for the New York’s well to do if they fancied a flurry on the ponies. Sadly however in the anti-fun brigade in 1908 introduced legislature that made gambling and horse racing in New York state illegal, and despite attempting to use the track for alternative sports they never caught on and Brighton was one of 4 New York racetracks to close its doors permanently that year.

Its Entries like this in the guide that make me wonder if the guide was written around 1900, but then just sat gathering dust in a drawer for 30 years before it was published, as many of the events or places referenced within were at least 30 years prior to its publication in 1931.

And the drink?  One of the myriad variations of Gin, Vermouth and different bitters the book is peppered with, not something that I’m at all upset about as its far from being a disliked combination for me.