This fine article reminds me of a Facebook comment thread on a post asking which cocktails are massive in their home country but basically unknown outwith, such as Canada’s Bloody Caesar. It is also fascinating that drinks like the Crush were served with fresh orange or grapefruit juice in bars that otherwise leaned heavily on sour mix instead of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice. In his first book, Anthony Bourdain wrote of working for a genius restaurant manager in what must have been the early 1980s in NY, who commanded an army of loyal barbacks, bussers and servers who, among other things “squeezed gallons of lemon, lime and orange juice.”
When not enjoying an ideal libation, the best alternative is often drinking in another fresh episode of the mix, which goes down so easily, brings a smile, and delights to the last drop. Cheers.
"Crushing It" as usual Robert. Re: Breakfast sausage- if you haven't had Jakes 150 quick stop country breakfast sausage, put it on your bucket list for the next time you visit Bardstown KY. It's very good and has a huge fanbase.
I love reading your articles. Being Australian its so interesting the regionality at the tiniest level America has in its food and drink culture that we just don’t have
Yes. I am of the opinion, he kinda appropriated the name - but the Trader Vic Mai Tai is the one true Mai Tai. There is a tale of a deathbed confession on his part - but who knows?
True. When possible, I stick to the recipe on the Trader Vic’s Bartenders Guide, but when Orgeat is not available - I’ll use Amaretto. But even today, at the few remaining TV’s they use (and sell)!a pre made mix
Wow, as a current resident and someone who grew up in Maryland and goes to Delaware annually for the beach, this article was a surreal thing to read. The orange crush is so engrained in cocktail culture around here its almost unbelievable that other states haven't incorporated it into their menus. That being said, I'm pleased to see that you hit all of the major drinking holes along the Delaware coastline. I learned things about the area even I didn't know! Thanks for a great writeup!
Thank you. Your comment means a lot. It IS wild how ingrained the drink is in the drinking culture down there. Then, if you go to Jersey or New York, nobody knows about it. Also, glad to hear that I visited the right spots. I really enjoyed the food at Matt's and plan to return next time I'm in the area.
The Crush has arrived in Louisiana, courtesy of Live! Casino, owned by the Cordish Companies of Baltimore. The first section of their sports bar's drink menu is composed of four crushes, including a strawberry lemonade version. In Maryland, for whatever reason, the menu lists cherry lemonade crush, but not strawberry lemonade crush.
My goodness, I haven’t been to a Delaware beach in at least 15 years… and this piece makes me want to go rent a chair on a rocky Atlantic beach and stick my toes in the slightly too-cold ocean SO BAD 😂
Hey Robert - I’m guessing you wrote this prior to our lunch on Friday…LOL
…and for the record, just because orange juice lacks spine, doesn't mean it cannot be a delicious cocktail ingredient.
Later that day, I had the fine folks at The Richardson crank out what I call the ‘Lunchtime Quencher’ (full ounce, shaken) and the ‘Orange Perfect Martini’ (1/3 oz., stirred) Bronx variations. Both are delicious, as long as the juice is fresh and you add orange bitters. (There you go, Martin!)
As for the Blood and Sand, just lean on the Scotch...
(BTW, in 2017 I consulted on a bar program in St.Michaels, MD, and the staff were veterans of the beach scenes and introduced me to the Orange Crush. Not my fave, with or without fresh orange juice. Your piece is great, though.)
The Orange Crush seems merely a high volume disco drink/lazy beach drink close to the Screwdriver and (degenerate version) Tequila Sunrise, and my hunch is the fresh orange juice aspect has to do, as much as anything else, with shopping mall food court chains with those motorized orange squeezing contraptions and diner brunch menus offering “fresh squeezed orange juice”.
I’ll bet we could contrive a wildly better version, even without complicating it greatly, but probably a lot of people wouldn’t like it as much.
I went a skeptic and came back with my eyes opened (slightly) that the drink could be done well in its limited way. It is a simple drink, very much like a screwdriver. But I doubt anyone who ever made a Screwdriver ever bothered with fresh orange juice. I enjoyed watching the ritual of making it, too. Cocktails are always better with a ritual. If on the beach, I would order a Grapefruit Crush if I could be sure the juice was fresh and was made to order.
Your pictures are really good Robert so many sub, stacker or writers in general can’t take basic pics of cocktails. I’m sure a lot of it is lighting but yours are good!
Thanks, Jeff! Most are Mary Kate's, but some are mine. We try really hard to achieve good photography for our posts, finding the right angle, lighting and editing for each shot. I agree--there doesn't seem to be much effort behind most cocktail photos featured on Substack.
We wanted to take the ferry but it didn't work out. And Lewes definitely pushes the Orange Crush a lot less than the other towns. Lewes is much more strait-laced.
That was our impression. We’d go back in season for an Orange Crush; the whole area that we saw was lovely. The ferry ride is good for dolphin watching.
I always associated “Orange Crush” with “Crush” orange soda, mostly because the name was semi- misquoted in a John Prine song. A fun read — I’m ready for the beach now…
My folks got to tour through a Wienermobile in GA last year. I’ll send y’all a couple pictures!
You totally “crushed it” with this article. Lolz. 🧡🍊
This fine article reminds me of a Facebook comment thread on a post asking which cocktails are massive in their home country but basically unknown outwith, such as Canada’s Bloody Caesar. It is also fascinating that drinks like the Crush were served with fresh orange or grapefruit juice in bars that otherwise leaned heavily on sour mix instead of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice. In his first book, Anthony Bourdain wrote of working for a genius restaurant manager in what must have been the early 1980s in NY, who commanded an army of loyal barbacks, bussers and servers who, among other things “squeezed gallons of lemon, lime and orange juice.”
When not enjoying an ideal libation, the best alternative is often drinking in another fresh episode of the mix, which goes down so easily, brings a smile, and delights to the last drop. Cheers.
Aww! Thank you, Robert!
"Crushing It" as usual Robert. Re: Breakfast sausage- if you haven't had Jakes 150 quick stop country breakfast sausage, put it on your bucket list for the next time you visit Bardstown KY. It's very good and has a huge fanbase.
I will try that!
I love reading your articles. Being Australian its so interesting the regionality at the tiniest level America has in its food and drink culture that we just don’t have
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoy them.
Then there’s the Mai Tai… Trader Vic? Donn Beach? Beware when politicians get involved
Yes, though it's generally agreed today that Trader Vic invented the Mai Tai.
Yes. I am of the opinion, he kinda appropriated the name - but the Trader Vic Mai Tai is the one true Mai Tai. There is a tale of a deathbed confession on his part - but who knows?
The only trick there is that even within Trader Vic’s, there is no “one true Mai Tai”—another moving target.
True. When possible, I stick to the recipe on the Trader Vic’s Bartenders Guide, but when Orgeat is not available - I’ll use Amaretto. But even today, at the few remaining TV’s they use (and sell)!a pre made mix
Wow, as a current resident and someone who grew up in Maryland and goes to Delaware annually for the beach, this article was a surreal thing to read. The orange crush is so engrained in cocktail culture around here its almost unbelievable that other states haven't incorporated it into their menus. That being said, I'm pleased to see that you hit all of the major drinking holes along the Delaware coastline. I learned things about the area even I didn't know! Thanks for a great writeup!
Thank you. Your comment means a lot. It IS wild how ingrained the drink is in the drinking culture down there. Then, if you go to Jersey or New York, nobody knows about it. Also, glad to hear that I visited the right spots. I really enjoyed the food at Matt's and plan to return next time I'm in the area.
The Crush has arrived in Louisiana, courtesy of Live! Casino, owned by the Cordish Companies of Baltimore. The first section of their sports bar's drink menu is composed of four crushes, including a strawberry lemonade version. In Maryland, for whatever reason, the menu lists cherry lemonade crush, but not strawberry lemonade crush.
My goodness, I haven’t been to a Delaware beach in at least 15 years… and this piece makes me want to go rent a chair on a rocky Atlantic beach and stick my toes in the slightly too-cold ocean SO BAD 😂
My first impression was it is a lovely area. I love how compact it is.
Definitely! And spot-on with the personalities of the towns.
I loved that everybody had the same opinion as to the essence of each town.
Thanks for this fun post! The orange crush is definitely an Eastern Shore classic!
Without a doubt.
Hey Robert - I’m guessing you wrote this prior to our lunch on Friday…LOL
…and for the record, just because orange juice lacks spine, doesn't mean it cannot be a delicious cocktail ingredient.
Later that day, I had the fine folks at The Richardson crank out what I call the ‘Lunchtime Quencher’ (full ounce, shaken) and the ‘Orange Perfect Martini’ (1/3 oz., stirred) Bronx variations. Both are delicious, as long as the juice is fresh and you add orange bitters. (There you go, Martin!)
As for the Blood and Sand, just lean on the Scotch...
Yes, I wrote that section prior to running into you on Friday at Gage. A piece this long takes several days to put together, with many edits.
Every cocktail ingredient deserves a champion! Orange juice has a strong one in you!
Just don't call me OJ.
(BTW, in 2017 I consulted on a bar program in St.Michaels, MD, and the staff were veterans of the beach scenes and introduced me to the Orange Crush. Not my fave, with or without fresh orange juice. Your piece is great, though.)
Condolences re: White’s Market.
The Orange Crush seems merely a high volume disco drink/lazy beach drink close to the Screwdriver and (degenerate version) Tequila Sunrise, and my hunch is the fresh orange juice aspect has to do, as much as anything else, with shopping mall food court chains with those motorized orange squeezing contraptions and diner brunch menus offering “fresh squeezed orange juice”.
I’ll bet we could contrive a wildly better version, even without complicating it greatly, but probably a lot of people wouldn’t like it as much.
I went a skeptic and came back with my eyes opened (slightly) that the drink could be done well in its limited way. It is a simple drink, very much like a screwdriver. But I doubt anyone who ever made a Screwdriver ever bothered with fresh orange juice. I enjoyed watching the ritual of making it, too. Cocktails are always better with a ritual. If on the beach, I would order a Grapefruit Crush if I could be sure the juice was fresh and was made to order.
Robert is inconsolable about White’s.
I can totally understand!
A great “column” made even better with congratulations to you and all the others! Oh and will you be in Rochester NY first week in June?
Not this year, I'm afraid. It's the first Rochester Cocktail Revival I will have missed in nearly ten years.
Thanks for the congrats! The nomination should have been for The Mix, but what are you gonna do?
Perhqps another nom, next year for The Mix!
Your pictures are really good Robert so many sub, stacker or writers in general can’t take basic pics of cocktails. I’m sure a lot of it is lighting but yours are good!
Thanks, Jeff! Most are Mary Kate's, but some are mine. We try really hard to achieve good photography for our posts, finding the right angle, lighting and editing for each shot. I agree--there doesn't seem to be much effort behind most cocktail photos featured on Substack.
We vacationed at Lewes 2-3 years ago. Nice spot and you can take the car ferry back to Cape May. No Orange Crushes, though.
We wanted to take the ferry but it didn't work out. And Lewes definitely pushes the Orange Crush a lot less than the other towns. Lewes is much more strait-laced.
What? No Orange Crushes? Did you go to the cannonball house?
I don't remember. A chilly spring break with the kids. Our neighbor's parents have a beach home in Lewes.
That was our impression. We’d go back in season for an Orange Crush; the whole area that we saw was lovely. The ferry ride is good for dolphin watching.
Dolphins! Now I have to go back and take the ferry.
I always associated “Orange Crush” with “Crush” orange soda, mostly because the name was semi- misquoted in a John Prine song. A fun read — I’m ready for the beach now…
My folks got to tour through a Wienermobile in GA last year. I’ll send y’all a couple pictures!