I begin writing this week’s post just a couple of days before an election that will probably increase the per-capita liquor consumption nationwide among a great many of us, myself very likely included. Even in this cocktail column, I’ve never kept my political leanings any kind of a secret and I’m certainly not going to start now. Don’t worry, though, I’m not about to go into some political tirade — you can see those on my Facebook page any time you want! — but just to say that, among the things I am going to keep fighting for is the ability to enjoy your life as you see fit. Cocktails are a part of that.

The name of today’s cocktail, the New Deal, almost certainly comes from the name given to the various efforts by Depression-era U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt to make for a society less controlled by the highest realms of the economic system. The idea was to fight the extreme poverty of the time, but also to head off more radical proposals coming from both the far left and the far right. These changes included the creation of Social Security, the longevity of which will definitely impact your life if you live in the United States, and if you live long enough.

Sadly, I don’t know anything about why today’s cocktail in particular is called the New Deal. It comes to us, once again, from “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.” It’s true that New York attorney David Embury’s 1948 cocktail classic comes from the time when the country was first getting to truly enjoy it’s post-World War II prosperity. Beyond that, however, I haven’t a clue where the drink comes from or what about it might have seemed like it was somehow related to FDR’s famed preference for Keynesian economic policies. I do know, however, that it’s a dandy drink that will appeal to those of us who like our beverages sweet but with a hint of floral bitterness.

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