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Gossip Girl Puts Another Nail in Speakeasy's Coffin

A good cocktail is timeless; this trend is not

By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 8, 2009 6:39 AM CST

(Newser) – Not even a month after one mag wished for the speakeasy trend to die, Gossip Girl (yes, a show about high school and college kids, but that’s another topic) is pounding another nail in the cocktail conceit, Derek Brown writes. With one of the show’s characters opening a Prohibition-style joint—“an authentic trend … co-opted by teenie-boppers and dumbed-down programming”—the trend has clearly “jumped the shark.”

“I appreciate ‘speakeasies’ for the substantive quality they have brought to drinking,” Brown, who has an interest in just such a joint, blogs for the Atlantic. “Without a few pioneers in this genre you’d still be sipping Cosmos and seeking out-of-the-way hotel lobbies for a civilized drink.” So, let’s toast to a compromise: “Let’s not call bars that restrict seating or reference pre-Prohibition cocktails and decor speakeasies anymore. … Let’s call speakeasies ‘cocktail bars.’ That’s what they are. And getting a good cocktail is timeless.”

If Chuck Bass is opening a speakeasy on Gossip Girl, the trend really has jumped the shark.
If Chuck Bass is opening a speakeasy on "Gossip Girl," the trend really has jumped the shark.   (YouTube)
If Chuck Bass is opening a speakeasy on Gossip Girl, the trend really has jumped the shark.
If Chuck Bass is opening a speakeasy on "Gossip Girl," the trend really has jumped the shark.   (YouTube)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 5 comments
kokuaguy
Nov 10, 2009 1:27 AM CST
As Cole Porter said-- experiment: Equal parts fine sake & vodka, finishing with enough gin to make it about 1/7th of total volume. Garnish with pink, pickled ginger and a slice of fresh Japanese cucumber. Then bring on the sushi. ; ^) PS- what say you, Shonan san?
Spudsy
Nov 9, 2009 12:21 PM CST
Excellent call. A martini is gin and tastes like a crappy evergreen. A "vodka martini" is just someone trying to make the fact that they need 3 shots of vodka sound classy.
rakewell
Nov 8, 2009 6:43 AM CST
While we're at it, can we stop calling anything that's served up a "martini"?

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