The Ramos Gin Fizz. The Sazerac. The Mint Julep. Cocktails can have some great origin stories, but how can you tell  sober fact from tipsy fiction? This week, we're going cold turkey to get the details behind that noble institution of pre-dinner drinking: the cocktail party. Legend (or Wikipedia) says the first cocktail party was held by Mrs. Julius S. Walsh Jr. in 1917 St. Louis. As we'll learn, the real story is *way* more complicated, stretching from Revolutionary America to the swinging 1970s. While Mrs. Walsh may not have invented the cocktail party, her life was full up with martinis, mayhem, and, yes, even murder.  
Written & Produced by Laura Carlson
Technical Direction by Mike Portt
For show notes, cocktail recipes, & more, click here

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The Scandalous, Dangerous, & Unbelievably True History of the Cocktail Party: A Tale of Manhattans, Marriage, & Murder

The Feast presents delectable stories from the dining tables of history. Our stories immerse you in the sights, sounds, & tastes of a meal from the past. Make bread with medieval monks; share a martini with Churchill. Find out what wars were won & which kingdoms were lost, all for the sake of a good meal. Email suggestions for episodes to thefeast@thefeastpodcast.org

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Almost sixty years ago to the day, President John F Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline hosted the largest state dinner of the Kennedy Administration. Invited to the White House for a special "brains dinner" in April 1962 were 49 Nobel laureates, along with Pulitzer Prize winners, noted actors, and Poet Laureates. What happened the night Robert Frost dined with J. Robert Oppenheimer? How did James Baldwin get on with Mary Welsh Hemingway? On this episode, we speak with Joseph A. Esposito, author of "Dinner in Camelot: The Night America’s Greatest Scientists, Writers, and Scholars Partied at the Kennedy White House” to discuss the dinner and its impressive guest list.
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Dinner in Camelot

This week, the Feast is heading to Ohio to visit a brewery entirely dedicated to making beer like they did in the mid-19th century. Located in Dayton, Carillon Brewing Company is not your average craft brewery. Instead of wrestling with stainless steel tanks, you’re more likely to find these brewers chopping wood and discussing 19th century recipe books. We spoke with head brewer Kyle Spears and assistant brewer Dan Lauro to learn what it takes to brew beer like they did in 1855. Here’s a clue: the first thing you’ll need is a really big fire.
Written and produced by Laura Carlson
Photography and digital direction by Mike Portt
Special guests: Kyle Spears and Dan Lauro of Carillon Brewing Company 
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Brewing with Fire: Carillon Brewing Company

In an era of celebrity chefs, fast casual chains, and meal delivery services available at the touch of a button, it may be hard to imagine a state where people drive out of town to go to a pyramid-shaped restaurant to enjoy a nice brandy-based cocktail, a relish tray, fried fish, and prime rib. Where the host lets you linger at a bar for hours before even thinking of being seated for dinner. Where you might know everyone in the restaurant, including the owners. And you may be back in a few days to dine at the same place all over again. 
But this magical state does exist, my friends. It exists at the Wisconsin supper club.
On this week’s episode, we speak with Holly L. De Ruyter, writer, producer, and director of Old Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club, the definitive documentary the explores the rise and enduring tradition of this dining legacy of the midwest.
Written and produced by Laura Carlson
Photographer and Digital Director: Mike Portt
Special Guest: Holly L. De Ruyter
Find out more about The Feast at www.thefeastpodcast.org
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Serving Up Wisconsin's State Secret: The Supper Club

This week, we’re featuring another interview from our trip to the first-ever Beer Culture Summit, held in Chicago in October 2019. This time, we’re heading to the Chicago History Museum to learn about the forgotten women that helped shape America’s beer industry in the 19th century. We speak with Dr. Jennifer Jordan, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, who has spent the last few years researching and writing about the forgotten hop industry and specifically the women who were often at the forefront of hop harvesting in states like Wisconsin and California. We chatted about Dr. Jordan’s research, which has taken her from the archives to the back roads of rural Wisconsin in search of the evidence for this once powerful industry of the area. We also talk about her research into the life of Ella, one of the many hop harvesting Wisconsin women of history.

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Cover image via the Wisconsin Historical Society 
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The Lost Women of America's Hop Industry

This week, we're taking you to the heart of the Windy City itself, Chicago, to chat with the founder and executive director of the one of the only museum's dedicated entirely to the history and culture of beer: the Chicago Brewseum. At its helm is Liz Garibay, who has spearheaded the organization's programming and events for the last several years. In October 2019, the Brewseum hosted the first-ever Beer Culture Summit, dedicated to enhancing the cultural understanding of one of the world's oldest beverages. We chatted with Liz at a Chicago craft brewery, Metropolitan Brewing, about how she got into the beer history game, the origins of the Brewseum, and why history and beer go so well together.
Find out more about the other great breweries we mention in this episode:
3 Sheeps Brewing
Eris Brewery and Cider House
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The Scandalous, Dangerous, & Unbelievably True History of the Cocktail Party: A Tale of Manhattans, Marriage, & Murder

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