My third First Coast Magazine story has hit the streets! You can read about the classic bar cabinet as an essential piece for entertaining made famous first by David C. Rockola in the “Front Door” section of the December issue.
Here is the my original article as submitted to the magazine. It was shortened by editors to meet space requirements.
Thirteen years after Jay Gatsby’s fateful summer of 1922 in The Great Gatsby, David C. Rockola, inventor of the RMC jukebox, filed a patent for a “new, original and ornamental design for a Bar Cabinet,” that would have knocked the stylish dress socks off Gatsby. Lisa McVie would be glad to show you this original, black, 1930s Rock-Ola bar cabinet with a red interior that houses alcohol, glassware and barware alike. The Rock-Ola label is carved into the back. The furniture is displayed in her space at Avonlea Antiques & Design Gallery on Philips Highway.
Rockola, who changed his name to Rock-Ola, because so many people mispronounced it without the hyphen, went on to make many styles of bar cabinets, scales, parking meters, pinball machines and furniture. He was best known, however, for his coin-operated jukeboxes.
Some blame the decline of cocktails and highballs on Prohibition. Despite the law that made alcoholic beverages illegal, cocktails were still consumed in speakeasies. However, the quality of liquor available during Prohibition was much worse, because focus shifted from quality aging to ease of producing liquor illicitly. Honey, fruit juices and other flavorings served to mask the foul taste of the inferior liquors. Sweet cocktails were easier to drink quickly and disguised the presence of liquor, an important consideration when the establishment might be raided at any moment. Cocktails that were popular in the 1960s, 70s and 80s lost their elegant status once they were prepared with sugary pre-made mixes that skimped on quality.
But today, craft cocktails focus on fresh juices and ingredients, and their status has been revived. With the craft cocktail revolution in the last decade, sophisticated bars as discreet as speakeasies are making a comeback as well. As with Gatsby in the 20s, the ad men of, well, “Mad Men” in the 60s and the women of “Sex in The City” in the 90s, it’s not just about drinking; it’s about the ritual, the exquisite lifestyle and the desire to treat guests special, especially during the holidays.
“Would you like something from the bar – a gin Martini, Mint Julep, Manhattan, Old-Fashioned, perhaps a Sidecar, Stinger or Rusty Nail? Why, certainly, I have all the makings right here.” <Clink> Here’s to your holidays being the most special ever.
Karen J. Rieley 