The LUPEC Boston "USO SHOW"

The LUPEC Boston “USO SHOW”

Friday, November 21, 7-11 p.m.

at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center

On November 21 the Boston chapter of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails) will transform the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center into a swinging 1940's-themed cocktail party featuring retro-libations, live entertainment, dancing, delicious canapés, a prize raffle, and a USO-style variety show. It's a coed event, and all are welcome. This is our second annual large-scale fundraising event and was created to benefit women at The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans (NESHV). Tickets are $35 in advance/ $45 at the door, and can be purchased at Toro and Tremont 647 in the South End, Grand in Somerville, or online at grandthestore.com.

The LUPEC BOSTON USO SHOW is one component of our annual fall fundraising program, which raised over $10,000 for Jane Doe Inc. last year. Starting November 1, LUPEC Boston will partner with local bars and restaurants to offer a month-long “THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES” drink promotion, where participants donate proceeds from one LUPEC Boston-approved beverage to women at NESHV. Restaurant partners include Toro, Tremont 647, La Verdad, Eastern Standard, Rendezvous, Highland Kitchen, Flora, The Milky Way, and more. (For a full list, click here.) Proceeds from sales our recently reprinted cocktail book, THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF COCKTAILS, will also benefit the NESHV this fall.

The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans is a private, non-profit organization with a mission to extend a helping hand to homeless men and women veterans who are addressing the

Bob Hope entertains the troops

challenges of addiction, trauma, severe and persistent mental illness, and/or unemployment, and who will commit themselves to sobriety, non-violence, and working for personal change. They are recognized as one of the most effective private veteran's transition programs in the country. Learn more at www.neshv.org.

The LUPEC BOSTON USO SHOW will pay tribute to the 1940’s theme with of-the-era cocktails, a complimentary swing dance lesson, and a USO-style variety show emceed by Cathleen Carr and Daiva Deupree of the critically acclaimed New York-based sketch comedy burlesque Two Girls for Five Bucks. The show will feature acts by Thru the Keyhole Burlesque, Boston-based actor, improviser and stand-up comedian Harry Gordon as Bob Hope, and DJ Brother Cleve, a Boston institution, will spin ‘40s-era swing music throughout the evening. Vintage dress and creative cocktail attire is encouraged.

This event will take place at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center [85 W. Newton St., South End, Boston], with generous support from sponsors St-Germain, Hendricks, Cruzan, Milagro, Sazerac, Chartreuse, Mathilde Liqueurs, Harpoon, and SmartWater.

DETAILS:

The LUPEC BOSTON USO SHOW will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 21. Tickets are one sale now. Ticket price is $35 in advance/ $45 at the door and will include cocktail party fare, a variety show, dancing, and four drink tickets, with additional beverages available for purchase.

Light cocktail party fare will be provided for the evening by Toro, Tremont 647, and Lionette's Market, Island Creek Oysters will be on hand shucking their acclaimed “Duxbury Pearls”, and The Boston Derby Dames will skate around with sweets provided by Taza Chocolates.

The USO-style variety show will be emceed by Cathleen Carr and Daiva Deupree of Two Girls for Five Bucks and feature Boston-based actor, improviser and stand-up comedian Harry Gordon, and Thru the Keyhole Burlesque. DJ Brother Cleve will spin ‘40s-era swing music between live acts. Vintage dress and creative cocktail attire is encouraged.

A prize raffle will feature gift certificates donated from Toro, Tremont 647, Myers + Chang, La Verdad, East Coast Grill, Taza Chocolates, Polka Dog Bakery, Vee Vee, Flour Bakery + Cafe, ZipCar, Hollywood Express, A Brix Six Gift Pack from Brix Wine Shop, tickets to the Improv Asylum and Swing City a St-Germain gift basket, a one-year subscription to Imbibe magazine and more.

All proceeds from the LUPEC BOSTON USO SHOW will benefit women at The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans.

• Ticket price is $35 in advance/ $45 at the door including cocktail party fare and four drink tickets, with additional beverages available for purchase.
• Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at:
  • Toro, 1704 Washington St., Boston, MA
  • Tremont 647, 647 Tremont St. Boston, MA
  • Grand, 374 Somerville Ave., Somerville, MA
  • Online at grandthestore.com [service charges will apply]

About NESHV

The New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans is a private, non-profit organization with a mission to extend a helping hand to homeless men and women veterans who are addressing the challenges of addiction, trauma, severe and persistent mental illness, and/or unemployment, and who will commit themselves to sobriety, non-violence, and working for personal change. They are recognized as one of the most effective private veteran's transition programs in the country. Learn more at www.neshv.org.

The Little Black Book of Cocktails by LUPEC Boston

by Pink Lady

Whenever LUPEC throws a party I find myself gleefully overwhelmed: So many cocktails on offer, so little time...however will I sample all of the delicious drinks on this list in one evening? Perhaps I'd try if I were a guest, but since I'm there representing a ladies club devoted to sophisticated and responsible imbibing, I abstain, lest I end up dancing on a table with a lampshade on my head.

But what about all those cocktails I missed out on?

Now, thanks the the recently available Little Black Book of Cocktails by LUPEC Boston, many of those drinks can be made in the comfort of your own home. Handsomely designed by LUPEC Boston's own Pinky Gonzalez, this smart little book contains recipes for all ten of the "namesake cocktails" of the ladies of LUPEC Boston, plus recipes for some of our favorite classics and vintage-inspired originals -- approximately 40 favorites in all. We've designed it with readers like you in mind, so you may enjoy these fine drinks at home, on your own time -- lampshade chapeau-ed dance optional.

The book costs $15 and all proceeds from book sales benefit the Friends Boutique at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which provides wigs, prosthetics, scarves and services for people dealing with the appearance side effects of cancer treatment.

LUPEC partnered with Cambridge-based photographer Matt Demers last fall to participate in his "Women in Pearls" series. Modeled after a striking black and white photograph of 1920s It-girl Louise Brooks (right), the "Pearls" project is Demers' study on body image and beauty for modern women. In the artists' own words,

"Thanks to the photographic magic of Eugene Robert Richee the starlet [Brooks] was stripped of culturally-defined trappings. No make-up, high-fashion or salon treatments. Black on black, her physical body shape disappeared into the abyss. Over-exposed skin tones erased any skin flaws. The authentic Louise Brooks emerged, bold and exquisite."

In Demers' mind, LUPEC + Pearls = a match made in heaven: "Passionate about their craft, bucking stereotypes with gusto, champions for social causes: the LUPEC ladies were a natural fit for my evolving project. Channeling the spirit of the Pandora’s Box muse, the ladies stepped in front of the camera with fearless zest to become the cornerstone of the series."

And his images, in turn, became the cornerstone of The Little Black Book of Cocktails by LUPEC Boston.

To order a copy of The Little Black Book of Cocktails email us at lupecboston@gmail.com. You can also pick up a copy at Magpie (617-623-3330) in Davis Square, Somerville, or Buckaroo’s Mercantile (617-492-4792) in Central Square, Cambridge.

And let us know what you think of the drinks by dropping us a note in the comments section. The first reader to respond letting us know they've tried all ten cocktails just might receive a special prize at our next event!

A sante!

A Good Cocktail Starts with Good Water

by Pink Gin

The ladies of LUPEC Boston have focused their charitable energies on local women’s causes. But there are a lot of ways to give back, and here is one that helps women in developing countries.

Water For People (WFP), a non-profit organization, is a champion for people in developing countries - helping them help themselves by implementing simple, affordable water and sanitation solutions to meet the needs of their community.

Why is this a women’s issue? According to research cited by WFP:

--The average distance that women in developing countries walk to collect water per day is 6 kilometers (4 miles) and the average weight that women carry on their heads is approximately 20 kilograms (44 pounds), the same weight as airport luggage allowance. (WSSCC, 2004)

--Almost 70% of the world’s citizens living in poverty are women. (World Water Day, 2001)

Water For People projects impact entire communities—hundreds of people. Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation can change the economic climate because people are able to work and build businesses. Children are less likely to be ill and can attend school. Women are free from tedious water collection and are free to take care of their families and generate income. Entrepreneurs sprout up around the water project, finding creative ways to begin new businesses related to this new community asset.

So -- in the spirit of LUPEC Boston’s belief that having fun and making the world a better place are not contradictory – check out the Water For People Gala Celebration!

This event features:

--High-scoring dining
--Pre-Gala tours of Fenway Park
--Live jazz entertainment
--Live auction of Red Sox memorabilia
--Special MC - WCVB's Karen Holmes Ward

Proceeds from this event will go directly to WFP, so your contribution will have a significant impact on the lives of impoverished people worldwide.

Sponsorship opportunities and tickets are available now!

And if you can't make it to the event, we suggest raising a Croton Cocktail in one hand (as you make out a generous donation check with the other) in honor of this great cause.

A salut!

Coffee and Doughnuts

During World War II American Red Cross services were in high gear. By the wars end in 1945, over 7.5 million volunteers supported 40,000 paid Red Cross staff around the world. "Nearly every family in America contained a member who had either served as a Red Cross volunteer, made contributions of money or blood, or was a recipient of Red Cross services."

My family's Red Cross volunteer was my Great Aunt Kay.

On June 6, 1945, just about a month after VE Day, Kay Kehoe boarded the Queen Mary to Europe, where she spent the next 18 months traveling all over Great Britain and the Continent as a Clubmobiler. Red Cross Service Clubs offered meals, recreational activities, overnight accommodations and amenities like barbershops and laundries to American soldiers stationed all over the world; Clubmobiles were designed to be like service clubs on wheels.

These half-ton trucks and single-deck buses, acquired by the Red Cross from a former London bus company, were converted to literal welcome wagons. Each was operated by three American Red Cross women and a local driver, and were equipped for "making and serving coffee and doughnuts and for distributing newspapers, chewing gum, and other small items" to the troops. Some had phonographs and loudspeakers, and others were even outfitted with movie projectors.



Kay Kehoe disembarked from the Queen Mary in Scotland, and didn't stop traveling for the next 18 months. She and the girls of Clubmobile Group A boarded a train from Scotland to England, then took a boat across the chilly English channel to France, then boarded another train to Paris. From there, they traveled all over Europe in a truck the size of an ambulance, delivering coffee and doughnuts to troops through the truck's windows. Occasionally they'd stop in service clubs -- Kay remembers a particularly big one in Berlin -- where they'd work as 'club girls', acting as hostesses to the troops. But being on the road was the type of service Kay Kehoe liked best.

\

When it got too hot on the dusty French roads in the summer, the girls of Clubmobile A served lemonade in place of coffee. "Most of the boys were in a staging area, just waiting to go home," says Kehoe. "We'd serve them their lemonade and doughnuts and gab with them, and sometimes they'd invite you to come to the G.I. Club for a dance. There we'd dance and listen to records, and they had beer and soda and pretty much anything you wanted at the clubs."

As for cocktails, says Kay, "they didn't have the kinds of ingredients you'd need to make fancy drinks, like Martinis, Old Fashions, and Manhattans. But, since it was France, you could pretty much always get your hands on cognac, and all the G.I. Clubs had Coca Cola." So that's what they drank.

This weekend, let's raise a glass to Kay Kehoe and the girls of Clubmobile A!

Clubmobile Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Cognac

Fill glass with Coca Cola

Add lemon twist

Serve in a highball glass

A votre sante!

the Ladies of LUPEC on CHET CURTIS

Don't miss LUPEC Boston's own Lauren Clark on THE CHET CURTIS REPORT

Tomorrow night Lauren Clark,
LUPEC Boston member and founder of Drinkboston.com,
will appear on the 'CHET CURTIS REPORT' on NECN!

Lauren will chat with Chet about all things LUPEC, and
teach viewers how to make a classic cocktail that's bound to wow the entire family this Thanksgiving.

Tune in Friday, November 16th @ 8 p.m. ET on NECN!

Operation Frontline Dinner and Petticoat Row

Thank you to all who attended the tenth annual Operation Frontline Dinner at Tremont 647 last week! Also a huge thank you to Matt Lambo and Triple Eight Distillery for donating the delicious Triple Eight Cranberry Vodka that the ladies of LUPEC used to make the Petticoat Row! If you weren't able to attend, but are interested in our newest cocktail creation here's the recipe and the history of the name!

LUPEC Boston's Petticoat Row

2 parts Triple Eight Cranberry Vodka
1 part Fresh Orange Juice
1 part Spiced Simple Syrup*
Chill the above mixture in a shaker with ice. Strain into a flute, filling the flute halfway. Fill the flute with Prosecco and enjoy!

The Petticoat Row is named after the shops located along Centre Street on Nantucket. This area acquired it's nickname in the 19th Century when, while most women were mothers and homemakers, the majority of these shops were owned and operated by the wives of whalers who would be at sea for years at a time. Cheers to our forebroads of Nantucket!

Spiced Simple Syrup
Place one cup of water, 12 whole cloves, 1 or 2 star anise, and 1/8th teaspoon ground cinnamon in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups sugar and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes more.
Remove from the heat and let cool. Remove the cloves and star anise with a slotted spoon. Syrup will keep for up to four weeks when refrigerated.
Recipe from "Raising the Bar"by Nick Mautone

Did you miss the Taste of the South End?

Then you missed the lovely ladies of LUPEC spreading the love through tiny little cocktails in tiny little plastic cups! Here's a bit about our cocktail of the evening!

PEGU CLUB COCKTAIL
1.5 oz Plymouth Gin
.5 oz Orange Curacao
.5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters

Forty miles up the Rangoon River, the Pegu Club was a British Colonial Officer's club near the Gulf of Martaban in Burma. The house cocktail, bearing the same name, was created sometime before 1930 when it was referencesd by master mixologist Harry Craddock in the Savoy Cocktail Book as having "traveled, and is asked for, round the world."

After several years as the beverage director at Bemelman's Bar in the Carlyle Hotel, modern master mixologist Audrey Saunders sought to bring bask the true art of the cocktail culture by opening her Pegu Club at 77 W Houston St in Manhatttan in 2005. Applying a more culinary approach to her cocktails, Audrey describes the process as the beverage equivalent of the slow food movement. Bucking the current vodka trend she consistently creates cocktails highlighting unjustly neglected spirits that challenge the cocktail neophyte as well as the cocktail connoisseur.

Thanks to everyone who joined us that night! Also, huge thanks to our friends at Toro who kindly shared their table with us and our friends at Future Brands who donated Plymouth Gin!

Cheers!