Morning Glory Fizz: an old time way to start the day

Story by Sam Bygrave
Photography by Jiri Nosek
Presented by Raphael Redant, Stitch Bar
In association with Ardbeg

Back in 1800’s America, you didn’t start your day with a shot of wheatgrass or some vegetable and kale-laden cold-pressed juice designed to lift your energy levels. Instead of a whack of spirulina first thing, you’d start with a spirit.

Call it an eye-opener, a pick-me-up, a corpse reviver — no matter the name, if you were a sporting man, you’d have downed a drink like this Morning Glory Fizz.

Morning Glory Fizz

60ml Ardbeg Ten Years Old
5ml French or Swiss absinthe
5ml lime juice
10ml lemon juice
2tsp sugar
1 egg white
Soda water to top

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Add all ingredients except soda to your mixing glass. Dry shake (without ice) to emulsify egg white. Add cracked ice and shake briskly. Strain into a highball glass, no ice, and top with sparkling water. Consume immediately.

 
Its roots go back to O.H Byron’s Modern Bartender’s Guide, published in 1884, and the drink can tell you a bit about that moment in time. French absinthe gets a run; the drink was served without ice in a tall glass (all the more easier to throw it back); and the bartenders of the time poured fiery single malt Scotch whisky, as was the style of the time (blended Scotch didn’t gain popularity until later).

But if the idea of snapping back a couple of shots single malt first thing in the morning seems rough, you might want to consider the times.

1880’s America saw great upheaval as the weight of population increasingly moved west: new western states would join the Union, there were ongoing wars against the native American populations, and all the while the number of people in America was exploding — some 12 million people were added between 1870 and 1880, bringing the population to well over 50 million people.

The 1880’s saw Billy the Kid shot dead. It’s the decade of Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the O.K. Corrall — the stuff of western movie legend; there was violence against Chinese immigrants; and it’s in 1882 that the notorious outlaw Jesse James is shot. 1883 saw riots and a bombing in Chicago as a general strike sought the eight hour workday. Added to all this upheaval, in 1881 the US saw another leader assassinated when President James A. Garfield was shot in the back, just four months in to his term.

If you had to read about this in the paper each morning, you too might throw down a Morning Glory Fizz.

Notes on ingredients:

• Ardbeg Ten Years Old is non-chill filtered and bottled at the higher ABV of 46 per cent.
• The aroma is smoky, fruity, with lemon zest and lime notes and hints of dark chocolate.
• There’s loads of peat and citrus fruits on the palate, as well as notes of black pepper and sizzling cinnamon-spiced toffee. There’s brine, buttermilk, and creamy cappuccino characters and an oily palate.