Cooking Lesson #1010: Las Vegas Spritz

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

credit: St-Germain

How you doin’? Do you remember the so-called fern bars of the 60s, 70s, and 80s? The most famous was TGI Fridays. The original premise of TGI Fridays was to create an environment, adorned with Tiffany lamps, cozy furniture and ample plant life, where women could relax on their own or with friends. Men were likely to frequent the bar as well. There, they could meet single women in an environment similar to a cocktail party at a well-appointed home.
 
There were many Fridays-inspired spinoffs. A San Francisco bar, Henry Africa’s, thought to be where the Lemon Drop cocktail originated, brought the fern bar concept to full flower—so many potted plants. When I opened the first Customs House Restaurants they were the first to be a waterfront fern bar on the lagoons of Foster City and Redwood City.
 
A sad story… TGI Fridays has filed for bankruptcy and closed many of their restaurants. At one time I was the Executive Vice President of the company. I loved the peppy vibe everyone got when they walked in the door. It was a positive experience, even if you didn’t walk out with the lady (or gentleman) of your choice.
 
Like the dating apps that have occupied smartphones over the last couple of decades, fern bars had a built-in obsolescence. After that special person was found, the venue was no longer needed. Tastes change, aesthetics evolve, and trends flip on a dime. As fern bars began to fade with the disco era, venues like TGI Fridays had to adapt. Its business model became more family-friendly. Locations sprouted up in the suburbs, where their once single-and-ready-to-mingle patrons had migrated with their families. Friday’s became the Great American Bisto—family-friendly no less. 
 
But never count out these great old watering holes, although they now carry heavy themes—tiki, tropical, Caribbean and nautical themes have cropped up. As the current decade began, many bartenders opted for pineapple tattoos and casualwear, rather than three-piece, 19th-century attire and high-maintenance mustaches. A less serious dress code but a more serious style of craft bartending and service began to be the norm.
 
The environment is ripe for the emergence of a modernized fern bar, a place where the drinks are well-crafted, but the service is light and casual (and expensive)—this is the cocktail evolution of the last 50 years. We live in an age where quality well-made drinks can be served alongside Michelin star-worthy food.
 
One such cocktail is the Las Vegas Spritz… it epitomizes the trend of using a contemporary liqueur, St-Germain. Though the drink has gone through a few iterations since its debut, the use of St-Germain, an elderflower liqueur, was first seen (and tasted) when it debuted in 2007. Its popularity skyrocketed over the next decade. It’s become one of the most popular spritz variations worldwide.
 
Total time: 1 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients 
1 sprig mint, plus 2–3 sprigs for garnish
1/2 ounce St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
4 ounces chilled Prosecco
1 ounce chilled soda water
1 lemon wheel, for garnish
 
Directions
1.      Strip the leaves off one mint sprig.
2.      Lightly slap the leaves in the palm of your hand to release the oils (how’s that for show?)
3.      Add the leaves to a chilled white wine glass.
4.      Fill the glass with ice, then add in the St-Germain, chilled Prosecco and soda water.
5.       Stir briefly to combine.
6.      Garnish by placing a lemon wheel into the glass, alongside a bouquet of 2–3 added mint sprigs.

ChefSecret:  St-Germain is an elderflower liqueur made using the petals of Sambucus nigra from the Savoie region in France. Each bottle is numbered with the year the petals were collected. Petals are collected annually in the spring over a period of three to four weeks and are transported by bicycle to collection points to avoid damaging the petals and thus affecting the delicate flavor.

Quip of the Day:  Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s
called Everybody, and they meet at the bar……………..Drew Carey
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/perspectives-on-food.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Cocktail #LasVegasSpritz #Prosecco #StGermain #ElderflowerLiqeuer #HappyHour2025 #Cheers #Recipes2025 #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #SamaritansPurse #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup  

                                                                                   ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2025

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