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The Lexington
Put into a shaker a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, one tablespoonful of orange flower water, two tablespoonfuls of raspberry syrup, and four tablespoonfuls of sweet cream. Add cracked ice and shake thoroughly. Then pour into a glass, add milk, and put a spoonful of whipped cream on top with a little chopped citron.
A soda-fountain milkshake in the pre-blender manner, built in a cocktail shaker. The proportions are small because it is meant for one tall glass, and the measurements assume a fountain man's practiced hand rather than a measuring spoon.
- "A spoonful"Used loosely here for both the ice cream and the whipped cream, and it plainly means more than a level teaspoon. Reckon roughly a generous tablespoon to two tablespoons of ice cream, and a similar dollop of cream on top.
- Orange flower waterDistilled orange blossom water, still sold in Middle Eastern groceries and the baking aisle. Strength varies a good deal between brands; start with a teaspoon rather than the full tablespoon and taste, or the drink will smell like soap.
- Raspberry syrupThe fountain syrup of the era was a heavy sugar syrup with fruit, closer to a French sirop de framboise than to modern seedless jam or a thin coffee syrup. A good bottled fruit syrup works; jam thinned with a little hot water does not shake smoothly.
- Sweet creamSimply fresh unsoured cream, as opposed to the sour cream that was common in a period kitchen. Light or half-and-half is closer to the original than heavy cream, which will make the drink cloying alongside the ice cream and whipped topping.
- How much milkUnspecified, because the fountain worker filled the glass. Figure on four to six ounces of cold whole milk poured over the shaken base in a twelve-ounce glass.
- Cracked iceCracked rather than crushed. Larger pieces chill with less dilution; crushed ice in a shaker will water down a mixture this delicate much faster.
- CitronCandied citron, the same green-tinged candied peel sold for fruitcake, chopped fine as a garnish. Candied lemon or orange peel is an acceptable substitute; the fresh citron fruit is not what is meant.
- YieldOne tall glass. Shake, strain or pour into the glass, top with milk, then float the whipped cream and scatter the citron last so it sits on top.
On Uncle Sam's Water Wagon belongs to the wave of American drink books published as national Prohibition approached, offering householders and hotel bars a repertoire of soft drinks to replace the cocktail list. What marks the recipe as its era is the orange flower water and the candied citron, both used to give a temperance drink some of the aromatic complication that alcohol otherwise supplied. The technique is pure soda fountain too: a cocktail shaker and cracked ice rather than a mechanical drink mixer.