They can't take that away...and The Summer Breeze Cocktail

On this day in 1937, the American composer George Gershwin passed away from complications of a brain tumor.

At only 17 years of age Gershwin published his first song titled "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em." It earned him $5.00.

He scored his first big hit in 1919 with his song "Swanee" on which he collaborated with Irving Caesar. Al Jolson recorded in 1920 and made it one of the biggest songs of the year.
In 1924, Gershwin would switch gears and produce a classical work, Rhapsody in Blue and follow it up with another orchestral work An American in Paris in 1928. Both are classical standards now.

Probably most know for his (as Gershwin would describe it - folk opera) musical Porgy and Bess which featured what are by now his most performed songs; "Summertime", "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" and "It Ain't Necessarily So" It also featured his most complex and sophisticated music. Unfortunately, when the work was first performed in 1935, the critics had a hard time classifying it. Was it a new genre as Gershwin descibed, was it opera, a broadway musical. Whatever the classification, Porgy and Bess failed at the box office.

Amazingly, with such an incredible body of work behind him, Gershwin received his only Academy Award nomination, at the 1937 Oscars, for "They Can't Take That Away from Me" co-written with his brother Ira, but the nomination was given posthumously, as Gerswin passed away in July.

The Historical Inebriant:  Summer Breeze Cocktail

http://cocktails.about.com/od/whiskeyrecipes/r/summer-breeze-cocktail.htm

Ingredients:

• 1 part Maker’s Mark
• 1 part Ginger ale
• A splash of Cointreau
• 1 orange slice

1. Muddle an orange slice in an old-fashioned glass with a splash of Cointreau.
2. Add in equal parts Maker's Mark Bourbon and ginger ale.
3. Stir gently.
4. Top off with ice and serve

Summertime


Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry