Want to know how to mix a Suffragette? Curious about the origins of an Old Fashioned? Perhaps a Gin Fizz is more your style?
At 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, Zachary Veith of the Staatsburgh State Historic Site will explore the origins of several Gilded Age cocktails while demonstrating how to craft them. Following his hour-long presentation upstairs at the Stissing House, attendees can mingle over the drinks and light refreshments.
Veith is presenting at the invitation of the Little Nine Partners Historical Society. The society’s president, Dyan Wapnick, has known Veith since she wrote a role for him to play at the St. James Graveyard Tour in Hyde Park four years ago. (He portrayed one of his late, distant relatives.)
In his talk, Veith will explore how the ingredients and stories behind these cocktails — including the Astoria, the Daiquiri, the Knickerbocker and the Manhattan — reflect aspects of society during the Gilded Age, which lasted from the late 1870s to the late 1890s. “One of my favorite lines from the talk is, ‘Imbibing cocktails became simultaneously a signal of inclusion to some groups and an act of defiance for others,’” he said.
Veith earned a bachelor’s degree in history from SUNY Geneseo, where he developed an interest in “telling underrepresented history through the study of objects.” He went on to obtain a master’s in museum studies from University College London before joining the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which oversees the Staatsburgh State Historic Site. There, as a historic site assistant, he leads walking tours and special programs, including Gilded Age in a Glass.
Originally drawn to mixing drinks as a creative outlet, Veith became fascinated by the experimentation involved. His interest deepened after receiving “Gilded Age Cocktails” by Cecilia Tichi as a gift. “Champagne was the drink of the time, but cocktails reveal so much more than you expect about the Gilded Age,” he said. “Groups who were suppressed at the time, such as women and Black Americans, find a voice in cocktails. There are so many stories — scandals, the suffrage movement, the civil rights movement. And there’s a lot of local history, too. The first published definition of a cocktail appeared in 1806 in Hudson.”
Wapnick said she looks forward to the event’s historical perspective: “How these drinks can be tied into political and social events of the time should be fascinating. I’m going to be one of the people learning from this.”
With Pine Plains lacking a significant Gilded Age mansion like the Vanderbilt Estate, historical society board member Leah Cadwallader approached Stissing House general manager Nathan Rawlinson in July about hosting the event. “We agreed it would have to take place after the holidays, as they were too busy before then,” Cadwallader said.
Tickets are $30; attendees can drink from punch bowls with cocktails available at a cash bar. Light refreshments will include glazed ham, cheese, nuts, pickles, and chips.
The event is sponsored by the Little Nine Partners Historical Society, which maintains the Graham Brush House, organizes the Evergreen Cemetery Tour, and hosts a range of local history programs. Tickets are available through Eventbrite or at the door.