“Inquiry and Assistance” and the Bronx Cocktail

We're headed to the Bronx for cocktails and a fabulous short story by Terrie Farley Moran, the author of the Read 'Em and Eat cozy series, including the Agatha Award winner Well Read, Then Dead, Caught Read-Handed and Read to Death. 

Terrie’s short mystery fiction has been published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, along with numerous anthologies and has been nominated for both the Derringer and the Agatha. 

She also co-writes Laura Childs’ Scrapbooking Mystery series including Parchment and Old Lace, Crepe Factor and the soon-to-be-released, Glitter Bomb. She is on Facebook. 

So it is 1934, the height of the Depression and a scant few months after the end of Prohibition. Tommy Flood is at loose ends, trying to find work and hanging out in Hanratty’s on days he can’t.

But here in New York City, where rich and poor live within blocks of each other, Tommy wanders into a wealthier part of town and stumbles into a job opportunity. You can read all about Tommy Flood’s adventure in the Derringer Award-winning story “Inquiry and Assistance” published by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. It is available as a free read on the short story page of my website. 

As we follow Tommy into Manhattan’s hot spots, you might wonder what everyone is drinking. Folklore has it that the most popular cocktails of 1934 were the Martini, the Manhattan, and the Bronx. 

Hey, wait! Did I say the Bronx? My home borough? And the borough where Tommy worked as a bookkeeper in a furniture store before the hard times came along? That borough has its own drink? Where did it come from? Maybe the bartender at the Waldorf invented it, or maybe it was created in Philadelphia by a guy from the Bronx? No one really knows.

While the origin of the drink is questionable, the name is not.

- Here is how to make a Bronx Cocktail:

- 2 oz gin

- 1 oz vermouth (dry, sweet or ½ oz of each)

- 1 oz orange juice

Pour ingredients into shaker and shake gently over ice. Strain into a chilled glass, garnish with an orange slice. 

Enjoy!