Vintage World’s Fair Cocktails to Make at Home

Cocktail expert A.J. Rathbun offers recipes for three retro drinks once served atop the Space Needle

By: A.J. Rathbun  |   February 2012   |  FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Fair cocktails, redux PHOTO CREDIT: Hayley Young

In 1962, stylish guests dined and drank at The Eye of the Needle (now called SkyCity), while slowly revolving 500 feet above Seattle. While the days of a $6.75 three-course dinner are long gone, you don’t need a time machine to sample the drinks from the Needle’s menu. Seattle magazine’s cocktail expert A.J. Rathbun offers these vintage recipes—from a Trader Vic’s Cocktail Guide—to try at home.

Panorama Punch

Ice cubes

3/4 ounce light Puerto Rican rum

3/4 ounce gin

3/4 ounce Cointreau

1 dash grenadine

Juice of 1/2 lime plus a slice for garnish

Shake all ingredients in a shaker. Pour into 10-ounce Pilsner glass. Fill glass with ice cubes. Serve with a straw and lime slice.

Cloud Buster

Ice cubes

1 1/2 ounces vodka

3 ounces Champagne

Lemon twist, for garnish

Add the vodka and three ice cubes to a Champagne glass. Add the Champagne, stir briefly, garnish with the lemon twist.

Milky Way

Ice cubes

1/2 ounce brandy

1/2 ounce Jamaican rum

1/2 ounce bourbon

6 ounces whole milk or cream

3 drops vanilla

Nutmeg

Shake all ingredients in a shaker. Pour into 10-ounce glass. Fill glass with ice cubes. Dust with grated nutmeg. Serve with a straw.

Vintage menus from the Eye of the Needle, and fair cocktails, redux (from left): Panorama Punch, Cloud Buster and the Milky Way