Josephine Baker

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Dust with cinnamon powder

Comment:

A smooth apricot and brandy dessert-style cocktail with hints of wine and cold tea.

About:

Recipe adapted from a 1937 Bar Florida menu, Havana, Cuba.

This cocktail is named in honour of Josephine Baker (1906-1975), an American-born dancer, singer, and actress. She dropped out of school at just 12-years-old and lived as a street child amongst the slums of St. Louis until her street-corner dancing attracted attention and at 15 she was recruited for the St. Louis Chorus vaudeville show. Baker then became a hit in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, reputedly "the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville".

In October 1925, she moved to Paris and starred at the Théâtre de Champs-Élysées where she appeared practically nude. Her erotic dancing earned her the nicknames Bronze Venus, Black Pearl and Créole Goddess.

Baker was a staunch supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and for assisting the French Resistance during World War II which earned her French military honour, the Croix de guerre.