Cocktails: How to get into a Barney
There are few more dramatic characters in South African history than Barney Barnato. His is the rags-to-riches story of a Jew from the East End of London, a boxer-cum-music hall showman, a diamond, gold and property millionaire, a politician and a Randlord.Barnato's life story reads like a screenplay. He once said: ''Always wind up with a good curtain, and bring it down before the public gets tired - or has had time to find you out."The rapacious entrepreneur, who sealed deals with a slug of brandy, ended up in the drink: he fell overboard, or jumped from, a steamer taking him home to England. His death certificate read: "Suicide by drowning during temporary insanity." Others called it murder.At The Landmark cocktail bar, Gareth Wainwright educates patrons about the uniquely South African cocktail The Barney Barnato. It was probably commissioned by the status-hungry Barnato himself as the signature drink of the rarefied Carlton Hotel, which he had built to announce his arrival as a Randlord.In the late 1800s a cocktail party was a reception preceding a dinner party for the rich and powerful. To expedite service at larger gatherings, The Barney Barnato might have been mixed in batches in a silver-plated punch bowl and chilled with a great beach-ball of ice; a punch with a kick, you might say.Anyone contemplating it today should bear in mind that cocktails were shorter then, no more than 60ml of aperitif in a delicate crystal chanticleer. The Barney Barnato was designed to impress, not undress.The Barney BarnatoThe Landmark's credo is that a cocktail is only as good as its ingredients. "The Van Ryn's," says Wainwright, "brings aromas of gooseberry, raspberry, vanilla, cinnamon, caramel and citrus."60ml Van Ryn's 10-year-old brandy20ml Caperitif*15ml Mandarine Napoleon curaçao2 dashes orange bittersStir thoroughly with plenty of ice and strain into a well-chilled glass.Garnish with an Amarena cherry and a twist of orange rind.*To get Caperitif e-mail aabadenhorstwine@gmail.comThe Landmark, corner William Nicol and Ballyclare drives, 011-463-5081..
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