Chasing Santa Fe: MORE SPIRITED GIFTS - THE ELEGANCE OF COCKTAILS

The earliest known use of the word "cocktail" in print was in the Hudson,NY, publication Balance and Columbian

Repository on 13 May 1806:

"Cocktail is a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters -- it is vulgarly called a bittered sling and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It is said, also to be of great use to a Democratic candidate: because, a person having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow anything else!"

The cocktail, notes, H.L. Mencken, "is the greatest of all contributions of the American way of life to the salvation of humanity. "

The allure of cocktails and elegant cocktail parties, is , wonderfully articulated in this charming essay - Cocktail Renaissance: The Re-emergence and Re-invention of the Cocktail Way of Life by Richard McKewen...

"The cocktail "is one of those elegant symbols where the very sight of it means something, and the more you think about it, the more aspects you discover that relate to everything . . . the balance of ingredients, the pursuit of the perfect mixture,,,

Packed with potentialities of meaning, the cocktail can simultaneously represent the excesses of the exploitative upper classes , a modicum of comfort for the lovelorn (Fitzgerald), and the flair and sophistication of the jet-set (Bond). It need not even contain alcohol; a Shirley Temple or a Roy Rogers can convey a whole individual series of meanings. It is this surfeit of decipherable meaning which attests to the cocktail's symbolic power."

S O

TO PULL OFF THE MOST PERFECT OF COCKTAIL PARTIES, STEP INSIDE...

Business partners, Liz Rees and Leon Morrison, just opened MORE - Spirited Gifts in the former VERVE GALLERY on E. Marcy street, and it is the consummate emporium dedicated to cocktail equipage. They bring the perfect mix of creativity and experience to this new venture.

Liz worked in the beauty industry with Frederic Fekkai and was instrumental in the development and staging of the famous seasonal "Holiday Markets" in Union Square, Columbus Circle & Brooklyn, NY. Since moving to Santa Fe, she has supported key non-profits and is on the Boards of the Folk Art Market and the Botanical Garden.

Leon has worked in the hospitality industry, creating retail venues in resorts, hotels, spas and wineries in Northern California - developing the tasting rooms and gift shops. "It's been all about the gift business; how to design it, run it and sustain it," explains Leon. In coming up with the concept for MORE, Leon and Liz wanted to fit into the retail market of Santa Fe, but to do something different than everyone else on the block. I think they have done just that!

S T E P I N S I D E

Sumptuous sums it up...So much to take in...Strolling advised...

The shop is a perfect melange of vintage and contemporary...

A flask for the arduous wait in line at the Post Office? Perhaps not!

The detailing is wonderful...golden cacti on the outside...

silver on the inside...

"There is something urbane, stylish, and worldly about owning a cocktail shaker."

Roger Stone

Chess anyone? No instructions necessary...the question is, would you ever be able to finish the game?

And, to put you in the Cocktail mood, The circa 1934 Dashiell Hammett movie - THE THIN MAN starring William Powell (Nick) and Myrna Loy (Nora) is playing on a large screen on the shop wall...