Coolopolis would like to congratulate J, a friend of Coolopolis, for sharing this photo of his deeply envied collection of locally-created swizzle sticks, including one from the late lamented Casaloma showbar.They are part of his collection of 750 trillion swizzle sticks, which he has travelled the edges of the earth to collect, although there might be some exaggeration on our part about his collection.
The swizzle stick, according to a disappointingly-brief Wikipedia entry was invented by Brits in the 1700s, well after the urban dictionary equivalent was invented.
If anybody has a swizzle stick story or collection to share, particularly one with a Montreal collection, we will reward you with undeserved attention.
Here are four more.. from left to right, the Bellevue Casino, the Grand Hotel, the Chateau Champlain and Ruby Fos.
According to his collection, the guy was not a stranger at local strip clubs.
ReplyDeleteI still have a few vintage swizzles from the 1950s and 60s (no photo capability, sorry) including a green one featuring a lady sitting in a cocktail glass from the Chez Paree, then a live-music nightclub; a green one from the El Morocco Cafe; a blue and a grey one from the Cafe Mocambo; a white one from the El Paso Cafe in Lachine; a grey "Top of Toronto", likely from a bar or restaurant in the CN Tower; and a green plastic cherry or olive skewer from the former Sheraton Mount Royal's Kon Tiki Restaurant.
ReplyDeleteMost of these have the insignia "Payge Mfg. Made in Canada" on the rear.
Wow! Brings back such fantastic memories. Thanks alot.
ReplyDeleteI love swizzle sticks. They remind me of the happiest times of my life., when I assumed I was old enough to start taking my beloved girl friend to a bar, for a few Tom Collins, and decided to save the fascinatingly artisticly designed swizzle sticks in our glasses.
ReplyDeleteI saved them all, each time we went to enjoy our favorite beverage. Over years, we (now my wife), had a pretty significant collection. Not a million, but probably a few hundred – each one different.
I kept them for years. I kind of grew out of - well, not collecting them, but because I stopped going to bars where I would undoubtedly have found new ones that I had never seen before. Later, a dear nephew, who admired his uncle's collection of these delightful devices, asked if I would donate my stash to the meager number he had already amassed. Of course, I couldn't refuse him - so I donated my marvelous bundle to him. (Many like the ones you have shown Kristian)!
He's a grown-up settled adult now, with a family, and he doesn't have the opportunity, nor the inclination to add to his collection: but I bet if he is watching Coolopolis now, (which I know he does), he will recognize his uncle's message here, and maybe write you to tell you, "Hey, I still have my uncle's fabulous collection of swizzle sticks he collected from all the greatest bars in this fabulous city. Maybe I should go on e-bay and become independant for the rest of his life".
(Wish I had thought of that).
Concordia University Archives has a significant jazz collection which among other artifacts includes swizzle sticks from Rockhead's Paradise and other Montreal establishments of that era/scene.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is looking for a new home for their swizzle stick collection, keep it in mind!
My parents almost never went out, but once a year on their anniversary they'd usually get an older relative of ours to come babysit and they'd go out to Mother Martin's. I don't know whether that restaurant (which in its last years was a haunt of drunken journalists, but closed long ago) had swizzle sticks, but they had a related item, plastic cows on sticks, with "Rare" or "Medium" or "Well Done" on them, brought to the table on steaks of the appropriate doneness. And my parents would bring the plastic cows home as mementoes.
ReplyDeleteSee this:
ReplyDeletehttp://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/swizzle-sticks-stir-up-nostalgia-for-1960s-montreal