Leonard Cohen Invented His Own Cocktail. The Jewish Museum Gave It A Happy Hour.
The lobby of the Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan hummed with energy and clinking ice cubes.
Museum-goers formed huddles in the entry of the converted mansion — some visitors sat at tables, while others scoured books that are on sale in the museum’s store.
Everyone was holding a blush-colored cocktail invented by the late, great Jewish musician Leonard Cohen.
In 1975, Cohen found himself in the city of Needles, California, in the Mojave Desert. The singer-songwriter decided to create a drink: tequila, cranberry juice, and lemon juice, poured over ice, in stemware. The poet called it the Red Needle.
Popularity-wise, it’s no “Hallelujah.” The Jewish Museum hopes to change that with their summer cocktail hour – “Cocktails With Cohen” every Thursday in August (you still have two more chances.)
The happy hour, in partnership with Russ & Daughters at the Jewish Museum, accompanies the museum’s current exhibition, “Leonard Cohen: A Crack In Everything.” That multi-media exhibit, which features 14 artists and 18 musicians, runs through September 8.
“When doing research online about Leonard Cohen, Jewish Museum staff found a recipe for the Red Needle,” Claudia Gould, the director of the Jewish Museum, told the Forward. Wine and beer are also for sale, for those who prefer to avoid hard liquor’s “needle.”
“Visitors can come to the museum to see the exhibition of immersive art inspired by Cohen, and also have a cocktail invented by Cohen,” Gould said. “It’s a perfect night out in New York City.”
Well I’ll drink a l’chaim to that.
Red Needle recipe (makes 1 serving):
2 oz. tequila
4 oz. cranberry juice
½ oz. lemon juice
1 lemon, sliced (for garnish)
Ice
Start with ice. Add other ingredients and give a quick stir. Garnish with a lemon slice.
Read More: In Leonard Cohen’s Letters, A Window Into His Life And Work
Adrianna Chaviva Freedman is a writer. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ac_freedman
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO