“Mad Men”-Inspired Barware
On Sunday, AMC’s blockbuster series "Mad Men" and its cocktail swilling cast returns for a fourth season, meaning everywhere you look at the moment there's Don Draper frenzy (there's been a 41 percent increase in "Mad Men" items on eBay in recent weeks, as well as an 80 percent uptick in "Jon Hamm" listings). The drama about the world of a Manhattan advertising agency in the early 1960s and its snapshot of mid-century style has inspired numerous runway trends—the nipped waist, the slim suit—and also sparked a cocktail revolution. After all, it's hard to find a scene in which the suave ad men are without a Scotch (and cigarette) in hand, and the three-martini lunch and gimlet for the ladies is the default standard.
Jennifer Sams, owner of City Issue, a purveyor of mid-century-modern and vintage furniture and accessories in Atlanta, who also sells on eBay, feels the show has been a catalyst for sales of retro barware. “Barware is consistently a good seller for us and over the past year or so I've noticed two areas that have really grown,” she says.
In honor of our favorite Mad Men stars, we’re toasting a new season of mod 60s style, and with Sams's help, we pulled together entertaining essentials that would make Betty Draper proud.
Go to Mad Men's official website for a comprehensive cocktail guide that includes recipes for all of the show's favorites like the Old Fashioned and the Moscow Mule.
“Georges Briard put great mod designs, usually gold or silver, on his glassware and serving pieces during the 50s-70s,” says Sams. “Otherwise, many of the glasses were made by the same companies that are still around today like Anchor Hocking Libby.”
“Table lighters are not easily found in the new market,” says Sams. “At the time all the good design homeware companies had a nice selection of lighters and ashtrays from Blenko to Rosenthal to lower end pieces with great design from Japan.”
“Martini shakers used to come in all sorts of crazy and interesting forms, but Chase made the classic martini shaker and bar tool set,” says Sams.
“Ashtrays are really obsolete small art forms,” says Sams. “We see them in everything from glass to ceramic to wood to Lucite to metals and in every shape and size.”
“Over the years the ice bucket has been modified to more function than form, but the variety and design of the mid-century ice buckets is vast,” says Sams. “Dansk, for example had an amazing collection of staved teak (as well as a more rare collection in rosewood) ice buckets designed by Jens Quistgaard that are as sculptural as functional. They are beautiful enough to leave sitting out all the time.”
“With glassware, it's not necessarily a type of glass but more the style.” she says. “The more unique in shape or design, or the more embellished the better. Amazingly we are able to find glassware sets that seem to have never been used, of course those seem to go the quickest”
The right accessories help to keep focus on the supporting role: the booze.
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