The Story - Refreshing news - The legacy of the first It girl in history
"Refreshing" was one of Mrs. Walsh's favorite words. She used it when a guest – an English lord – only dressed in a tiger skin proposed to her, while swinging back and forth from the chandelier of her New York City hotel suite.
She also said it when an extremely prosperous stockbroker, wishing not to be named, lost his clothing between the green drawing room and the fireplace lounge of the same suite and miraculously could not find them again, causing one or two irritations to passers-by on his way home.
And she said it while hosting the first cocktail party in April 1917. No not Mrs. Walsh's first cocktail party, but the very first cocktail party in history - the first cocktail party the world had ever seen.
Like her cocktails, Mrs. Walsh's parties were the talk of the town. The art of mixing was not only focused on the invigorating drinks, but also on the sensitive and clever composition of the guests.
Indeed: Clara Walsh is the inventor of these marvellous parties, which we still enjoy to this day. As one of the wealthiest ladies in society, Clara was looking for a pastime that made sense on the one hand and served a good cause on the other. The concept of the cocktail party was born. After all, what could make greater sense than having a well-mixed drink on a Sunday afternoon? And what could serve a more substantial purpose than chatting about current scandals in pleasant company and not keeping secrets?
Mrs. Clara Bell Walsh, born 1884 in Lexington, Kentucky, residing in Manhattan and one of the first it girls in history became a legend by inventing the cocktail party.
Her invention prevented wars, destroyed marriages, initiated affairs and sparked more stories than F. Scott Fitzgerald could have written in three lives.
Our intention is to honour her memory and ensure that she is granted her rightful place in history.
And how do we accomplish this? With the best cocktails you can find at a party. Well-balanced and individually composed, a love proposition to thirsty lips. Carefully handcrafted; served in sophisticated glass bottles, couriered in cooled airplane trolleys, and ready to drink straight away.
Mrs. Walsh's guests are ready-to-drink at any time, as are her cocktails. A party without Mrs. Walsh is like a racehorse with three legs. However, a party with Mrs. Walsh... well... Clara, in her own unique way, would say “refreshing”.