William Gaxton’s Gaxiola Cocktail

I have no idea who William Gaxton is, but I LOVED his cocktail invention.

We toasted the much-loved Tina Turner with one of these, and if you want a few minutes of pure joy, watch Ann-Margret having the time of her life performing Nutbush City Limits with the best dancer I know.

I want sequined hotpants.

Before I start my Google rabbit hole journey to research William Gaxton, let me just say that one of his Gaxiolas has prompted a new trend around here. After one of these, I am compelled to shout GAXI as if out on the street, hailing a cab to try and get me another.

So who is William Gaxton?

Looking at the IMDB listing for him, there’s a trailer for Best Foot Forward (1943) which could be worth a watch as it features one of my favourite comedy actresses, Nancy Walker, with dark hair!

Plus, he’s in It’s The Old Army Game (1926) with beloved Louise Brooks.

I feel a Dinner and a Movie coming on! Especially as W.C. Fields is in this too, and I have some good-looking recipes for him, including Rum Omelet and Brandied Peaches.

So what of the Gaxiola? Me and the Mister were pleasantly surprised with this combo of brandy and lime – it works! We liked it so much that we had another the next day, and we upped the amount of orange water to half a teaspoon per cocktail. This, for us, was a good idea. We’d forgotten about the slice of lime the first time, but it did look perty when we remembered.

I said that for me, this was a “rock and roller Gaxiola”, and Mr R said he’d like to have “a Gaixiola by the old Victrola”. This has led me down another rabbit hole. It seems as though converting Victrola stands into cocktail bars is a “thing”.