Baz Luhrmann’s 3D version of “The Great Gatsby” opened this weekend, and earlier this week, Rich Copley of the Lexington Herald-Leader had a nice story about the novel’s ties to Louisville – Daisy Buchanan is from the city, and she marries Tom in the “Muhlbach” Hotel, obviously a stand-in for the Seelbach Hotel.
Like Jay Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald was briefly stationed at Camp Taylor, southeast of Louisville, during World War I. “He was a second lieutenant, doing some military training, and on occasion, he would come to the Seelbach Hotel, and on several occasions, he would be asked to leave because he was drunk,” Seelbach historian Larry Johnson told Copley.
Perhaps Fitzgerald was indulging in a bourbon-and-champagne cocktail created at the hotel in 1917. I blogged about the Seelbach Cocktail a couple of years ago; you’ll find the recipe here. Cheers, Old Sport!
