Shanghai’s Mih-Ho-Loong Cocktail
Posted: November 3rd, 2016 | 1 Comment »The Mih-Ho-Loong Cocktail was made famous in 1930s Shanghai by the men of A Company of the Shanghai Volunteer Rifles, also known as a the Mih-Ho-Loong Rifles. The Company had been formed in 1870 when the Hook and Ladder Company (firemen) and the Mih-Ho-Loong Rifle Company were one and the same outfit. They split in 1879 though A Company Riflemen were invariably also volunteer firemen. They morphed into A Company of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps with a mostly British membership in the 1930s.
A Mih-Ho-Loong helmet plate encompassing the crossed firemen’s ladder and rifle
And, Shanghai being Shanghai, they had their own preferred cocktail – the Mee-Ho-Loong:
Half fill a glass with broken ice and add:
1 dash orange bitters
a quarter gill sloe gin
eighth gill of French Vermouth
I’ve recreated it using my own home-made sloe gin:
Dear Paul French,
Greetings! I am writing an article about an Englishman who came to Shanghai in 1865 and joined the SVC and Mih-ho-loongs. May I request permission to include the above image of the SVC A Company (which is the closest in description to the unit he was part of then, ie with the scarlet and black uniform) in my article.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Ms Judith Pereira