A Nutcracker documentary is being made about the popular home made drink and needs your help via indiegogo.
Legend has it the drink was first created and served at Flor de Mayo, an Upper West Side restaurant on Broadway and W. 101st St. known for its Chinese and Peruvian food.
The is now more correlated to Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods in Manhattan.
press release and video below
Summary
What is the Nutcracker? The answer to that question largely depends on whom you’re asking. While to many, Tchaikovsky and Sugar Plum Fairies are what come to mind. But to Uptown residents of Manhattan, thoughts of summer and refreshing alcoholic drinks spring up. So where did the Nutcracker come from and where can you get one? Well that, too, depends on who you’re talking to.
If there were an official beverage of Washington Heights, it would be the Nutcracker. But as ubiquitous as it is up in the ‘hood, you have to know where to go and how to get it. The Nutcracker is not a drink your favorite bartender knows, and you can’t buy a mix for it down at your corner store or bodega. It’s underground, clandestine and only available to those who are in-the-know. But its appeal is not just limited to Washington Heights and Inwood. Harlem, the Lower East Side, Brooklyn, the Bronx, even Miami has gotten into the act.
As the Nutcracker’s popularity has spread over the last decade, many variations and imitations have sprung up. Recipes change as ingredients get added and subtracted, and as is usually the case in a free market society, competition grows. Like Famous Ray’s Pizza, there seems to be no shortage of the ‘original’ Nutcrackers.
Nutcracker Inc. will explore the origins of this mysterious drink, not just where it came from but how it developed into the iconic summertime beverage of choice in Washington Heights and beyond. We will meet a diverse and fascinating cast of characters connected to the Nutcracker both past and present, as well as the people who oppose it, including the very lawmakers who have imposed crackdowns on its sales. The film will also take a look at the relationship between the Nutcracker and Washington Heights, delving into the recent history of the neighborhood and the hustle and drive of its residents.
