What’s in a name?…
The infamous “shot heard round the world” that sparked the American Revolution was fired on the green in Concord, Massachusetts. However, most don’t realize that a significant portion of the fighting was done in the village of Menotomy (now the town of Arlington) which was settled in 1635 and named after the Algonquian word meaning “swift running water.”
On April 19, 1775, local minutemen joined forces with those from neighboring towns and gathered in Menotomy to ambush the British as they retreated from Concord and Lexington back toward Boston. Many locals made the ultimate sacrifice that day trying to thwart the British. One of the most famous patriots of the day was local farmer Jason Russell who was shot and bayoneted on his own doorstep trying to protect his home.
However, a little known historic event is that of Cooper’s Tavern. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper had just gotten word of the British approaching Menotomy. Two of the town’s wealthiest landowners, Jabez Wyman and Jason Winship, were the tavern’s only patrons.
Frightened for their lives, the Coopers urged the two men to join them in the bunker downstairs to avoid the wrath of the British. The men fatefully declined. When the British saw the lantern on in Cooper’s Tavern, they smashed in the door, shot and bayoneted Wyman and Winship and dragged their bodies onto Massachusetts Avenue for public display.
When all was said and done, the battle at Menotomy became “the bloodiest half-mile of all the battle road.” Cooper’s Flip – Drink in the history of Menotomy.
Okay, so what are the odds that we would know what Wyman and Winship were drinking that day? Well, pretty good. We call it “Cooper’s Flip” and we think it’s a great way to raise a glass to those patriots who fought for our freedom on that fateful day.