and spirits in the world include absinthe, Admiral Nelson rum, Appleton rum, Cruzan rum, Drambuie, Evan William’s whiskey, Gordon’s gin, Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry, Jose Cuervo, Laird’s applejack, and Madeira.
1708 − The poem “Old King Cole” describes the king asking for his pipe, bowl (punch bowl), and musicians: “Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he; He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl, and he called for his fiddlers three.”
1712 − The first known bitters is created and patented by Richard Staughton.
1717 − The Colt Neck Inn in New Jersey is opened by a William Laird descendant and sells applejack for the first time.
1718 − The French founded New Orleans. Within one hundred years, French-influenced cocktails would be created.
1721 − A quarter of the city of London is used to produce gin.
1726 − London has over 6,000 places to purchase gin.
1727 − Eliza Smith publishes The Compleat Housewife: Or, Accomplish’d Gentlewoman’s Companion in London. Eighteen editions are produced in fifty years. The book contains hundreds of household receipts (recipes) including many wines, cordials, and a Milk Punch recipe: “To make fine Milk Punch. Take two quarts of water, one quart of milk, half a pint of lemon juice, and one quart of brandy, sugar to your taste; put the milk and water together a little warm, then the sugar, then the lemon juice, stir it well together, then the brandy, stir it again and run it through a flannel bag till ’tis very fine, then bottle it; it will keep a fortnight, or more.” Smith also gives a recipe for Cock Ale Punch using an old rooster. The recipe will probably churn even the stomachs of today’s flesh-purchasing humans since they are used to the product being wrapped in shiny plastic, so it is not described here, but can be googled if so desired.
1732 − America’s first angling club—and the oldest continuous club today—is called “Colony in Schuylkill.” (Today it’s called Schuylkill Fishing Company of Pennsylvania.) The goal of the club is to socialize, fish, eat, and drink. The famous “Fish House Punch” is created here with a mixture of rum, peach brandy, lemon, sugar, and water. President George Washington is an honoree member.
1734 − On December 4, a mention of arrack punch is mentioned in London’s Central Criminal Court: “Mrs. Holcomb came in a Coach to my Door about 2 o’clock in the Morning: I shew’d ’em up two Pair of Stairs, and they had a Bowl—it was but one Bowl—of Arrack Punch, a Bottle of Wine, and three Jellies.”
1735 − Arrack punch is mentioned again in London’s Central Criminal Court:
“He asked me to drink a Glass of Punch, and so I went in, and he and I drank four or five Bowls of Arrack Punch, which came to 20 s. and three Pints of Wine.”
Court: What! Did you two drink all that?
−There are too many London’s Central Criminal Court documents to mention; almost every available alcohol at the time was mentioned. View them online at oldbaileyonline.org. The most shocking and saddest document shows how addicted England was to gin; on February 27, 1734, a mother kills her two-year-old baby girl so she can sell her clothes to buy gin.
1736 − The Gin Act is passed in England to curb the consumption of gin.
1740 − Is grog the first Daiquiri? On August 21, fifty-five-year-old Vice Admiral Edward Vernon of the Royal Navy issues an order that the daily rum ration should be mixed every day with a quart of water, half pint of rum, lime juice, and sugar mixed in a scuttled butt on the deck in the presence of the Lieutenant of the Watch. (Vernon’s nickname was “Old Grog” because of the waterproof cloak he would wear on deck, which was made of grogram cloth. The sailors named the drink “Grog.”) Well, grog appears to have the same ingredients of a classic Daiquiri—just without the ice. Before you pull out your cell phone and google “scuttled butt,” it was equivalent to the modern-day office water cooler but made out of a wooden cask (barrel) that sailors gathered around. A hole was cut on top to allow the grog to be served to each man.
1742 − Eliza Smith publishes the first known American cookery recipe book. It is the fifth edition of The Compleat Housewife: Or, Accomplish’d Gentlewoman’s Companion
1743 − The Glenmorangie distillery is established in Scotland.
1744 − A man visiting Philadelphia named William Black records in his diary that he was given:
−“Cider and punch for lunch; rum and brandy before dinner; punch, Madeira, port, and sherry at dinner; punch and liqueurs with the ladies; and wine, spirit, and punch till bedtime; all in punch bowls big enough for a goose to swim in.”
1745 − Drambuie is produced in Scotland. The most popular modern cocktail made with Drambuie is the Rusty Nail.
1749 − Appleton rum is produced in Jamaica.
−J&B Scotch is produced.
1751 − England passes another Gin Act.
−The first health warning is printed on a bottle of gin.
1755 − The Marie Brizard Company is founded in Bordeaux, France.
1757 − The first U.S. president, George Washington, writes about his personal beer recipe and titles it “To Make Small Beer.”
1758 − Admiral Nelson’s Premium Rum is produced.
−George Washington campaigns with a barrel of Barbados rum.
−Don Jose Cuervo receives a land grant to cultivate agave plants in Mexico.
1759 − Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000-year lease on an unused brewery at St. James’s Gate in Dublin.
1760 − George Washington is introduced to Laird’s applejack.
−Cruzan Rum from the Virgin Islands is produced.
1761 − Bombay Gin from England is produced.
1765 − Richard Hennessy founds Hennessy Cognac.
1769 − Gordon’s gin is produced. Gordon’s gin will be mentioned in the first James Bond novel, 1953’s Casino Royale, when Bond orders a Vesper.
−The Henriod sisters advertise their elixir d’absinthe.
1771 − Evan Shelby opens the first rye whiskey distillery in Tennessee.
−Discoveries on how to create carbonated water are documented.
1780 − Jacob Beam builds a whiskey distillery in Kentucky.
−John Jameson opens a whiskey distillery in Dublin, Ireland.
−Johann Tobias Lowitz develops charcoal filtration for vodka.
−Elijah Pepper builds a log cabin distillery in Kentucky.
1783 − Evan Williams Bourbon is produced.
1784 − Philadelphia physician and politician Benjamin Rush publishes a pamphlet titled An Inquiry into the Effects of Spirituous Liquors on the Human Mind and Body.
1786 − Antonio
