of a fillip, a spur in the head, quenching a spark in the throat, of flip & c, but never in my life, though have lived a good many years, did I hear of cock-tail before. Is it peculiar to a part of this country? Or is it a late invention? Is the name expressive of the effect which the drink has on a particular part of the body? Or does it signify that the democrats who take the potion are turned topsycurvy, and have their heads where their tails should be? I should think the latter to be the real solution; but am unwilling to determine finally until I receive all the information in my power.
At the beginning of the revolution, a physician publicly recommended the moss which grew on a tree as a substitute for tea. He found on experiment, that it had more of a stimulating quality than he approved; and therefore, he afterward as publicly denounced it. Whatever cock-tail is, it may be properly administered only at certain times and to certain constitutions. A few years ago, when the democrats were bawling for Jefferson and Clinton, one of the polls was held in the city of New York at a place where ice cream was sold. Their temperament then was remarkably adjust and bilious. Something was necessary to cool them. Now when they are sunk into rigidity, it might be equally necessary, by cock-tail to warm and rouse them. I hope you will construe nothing that I have said as disrespectful. I read your paper with great pleasure and wish it the most extensive circulation. Whether you answer my inquiry or not, I shall still remain,
Yours,
A Subscriber
−Croswell answers the subscriber’s question of wanting to know what is the refreshment called cock-tail, while at the same time making fun of politics:
As I make it a point, never to publish anything (under my editorial head) but which I can explain, I shall not hesitate to gratify the curiosity of my inquisitive correspondent: Cock-tail, then in a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters it is vulgarly called a Bittered Sling, and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It is said also, to be of great use to a democratic candidate: because, a person having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow anything else.
1809 − Washington Irving writes, “This class of beverages originated in Maryland, whose inhabitants were prone to make merry and get fuddled with mint-julep and apple toddy. They were moreover, great horse-racers and cock-fighters; mighty wrestlers and jumpers, and enormous consumers of hoecake and bacon. They lay claim to be the first inventors of those recondite beverages, cock-tail, stone-fence, and sherry cobbler.”
1817 − Elizabeth Hammond publishes Modern Domestic Cookery, and Useful Receipt Book, which has some punch recipes.
1820 − La Piña de Plata (the Silver Pineapple) restaurant and bar opens in Havana, Cuba. No one knows what cocktails were served here at that time—yet, but one hundred years later the bar was named Bar la Florida with a nickname of Floridita. It became famous for its frozen Daiquiris and celebrity patrons including Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway.
−The first blended Scotch whisky, Johnnie Walker, is produced.
−The Beefeater gin distillery is built in England.
1821 − Author James Fenimore Cooper writes about a fictional character named Betty Flanagan who invented the cock-tail. The Flanagan character was supposedly based on a real person named Catherine Hustler (1767–1832) who ran Hustler’s Tavern in Lewiston, New York, during the War of 1812 and put rooster tail feathers in drinks (cock-tails).
1823 − Pimm’s Cup No. 1 is first produced by James Pimm in London.
−The Gin-Twist (gin, hot water, lemon juice, and sugar) is mentioned in the novel Saint Ronan’s Well by Sir Walter Scott.
−Bourbon County, Kentucky, starts to call their whiskey “bourbon.”
1824 − George Smith founds the Glenlivet distillery.
1825 − The first lavish London gin palaces begin to be built. They are decorated with opulent style. Later, in 1836, Charles Dickens said, “perfectly dazzling when contrasted with the darkness and dirt we have just left.”
−Sandeman Port is produced.
1827 − Students of Oxford University publish the first known alcoholic drink recipe book, Oxford Night Caps: A Collection of Receipts for Making Various Beverages at the University. Basically, college students are credited for taking the time to put together a book of recipes so they can party. They publish several editions for almost one hundred years.
−Ballantine’s blended Scotch is produced.
1830 − Talisker Scotch and Tanqueray gin are produced.
1843 − Charles Dickens writes in Martin Chuzzlewit, “He could…smoke more tobacco, drink more rum-toddy, mint-julep, gin-sling, and cocktail, than any private gentleman of his acquaintance.”
−Courvoisier Cognac is produced.
−The Tom & Jerry hot cocktail is mentioned in the Symbol and Odd Fellow’s Magazine.
1844 − Dry vermouth produced by the Noilly Company is first introduced in America via New Orleans.
1846 − Dewar’s blended Scotch whisky is established.
−Aalborg akvavit is produced in Norway.
1850 − The first known published illustration of a two-piece cocktail shaker is seen in the London News.
1851 − Walter and Alfred Gilbey open Gilbey’s Gin Distillery.
1852 − Joseph Santini invents the Brandy Crusta in New Orleans.
New Orleans in 1851. New Orleans has created more cocktails than any city in the world and some served during this time include Roffignac, Sazerac, and Brandy Crusta. Other adopted popular cocktails served include Mint Julep, Old-Fashioned, and Milk Punch. For the wealthy, ice from frozen lake and ponds was also available. © Everett Historical / Shutterstock
1853 − New York barkeep George Sala talks about barkeeps in Charles Dickens’s weekly twenty-four-page journal, Household Words. The article describes the barkeep and his assistants as scholarly gentlemen, accomplished artists, skilled acrobats, master magicians, and bottle conjurers as they throw glasses and toss bottles about.
1854 − Canadian Club whisky is produced.
1856 − The word “mixologist” is first coined in the Knickerbocker or New York Monthly Magazine.
−The London Weekly Dispatch quotes the New York Times saying, “Every sentence a man utters must be moistened with a julep or cobbler. All the affairs of life are begun and ended with drinks.”
1858 − Seagram’s VO whisky is produced.
1859 − American bartender Jerry Thomas begins working on his first book, which is published in 1862.
1860 − Campari is introduced by Gaspare Campari.
1862 − Jerry Thomas publishes the first known American cocktail recipe book, Bar-Tender’s Guide, How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant’s Companion.
−The
