1. The American Cocktail, Straight Up:
Documenting Punch, Bath-tub Gin,
and the “Age of Entertaining”
Kira A. Dietz
In-Service Day 2014

2. (As opposed to the defining cocktail, which
is a whole other discussion…)
Defining the “Cocktail”

3. • A docked horse tail
• Any horse of racing stamp and qualities
• A person assuming the position of a gentlemen, but
deficient in thorough gentlemanly breeding
• A type of beetle
• A preparation of food usually served at the beginning of
a meal
• A mixture of chemical substances, especially one which
is dangerous
• The tail feather of a rooster
• Oh, and it’s a type of drink…
Defining the “Cocktail”

4. “Will you be so obliging as to inform me
what is meant by this species of
refreshment [cock-tail]?...I have heard of
a jorum, of phlegm-cutter and fog driver,
of whetting the whistle, and moistening
the clay, of a fillip, a spur in the head,
quenching a spark in the throat, of flip
&c. but never in my life, though I have
lived a good many years, did I hear of
cock-tail before. Is it peculiar to a part of
this country? 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 topsyturvey, and have
their heads where their tails should be? I
should think the latter to be the real
solution…”
The Balance and Columbian Repository,
Hudson, NY, 1806

5. “[As I make it a point, never to publish any thing (under
my editorial head) but what I can explain, I shall not
hesitate to gratify the curiosity of my inquisitive
correspondent: Cock-tail, then, is 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 any
thing else.
Edit. Bal.]

6. What’s in a Name?
• “Punch”: liquor, sugar, water, lemon, and
spices
• “Cocktail” (1806): a stimulating liquor,
composed of spirits of any kind, sugar,
water, and bitters
• “Mixed Drinks” (2002): one or more spirits,
one or more mixers (i.e. juice or soda).
Additional ingredients include sugar, honey,
cream, herbs, spices, or fruits/veggies.

7. It All Began With…Punch?
• Years active: mid 17th century onward (in
Western culture)
• Base spirit(s): alcohol (varied by region and
availability)
• Additional ingredients: sugar, water, lemon,
spices, tea
• New arrivals: fermented spirits from
Southeast Asia, spices

8. Feuerzangenbowle
“On the other side of the
ledger stood the fact that
fortitude was useless
against it (liquor). Even the
mightiest potsman, a
paladin who could match
tankards with a whole
alehouse of swag-bellies
Falstaffs and outquaff the
parcel of them, would see
his length measured upon
the floor by less liquid than
it would take to fill his hat.”
― David Wondrich, Punch:
The Delights (and Dangers) of
the Flowing Bowl

9. The Rise of the Cocktail in America
• Years active: 1806-1918
• Base spirit(s): Gin, brandy, whisk(e)y,
absinthe, vermouth. Later: cordials, fruit
brandies/fruit liquors
• Additional ingredients: gum syrup, fruit
syrups, bitters, water
• New arrivals: Pretty much everything was
new in this era! Other “bases” that became
popular include applejack, champagne,
maraschino, and curacao

10. A Cocktail By Any Other Name
• Early cocktails developed in categories.
Usually, there was a basic recipe and you
simply swapped out the base spirit:
Fixes Rickeys Juleps/Smashes
Sours Cobblers Cocktails
Daisies Nogs/Egg Drinks Crustas
Fizzes Toddies
Coolers Slings

11. In February 2013, Special
Collections was lucky
enough to acquire a first
edition of How to Mix
Drinks, or The Bon-
Vivant’s Companion… by
“Professor” Jerry
Thomas. Printed in 1862,
this was the first ever
guide designed for
bartenders.

12. “I have seen purer liquors, better
seagars, finer tobacco, truer guns
and pistols, larger dirks and bowie
knives, and prettier courtezans
here, than in any other place I
have ever visited; and it is my
unbiased opinion that California
can and does furnish the best bad
things that are obtainable in
America.”
-”Professor” Jerry Thomas
How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon-
Vivant’s Companion…, 1862

13. The infamous “Blue Blazer”

14. Table Top Tolu Rock &
Rye Advertisement, c.
1880-1881
Items like this would have
been on display in
pharmacies and apothecary
shops. Of course, the main
ingredient was often alcohol,
which allowed distributors to
get around the taxes
charged on liquor. During
Prohibition, patent
medicines were still legal and
as a result, many people
would consume a bottle (or
more!) a day.

15. The “Bitter” Truth
• Bitters emerged from patent medicines
• In the late 19th century, bitters were often
market as medicinal to avoid the tax on alcohol
and to escape the attention of temperance
groups
• They remained legal during Prohibition and
some people would consume a bottle (or more)
a day
• Today, bitters come in as many varieties as you
can up. Bars (and individuals!) make them with
a range of flavors and profiles

16. Hegenbarth's Bowlen,
Punsch-, und Kaffee-Haus-
Getränkebuch : eine
Sammlung zeitgemässer
Vorschriften zur
Herstellung von kalten,
warmen und sonstigen
Mischgetränken : Mit
besonderer
Berücksichtigung der in-
und ausländischen
Kaffeehaus-Getränke der
"american drinks", sowie
Äpfel und sonstiger Frucht
Bowlen und Punsche, 1903

17. “I drink Champagne when I
win, to celebrate.
And I drink Champagne
when I lose, to console
myself.”
-Napoleon Bonaparte

18. Drinks as They are Mixed:
A Manual of Quick
Reference: Containing
Upwards of 300 Recipes
for Mixing and Serving
Drinks…: Including
Toasts and Sentiments
for All Occasions, c.1904

20. Louis’ Mixed Drinks, with
Hints for the Care &
Serving of Wine, Louis
Muckensturm, 1906

22. “Too much of
anything is bad, but
too much of good
whisky is barely
enough.”
– Mark Twain

23. Louis’ Mixed Drinks, with
Hints for the Care &
Serving of Wine, Louis
Muckensturm, 1906

24. Prohibition and Between the Wars
• Years active: 1919-1941
• Base spirit(s): Bath-tub gin, bath-tub
whisk(e)y, moonshine, home “brews.” After
1933: Gin, whisk(e)y, wine-based aperitifs,
rum, champagne
• Additional ingredients: fruit juices,
sweeteners/syrups, bitters
• New arrivals: Rum

25. Lowenbach Brothers
Price List, c.1910s
(Ms2012-006)

26. Drink Mixer, Compliments of Nat M. Leff, boxing promoter, 1931

28. Forty Famous Cocktails:
Being a Compendium of
Reliable recipes Carefully
Compiled for Use in this
Arid Era, Engraved with
Humble Apologies to
That Master Engraver
John Held, Jr., c.1930s

29. “Prohibition is better
than no liquor at all. “
-Will Rogers
“When I sell liquor,
it's bootlegging.
When my patrons
serve it on a silver
tray on Lakeshore
Drive, it's hospitality.”
-Al Capone

31. The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, Albert Stevens Crockett, 1934

32. The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, Albert Stevens Crockett, 1934

33. The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, Albert Stevens Crockett, 1934

34. More Fun at Cocktail Time:
A Rollicking Book of
Games and Tricks, Julien J.
Proskauer, c.1935

35. So Red the Nose; or,
Breath in the Afternoon,
Sterling North and Carl
Kroch, c.1935
“The light music of
whisky falling into
glasses made an
agreeable
interlude.”
― James Joyce,
Dubliners

37. “Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we
are fighting for, it's Champagne!"
-Winston Churchill

38. The Latter Half of the 20th Century
• Years active: 1945-1999
• Base spirit(s): Vodka, rum, gin, whisk(e)y,
cordials, tequila
• Additional ingredients: flavored sweeteners,
fruits and herbs, fruit juices, soda,
milk/cream
• New arrivals: Tiki drinks, popularization of
the martini, Jell-O shots

39. Zodiac Cocktails:
Cocktails for All
Birthdays, Stanley S.
MacNeil, 1940

42. The “Age of Entertaining”
• After WWII and through the 1970s, cocktail
books were no longer simply bartending
manuals
• Publications began to include food recipes,
party games/themes, and planning tips for
the hostess
• At the same time, cookbooks began to
include cocktails

43. The Club Cocktail Party Book, 1941

44. “Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we
are fighting for, it's Champagne!"
-Winston Churchill

46. The Stork Club Bar Book,
Lucious Beebe, 1946

49. Crosby Gaige’s Cocktail Guide and Ladies’ Companion, 1946

51. Le Barman Universel =
The Universal Barman:
600 Recettes de
Boissons de Bar, les Vins,
les Eaux, P. Dagouret,
1948

53. All-in-Vue 84
Drinks for You:
A Recipe Book
with a Great
Deal of Other
Valuable
Information
from the
Cocktail
Ephemera
Collection
(Ms2013-027)

54. A Guide to Pink Elephants: 200 Most Requested Mixed Drinks on Alcohol
Resistant Cards, c.1952

58. The Calvert Party
Encyclopedia, 1960 from
the Cocktail Ephemera
Collection (Ms2013-027)

59. From New York and Restaurants at the World’s Fair: 46 Great Drinks, 1961, from
the Cocktail Ephemera Collection (Ms2013-027)

60. Fleischmann’s Mixer’s
Manual, c.1960s(?) from
the Cocktail Ephemera
Collection (Ms2013-027)

61. Bacardi Recipe Book, 1971 from the Cocktail Ephemera Collection (Ms2013-027)

62. The 21st Century Cocktail
• Years active: 2000-
• Base spirit(s): You name it, you can concoct
with it.
• Additional ingredients: See base spirits. This
is an age of creativity.
• New arrivals: Craft ingredients/cocktails,
molecular gastronomic approaches, infused
spirits

63. The Kentucky Bourbon
Cocktail Book, Joy
Perrine and Susan
Reigler, 2009

66. Carbonated Mojito Spheres (recipe adapted from Jose
Andres) from Modernist Cuisine, 2012

67. Why Cocktail History?
• Some places collect cocktail books, but
there aren’t many concentrated collections!
• Cocktails and cocktail culture are an
interesting part of food history in America!
• Food history is something we do!
• Cocktails are fun!

68. “First you take a
drink, then the drink
takes a drink, then
the drink takes you.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerland

70. History of the American Cocktail
Collection
• Over 80 books
– 1862-2013
– Materials in four languages (English, German,
Spanish, and French)
– Books published in at least 5 countries
• 5 manuscript collections
– Pamphlets
– Postcards
– Advertisements and flyers
– Ephemera
– Forms and business documents

71. “The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the
Galaxy also mentions alcohol. It
says that the best drink in
existence is the Pan Galactic
Gargle Blaster, the effect of
which is like having your brains
smashed out with a slice of
lemon wrapped round a large
gold brick.”
― Douglas Adams, The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

73. What’s in the Glass?
(Collection Contents)
• Recipes and the evolution of cocktails
• Bar manuals for the professional and home
bartender
• Profiles of people and bars
• Social history
• Party planning, party games, and entertaining
• Spirits and drink history
• Science of distillation
• Temperance/Prohibition