ThinkingBartender

It sounds like you were served by an inexperienced waitress.

Over on wikipedia someone decided to change the 1950 quote about the pina colada, in which it is proven that the pina colada was invented before 1954, so that is reads "puerto rico" instead of "cuba". ...April 16, 1950, edition of the New York Times: "Drinks in the West Indies range from Martinique's famous rum punch to Cuba's pina colada (rum, pineapple and coconut milk). Key West has a variety of lime swizzles and punches, and Granadians use nutmeg in their rum drinks." The above is the legitimate quote, if you see it changed on wikipedia please ignore it. Sorry, but this really annoyed me, so I thought I would mention it here. Cheers! George

The Daiquiri was created in Santiago, and La Floridita is in Havana. So the original Daiquiri recipe can not be claimed by La Floridita. Which floridita website are you referring to, as there is a floridita website with cocktail recipes, but it is not affiliated with the bar in Havana. The origin story of the Daiquiri also includes a member of the Bacardi family, which is good as the Daiquiri is also the original Bacardi Cocktail (Cuban style). Cheers! George

Yes, the Daiquiri is a lime juice drink. Were your friends referring to limons, as in the Spanish spelling? Cheers! George

As long as people go around saying "thats how it is meant to be made", then you can only refute such statements with historical facts. Refuting bartenders' tales with facts gives one a sense of smugness that winning the lottery never could!-) Even showing a bottle of Grand Marnier to a customer, and proving to them that their favourite brandy is actually a liqueur ("right there on the label") gave me a sense of pleasure. If someone wants an historically accurate cocktail, and appropriate banter to go with it, then fine I enjoy doing that. But if they just want a fine tasting libation, with no interest in the past, then that is fine too. Classics is a good word, that is abused too often; Modern Classics, Contemporary Classics, these just seem to be buzzwords, perhaps created where the realms of historical and marketing meet, though more likely to just be a marketing ploy. Historical research into cocktails helps me to try and understand the original character of the drink, and what it was meant to taste like in the originators mind. Whether or not I want to go with that original recipe is up to me. The first recipes for the Side-car did not have sugar on the lip of the glass, however it snuck in later, and leads many to believe that the Side-car is derived from the Crusta. Now, of course, people go with or without the sugar rim on their own personal preference. Just for the record, I believe that the Side-car is more of a Brandy Daisy (a la Jerry Thomas), than it is a Brandy Crusta. Same goes for the Margarita/ Tequila Side-car. IMHO. Chronology is what I like most about historical research. Cheers! George

Is there a name for the technique whereby you wipe the inside of a glass with a lemon slice, and then fill the glass with sugar, then pour the sugar out, leaving the inside of the glass lined with sugar? Cheers! George

Splificator, Piece your head fragments back together Sir!-) I am just throwing ideas out there, some of which are my own idle ponderings, and some more ridiculous ones that I recall from over the years (from actual people). They are not theories that I have been working on day and night, toiling on for years, some are just frivolous, but I am sure you have heard/ read even more absurd creation stories than even I could dream up. The fact that most knowledge of Santini is derived from Thomas is an obstacle to getting to the truth (whatever that is), especially considering the doubt that you have previously helped cast on to Thomas' actual involvement in his own name-branded books. I do have trouble taking Thomas seriously, not knowing if his books contain his own words, and the bare-faced audacity of the man to be dead for the third edition. As for the lemon peel in the Crusta, I do make it clear that it is my opinion, not based on anything tangible, just a feeling. And you are incorrect about the reason for me "ripping new ones", I reserve that for "but everyone makes them like that" and "all the books say that". I don't feel the peel is that important to a Crusta, and I will continue to think that. And they would have gotten their Crusta recipe from Jerry Thomas' book, right? So it could be seen as being Jerry Thomas' book backed up by Jerry Thomas' book, with star-witness: Jerry Thomas' book. Cheers! George

[*] What are the guiding questions in your research? 1) Earliest Citation. 2) Original recipe, if available. 3) How the recipe has changed over time. [*] What are your research methods? Where and how do you do that research? 1) Newspaperarchive.com 2) books.google.com 3) Asking other people. 4) Local Library (though this is a very limited resource). 5) Modern Cocktail Books (though these are a last resort). [*] What primary and secondary sources do you rely on most heavily? Are there documentation sources (such as research libraries) that are particularly valuable? For earliest citation, it is the books or the newspapers. [*] How do you know when you've identified sufficient support for a claim? Just as importantly, what process do you use to identify an illegitimate claim? If the earliest citation comes before someones claim, then I eliminate them. I also like to trace the creation stories found on the internet, and then find where they first appeared. Sometimes a popular myth can be traced back to just one newspaper article. To identify whether I have sufficient support for a claim is down to personal judgement; Would I be able to convince a layperson of the facts? etc. [*] How do the descriptions of the characteristics of particular drinks affect your understanding of how we would now make those drinks today, with (in many cases) radically different ingredients? The recipes used today to make the Classics are usually just someones personal preference, and usually have nothing to do with being historically accurate. And why should people drink cocktails just because they are historically accurate? They shouldn't. The problem is that people want to illustrate their books and cocktail menus with "facts", but do not want to verify them first. They want to be associated with history, but do not want to do the legwork. I would prefer to see cocktail menus full of delicious drinks, rather than incorrect historical facts. Cocktails are a culinary art, so they should be defined by the taste-buds of those drinking them, rather than by historical citations etc. You could ask then, "is there a point in researching historical facts about cocktails, if you are saying that the taste-buds should define the art?". Well I would say that historical facts are very interesting, and may lead to a better understanding of what cocktails can be, but it is down to taste, and dusty old books can't be a substitute for taste sensations. [*] Finally, are there examples of cocktail historians who have done it perfectly? What makes their methods so admirable? If I were to mention one person, then it would have to be David Wondrich; The guy researches the drink, the building, the town, anything in anyway connected to the drink, no matter how remote. Covering all the angles is a concise way of putting it. Ted Haigh is a close second (Sorry Doc).

Jerry Thomas didn't invent the Crusta, Santina did. What were Santina's own instructions, for the Crusta, rather than those in the Jerry Thomas book. And considering the lack of influence of Thomas' Crusta recipe/ information on subsequent authors its seems only natural to question everything, with regards to the Crusta. Cheers! George

The reason I think that the twist, of the considerable length prescribed, is not neccessary is that it just appears to be an adornment, rather than an actual flavouring ingredient. Strange that no mention is made as to whether or not the peel should be squeezed of its oils first. Simply placed into the glass, right? The sugar rim is not optional, as it enables a la minute sour and sweet mixing in the bocular tasting cavity. This is a whole lot different from just balancing the sweet/ sour in the shaker. One sip can be slightly sweet, the next slightly sour, a truly dynamic taste. Any comments on the idea that the curacao and maraschino are just there as accents rather for their sweetening qualities? Any comments on the "Lin Crusta" theory? Are there any other references to Joseph Santina, other than what is found in Thomas' book, or works derived from there? Cheers! George

Well then we need to look at what the original recipe called for, rather than stating our own personal preferences. If the original recipe called for a sugared rim, bitters, and lemon juice, then that is what the original recipe is. The other recipes are just someone elses preferences. This analysis of the Crusta should also bring into question (again) the actual amount of input that Jerry Thomas had on his named merchandise (i.e. the book). The Crusta/ Santina connection is always quoted from Thomas' book, is it not? So it would seem only natural, to me at least, to give greater credence to Thomas' recipe, unless Santina's actual recipe is quoted somewhere else. Cheers! George

A Crusta should be exactly the same as a Whiskey Cocktail (a la Jerry Thomas); Spirit, Bitters, Sugar, shaken with crushed ice, plus sugar rim and lemon juice. I do not think that the spiral cut peel is all that important. I don't think that the MOTAC photo of the Crusta should be taken as gospel, how exactly are you supposed to approach the glass with that phalanx of lemon skin guarding the glass' edge? Interestingly there was a term called "Lin Crusta" around during the mid-1800s, and that seems to bear a similarity to putting a crust onto a cocktail glass. I don't believe that the crust is optional, nor are the bitters. The dashes of Curacao and Maraschino are just optional in my opinion, and should be seen as accents to the main flavour, rather than as the main sweetening agent. The Crusta is definitely a misunderstood drink category. Cheers! George

Okay, so its Alexander's Ragtime Band, with the Gin.

Stanford University, Yale University, and many other great American institutions are opening their library catalogues to companies like Google, so that their content may be digitised. This is because the future is digital, and the only thing that is truly important is the content of those books, not their actual physical forms. I mentioned the Lady Alexander on a whim, because I thought it was an interesting drink; I never said that it was automatically an Alexander, purely because it has the same name in its title. Though I did think that Sloe Gin would make a more interesting Alexander thats for sure My entire reason for asking about the origins of the Alexander, and whether it was truly a gin based drink to begin with, derives purely from the fact that I usually only read secondary/ tertiary sources for this "fact". All I am asking is, is it really true? The world of Cocktails and bartending is full of mistakes, and intentional mis-truths, so it would be nice to clarify the information, before I go around telling people that "the alexander was originally gin". I am not the only person who questions whether the Alexander was originally gin; Even Drinkboy has the Alexander listed as a Brandy drink, and how many good cocktail books does he have? A lot more than me or google, thats for sure Thanks for the excerpts. When it comes to reading books, I think it was Schopenhauer who said: "Forever reading, never to be read". Cheers! George

Has anyone heard of a Lady Alexander? "LADY ALEXANDER One-half sloe gin, One-quarter crème de cacao The white of an egg One dash of angostura bitters." I found the reference in a book called "Graduate work in the South", by Charles Wooten Pipkin, 1939. Reno Evening Gazette, Nov 21, 1940 Lady Alexander: One-half sloe gin, one-quarter creme de cacao, the white of an egg and a dash of Angostura bitters. Cheers! George

Well, I would assume that David Embury got his version from Frank Meier; Either from his book or from meeting him personally (which I think he did). The Gin version of the Alexander is quite placid, compared with the Brandy version.

Now I know that there are some people who believe that the Alexander was originally made with Gin, and then later on, changed to Brandy, but what facts is this opinion based on? Other questions that I am wondering are: Was the Alexander originally made by Cato Alexander? Hence the name? What kind of Gin was originally meant? London Dry or Hollands? Cheers! George

The earliest citation that I have found for the Margarita is from 1953, and that was a article in Esquire. Right. But "invented in" and "became 'top 50 popular' in" aren't the same thing. ← Indeed. But the Margarita was invented in the 1930s, by someone, and it was only until the 1950s that it garnered its first, known, citation. So for it to only become truly famous in the 1960s is not that strange. It doesn't look like things work in a sequential order at all. The Margarita might not have been as popular due to most people not having some Tequila at their disposal. Cheers! George

The earliest citation that I have found for the Margarita is from 1953, and that was a article in Esquire.

The Julep is an enigma. Is it a cobbler with mint? Is it a Mint Sling? Mint Smash? *headache* Cheers! George

I would defer to Dr. Cocktail's judgement that it is Dry Cherry Brandy, which considering the other two ingredients seems more likely. Cheers! George

The Pina Colada creation myth states that in 1954 a bartender by the name of Ramon “Monchito” Marrero invented the famous concoction at the Caribe Hilton Hotel situated in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Or was the Pina Colada invented in 1963 by Don Ramon Portas Mingot also in Puerto Rico. Or was it Ricardo Garcia? Or maybe "None of the Above". Or did I give the game away with the title of this article? The literal meaning of Pina Colada is "strained pineapple", with "colada" meaning "strained" in Spanish, rather than Coconut as some misinformed people assume. The full name of the Pina Colada is in fact "Pina Fria Colada", with "Fria" meaning "cold"; an unstrained Pina Colada was simply called "Pina Fria". The earliest reference to the Pina Fria (Colada): Washington Post dated 1906. "Pina Fria, a refreshment made from the juice of the pineapple". A 1910 reference to the Pina Fria goes in a bit more detail: "IN CUBA AND JAMAICA", by H. G. de Lisser, (1910) "You ask for "pina fria," and he takes a pineapple and peels it and cuts it into large chunks and pounds it up with white sugar and ice and water, and hands the concoction to you in a huge, thick tumbler, and you find it delicious." "TERRY'S GUIDE TO CUBA" by T. P. Terry (1926) "PINEAPPLE CRUSH (pina fria colada -- cold strained pineapple juice), made by squeezing the juice (jugo) from half a pina into an ice-filled shaker and sweetened with a little sugar." The Pina Fria is what would now be termed as a "Bebidas", simply a mixture of freshly pounded fruit, sugar and either ice and/or water; basically freshly prepared juice, extracted manually. Bearing in mind the full name of the Pina (Fria) Colada, take a look at the following excerpt: TRAVEL magazine (1922) "But best of all is a pina colada, the juice of a perfectly ripe pineapple -- a delicious drink in itself -- rapidly shaken up with ice, sugar, lime and Bacardi rum in delicate proportions. What could be more luscious, more mellow and more fragrant?" So here we are in 1922 with a rum and pineapple drink called a Pina Colada, but still there is no mention of the synonymous coconut that would excite the ladies of the 1980s. The first mention of a pina colada with both coconut and pineapple comes from 1937: "Middletown Times Herald", (1937) "They also sold a cocoanut[sic] and pineapple mixture called Pinacolada[sic]" Even though the above description omits the use of rum, and the article itself didn't give any indication of the involvement of any alcohol, it does prove that coconut was associated with the Pina Colada as far back as the 1930s. Another proof of the Pina (Fria) Colada being primarily associated with the combination of Pineapple and Coconut can be found in the U.S. Ice Cream industry; the newspapers of the 1930s contain plenty of adverts for Pina Colada Ice Cream, which contained Pineapple and Coconut. The flavour of the Pina colada was so en vogue that you could also purchase pineapple and coconut malt shakes under the name Pina Colada; Once again during the 1930s. It wouldn't be until 1950 that a solid reference to a rum, coconut, and pineapple juice drink being named Pina Colada was printed (though I am still looking for an earlier reference): New York Times, (1950) "Drinks in the West Indies range from Martinique's famous rum Punch to Cuba's Pina Colada (rum, pineapple and coconut milk)." If we were to draw up a time-line for the Pina Colada, we would see that it is very different now than what it was in the early 1900s; it evolved from a pineapple juice only drink into a rum and pineapple mixture, and then finally into the Pina Colada we are most familiar with today. Somewhere along the time-line people not only forgot that Cuba was associated with the Pina Colada, but also forgot what decade it was created in. And for the record, Coco Lopez is not an original ingredient in any of the incarnations of the Pina Colada; the sickly sweet coconut cream was created around 1954 by Ramon Lopez Irizarry, who was an agricultural professor for the University of Puerto Rico. Interestingly Irizarry's research was funded by the Puerto Rican Government, and may help to explain the drinks appropriation by that country. Cheers! George

The Singapore Sling is often touted as a pre-Tiki, Tiki-style drink, due to its use of lime juice, pineapple juice, and other ingredients. The Singapore Sling sold across the bar at the Raffles Hotel, is served from pre-mixed jugs, much to the horror of cocktail aficionados who make the pilgrimage to the sacred Long Bar, purported hang-out for some icons as Somerset Maugham, Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad (author of "Heart of Darkness"), and Noel Coward. The menu of the Long Bar reads like so: "The Singapore Sling was created at Raffles Hotel at the turn-of-the-century by Hainanese-Chinese bartender, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon." And it continues: "In the Hotel's museum, visitors may view the safe in which Mr. Ngiam locked away his precious recipe books, as well as the Sling recipe hastily jotted on a bar-chit in 1936 by a visitor to the Hotel who asked the waiter for it. Originally, the Singapore Sling was meant as a woman's drink, hence the attractive pink colour. Today, it is very definitely a drink enjoyed by all, without which any visit to Raffles Hotel is incomplete." The recipe for the Singapore Sling is also included on the menu: 30ml Gin 15 ml Cherry Brandy 120 ml Pineapple Juice 15 ml Lime Juice 7.5 ml Cointreau 7.5 ml Dom Benedictine 10 ml Grenadine A Dash of Angostura Bitters Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry However, according to pre-eminent cocktail historian Ted Haigh, author of "Vintage Cocktails and Spirits" and a founder member of the Museum of the American Cocktail, "Raffles no longer has the original recipe, a fact recorded by the hotel biographer and by the Communications Department of Raffles Hotel." So, if the Raffles Hotel is not selling Singapore Slings made to the original recipe, then what are they selling and where did their current recipe originate from? The earliest references that I have been able to find for the pineapple-based Singapore Sling are from 1977. All the 1977 references feature the nephew of Ngiam Tong Boon, and have him telling the story of how his uncle invented the Singapore Sling; There is never any evidence, and the authors of the articles seem to always take Ngiam Tong Boon's nephew at his word: Lethbridge Herald, 22nd April 1977. "My uncle taught me how to make this [the Singapore Sling], and I have taught my nephews and my children," said Ngiam Dee Suan, mixing the Singapore Sling from gin, cherry brandy, Cointreau and a mixture of fruit juices. His back was turned to Raffles's "long bar" where Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward, among others, sipped the delectable punch. It's never occured to Ngiam that it might not be a part of his tradition - only members of his family have worked at the long bar since his uncle Ngiam Tong Boon invented the Sling there in 1915." Other than Ngiam Dee Saun's claims for his Uncles creation of the Singapore Sling there is no other proof connecting Ngiam Tong Boon with the pineapple punch, now claimed to be "The" Singapore Sling. At the beginning of the 1970s the Raffles Hotel fell on hard times, it was during this period of turmoil that an Italian by the name of Roberto Pregarz was appointed Manager of the establishment. It was Pregarz's duty to regain the Raffles Hotel's former glory, and this he did: ""What I did was simply go back into the past and try to recapture all the good features and services which made the Raffles famous.", Pregarz is quoted as saying in the pages of the Syracuse Herald Journal, 20th November 1977. The most telling comment, coming from the same Syracuse Newspaper goes as follows: "He [Pregarz] researched the original recipe for the Singapore Sling (gin, cherry brandy and sometimes Benedictine) and dug out old menus from famous occasions." As you see the Singapore Sling recipe was lost, and Pregarz looked for the original recipe; And one would assume that Pregarz must have asked some of the people working at the Raffles Hotel how exactly a Singapore Sling was meant to be made. Pregarz may have spoken to Ngiam Tong Boon's nephew, and got the recipe that is today called a Raffle's Singapore Sling. Before the confusion of the 1970s, there were many Singapore Sling recipes cited in newspapers and cocktail books, which has lead to some assuming that it is impossible to say what the original Singapore Sling actually was. However, if you look at all the references to the Singapore Sling and then divide them into two camps; those Slings actually drunk at the Raffles Hotel, and those Slings simply drunk in the city of Singapore, it is then that you get a clearer picture, and a definitive answer. It may come as a surprise but the Singapore Sling made at the Raffle Hotel, prior to the 1970s, was not actually referred to as the Singapore Sling; Here are some quotes: The Charleston Gazette, 16th May 1966. "AT THE FAMOUS old Raffles Hotel, It seems absolutely indecent not to stand up when they serve you your Singapore Sling (known here, by the way, simply as a gin sling) and shout "God save the queen" before downing your tot and then throwing the glass against the wall." Waterloo Daily Courier, 3rd July 1949. "Dream, for example of a lovely courtyard in old Singapore, Malay attendants, white dinner jackets, lovely inscrutable ladies, coconut palms and the Hotel Raffles Gin Sling. This boon to mankind is said to consist of proper applications of dry gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine, shaken for a moment, and stirred in a bar glass, ice-chilled, filled to taste with chilled club soda and garnished with a spiral peel of a green lime." Here we have a recipe for the Hotel Raffles Gin Sling, and it matches perfectly with the Singapore Sling recipe given by Charles Baker in his 1939 book, The Gentleman's Companion: "The original formula is 1/3 each of dry gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine; shake it for a moment, or stir in in a barglass, with 2 fairly large lumps of ice to chill. Turn into a small 10 oz highball glass with one lump of ice left in and fill up to individual taste with chilled club soda. Garnish with the spiral peel of 1 green lime. In other ports in the Orient drinkers often use C & C ginger ale instead of soda, or even stone bottle ginger beer." Another contemporary newspaper journalist lists the exact recipe from the Raffles Hotel: Eureka Humboldt Standard, 11th May 1966. "And while we're in that neck of the woods, here is the Singapore Sling - from the noted Raffles Hotel. This is served ornamented with a spirally cut peel of lime, such as we used to enjoy in our childhood served in a glass of gingerale and called a "Horse's Neck," You need the finest, dryest gin you can obtain to make it perfectly. Also, fine cherry brandy and then Benedictine. At Raffles' they use equal parts, but we recommend increasing the percentage of gin to your own taste. Shake the mixture with a few ice cubes, then strain into a chilled highball glass with 1 ice cube - fill as far as you wish with chilled club soda, and decorate with the long peel." In the February 15th 1939 edition of the Oakland Tribune, a certain Vic Bergeron ran an advert for the benefit of the residents of Oakland, and the visitors to the exposition being held at that time in the city; The restaurant was "Trader Vics", and the advert listed, amongst other international drinks, a "Raffles Bar Sling, from Singapore". Note: The same advert also listed a "Mojito, from Habana" Trader Vic was a man who liked to get his hands on original recipes, and would travel far and wide to get them. The recipe for the Raffles Bar/ Hotel Sling is given in his Trader Vic Bartender's Guide, 1948: Raffles Hotel Sling 1 oz. Dry Gin. 1 oz. Cherry Brandy. 1 oz. Benedictine. Shake w/cracked ice, strain into glass containing several lumps of ice; fill with chilled club soda and garnish with lime peel spiral. After listing the Raffles Hotel Sling, Vic then goes on to list two different recipes for drinks actually named as Singapore Slings. And there we have it, the Raffles Hotel version of the Singapore Sling was not actually known by that name, and all the sources which actually originate from the Raffles Hotel do not differ in the recipes that they give. The other drinks called by the name Singapore Sling, but being from the city of Singapore, rather than the Raffles Hotel itself, vary a great deal, some recipes are just a Tom Collins made red with cherry brandy, and others are just more complicated versions of that. I can not finish this article without mentioning the 1922 recipe from Robert Vermiere's Cocktails and How to Mix Them, as it is often cited as the earliest known Singapore Sling recipe, even though it doesn't say that the recipe comes directly from the Raffles' Hotel, and the recipe is titled "Straits Sling". The drink is referred to as a "well-known Singapore drink", but it could have just been another of the multitude of (City of) Singapore Slings. Note that the recipe contains half a gill of gin, which is 71 millilitres. "thoroughly iced and shaken, contains:" 2 dashes of Orange Bitters, 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters, The juice of half a lemon 1/8 gill of Bénédictine. 1/8 gill of Dry Cherry Brandy 1/2 gill of Gin. Pour into a tumbler and fill up with cold soda water. Conclusion: The current Singapore Sling served at the Raffles is a completely different drink to that originally associated with the hotel in its heyday. The Raffles Hotel Gin Sling did not contain any citrus juice, and it is not known who created it or when it was created. Cheers! George

Don't blame me, blame E-gullet . Well, to me, crushed ice is ice that has been crushed. I think that the ice that Fishmongers use is not really crushed, as I am sure that FMs have ice machines that specifically spit out small sized pieces of ice. Okay, that sounds okay. But I think the "mould into a ball" test is not really the common test used. I think this is very interesting, and so I will endeavour to smash/ crush some ice for the E-gulleteers!!! Cheers! George

I think the problem here is that an Ice Crusher is not really crushing the ice, it is breaking it. At the moment I have been experimenting (too much time on my hands ) with breaking ice. I have been freezing water in ice cream containers, and then smashing the ice with a "spanner" (aka. monkey wrench), and the ice just shatters into snow, cold (not about to melt snow). I used it in a drink and it was completely different from crushed ice made with a hand-cranked ice "crusher". The hand-pulverised ice, monkey wench if you please, survived longer in the glass, and did not just turn into water after a short while. I wonder if the "hold some ice in your hands and hit it" is really cracked ice, as I like using ice from a big block that it struck and then cracks, surely producing "cracked ice"; Not machine produced ice cubes that are broken in half with the back of a knife. My first youtube cocktail spectacular will be a Sherry Cobbler and a Madiera Julep. I think a little intro sequence of "ice meeting steel" ("say hello to my little friend") would be in order. On another note Norwegian water produces clearer ice, which fractures/ cracks much easier than London, England frozen water. Cheers! George