Brainstorm the Top Topics in Cocktail History

[Chris Amirault]

Just in from Ann Tuennerman, the Founder of Tales of the Cocktail.

What do you think are the “100 top tales” of the cocktail?

Tales of the Cocktail is putting together a reference book of the most important events, people, places, drinks, and lore – not just in New Orleans, but around the globe and throughout history. Tales of the Cocktail: A to Z (From absinthe to zombies: The World’s Most Entertaining Guide to Cocktails and Their Culture) will feature hundreds of entries, and you can help drive the “Top Tales” list. Send us your picks for the 100 most essential topics, with the most entertainment value. We want items that have great tales (this is Tales of the Cocktail, after all), so feel free to include a few words as to why an item has relevance, and our writers will pour over the research to squeeze out the perfect tale. Examples: Raffles Hotel (birthplace of the Singapore Sling), and Dorothy Parker (acerbic tongued writer and drinking expert).

We've got the rest of the month to collect tales here so that Ann can have them by August 31. Post one, post many -- and don't hesitate to share your own unique story.

[Chris Amirault]

I'll start.

I think that getting the full story from Jeff Berry on finding his "Rosetta Stone," the original recipe for Don the Beachcombers Zombie, would be a great addition to this list.

[slkinsey]

I honestly can't tell what, exactly, she's asking for.

[Chris Amirault]

I'll see if I can get a clarification, but I believe she's looking for anecdotes about cocktails -- origins, developments, brawls, whatever -- that can be entries in the "Top Tales" section of this reference.

[Dave the Cook]

Like this, Chris?

1905: Herman Rosenthal is murdered in front of the Hotel Metropole in Times Square. At the subsequent trial, Jacob Rosenzweig (aka Jack Rose) commits perjury in order to deflect attention from his own involvement and that of New York World employee Herbert Swope and New York district attorney Charles Whitman. Rosenzweig's testimony successfully frames Lt. Charles Becker, who was in charge of the police department's anti-gambling squad.

The Jack Rose cocktail rises in popularity, perhaps thanks to the notorious association.

Edited August 13, 2008 by Dave the Cook (log)

[Splificator]

1905

Actually, it was 1912. I don't mean to be pedantic, but there are so few facts in the history of drink I likes to nail down the ones we do have.

[Dave the Cook]

1905

Actually, it was 1912. I don't mean to be pedantic, but there are so few facts in the history of drink I likes to nail down the ones we do have.

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And now we have a clear example of how the facts get muddled. Thank you, sir.

[Chris Amirault]

Like this, Chris?

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Why I think that's a fine example.

[freshherbs]

Just in from Ann Tuennerman, the Founder of Tales of the Cocktail.

What do you think are the “100 top tales” of the cocktail?

Tales of the Cocktail is putting together a reference book of the most important events, people, places, drinks, and lore – not just in New Orleans, but around the globe and throughout history. Tales of the Cocktail: A to Z (From absinthe to zombies: The World’s Most Entertaining Guide to Cocktails and Their Culture) will feature hundreds of entries, and you can help drive the “Top Tales” list. Send us your picks for the 100 most essential topics, with the most entertainment value. We want items that have great tales (this is Tales of the Cocktail, after all), so feel free to include a few words as to why an item has relevance, and our writers will pour over the research to squeeze out the perfect tale. Examples: Raffles Hotel (birthplace of the Singapore Sling), and Dorothy Parker (acerbic tongued writer and drinking expert).

We've got the rest of the month to collect tales here so that Ann can have them by August 31. Post one, post many -- and don't hesitate to share your own unique story.

←

Not sure about the accuracy of this one but...

Old Tom Gin is the last remaining example of the original lightly sweetened gins that were so popular in 18th-century England. The name comes from what may be the first example of a beverage vending machine. In the 1700s some pubs in England would have a wooden plaque shaped like a black cat (an "Old Tom") mounted on the outside wall. Thirsty passersby would deposit a penny in the cat’s mouth and place their lips around a small tube between the cat’s paws. The bartender inside would then pour a shot of Gin through the tube and into the customer’s waiting mouth. Some say that the gin was sweetened because it was actually the dregs of the unfinished drinks from inside the bar that were collected in a bucket and then sweetened to cover the taste.

Edited for attempted accuracy

Edited August 14, 2008 by freshherbs (log)

[Glacies]

My personal favorite:

The history of iced beverages in North America and the story of Frederic Tudor. At the turn of the 19th Century, Mr. Tudor sailed vessels loaded with ice, beginning in the Northeast United States, to Charleston, with a final destination of the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica, I believe). Important for Tales, Mr. Tudor eventually moved his operation from Charleston to NOLA.

A very close second:

Mr. Dave Wondrich's history lesson on the breakfast cocktail.

[KatieLoeb]

Whatever happened to the Corpse Reviver No. 1?? Can anyone explain that one?

[slkinsey]

Whatever happened to the Corpse Reviver No. 1??  Can anyone explain that one?

The numbering of them, as far as I know, comes from the Savoy Book. The CR #1 consists of 1/4 Italian vermouth, 1/4 apple brandy or Calvados and 1/2 Brandy. There is also a "Savoy Corpse Reviver" dating to 1954 from Joe Gilmore at the Savoy, consisting of equal parts brandy, Fernet Branca and white crème de menthe.

[eas]

Not sure about the accuracy of this one  but...

Old Tom Gin is the last remaining example of the original lightly sweetened gins that were so popular in 18th-century England. The name comes from what may be the first example of a beverage vending machine. In the 1700s some pubs in England would have a wooden plaque shaped like a black cat (an "Old Tom") mounted on the outside wall. Thirsty passersby would deposit a penny in the cat’s mouth and place their lips around a small tube between the cat’s paws. The bartender inside would then pour a shot of Gin through the tube and into the customer’s waiting mouth. Some say that the gin was sweetened because it was actually the dregs of the unfinished drinks from inside the bar that were collected in a bucket and then sweetened to cover the taste.

Edited for attempted accuracy

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Old Tom Gin is a botanically-intensive style of gin that was/is lightly sweetened to round out what would otherwise be bitter. The resulting richer mouthfeel in some ways mirrored the Hollands (oude) gin. In the historic progression to the London dry style, the botanics were dialed back and the sugar all but eliminated.

Edited August 15, 2008 by eas (log)

[tikibars]

Maybe the rivalry between Donn Beach and Trader Vic, and their lawsuit over who really invented the Mai Tai Roa Ae?

[bostonapothecary]

Not sure about the accuracy of this one  but...

Old Tom Gin is the last remaining example of the original lightly sweetened gins that were so popular in 18th-century England. The name comes from what may be the first example of a beverage vending machine. In the 1700s some pubs in England would have a wooden plaque shaped like a black cat (an "Old Tom") mounted on the outside wall. Thirsty passersby would deposit a penny in the cat’s mouth and place their lips around a small tube between the cat’s paws. The bartender inside would then pour a shot of Gin through the tube and into the customer’s waiting mouth. Some say that the gin was sweetened because it was actually the dregs of the unfinished drinks from inside the bar that were collected in a bucket and then sweetened to cover the taste.

Edited for attempted accuracy

←

Old Tom Gin is a botanically-intensive style of gin that was/is lightly sweetened to round out what would otherwise be bitter. The resulting richer mouthfeel in some ways mirrored the Hollands (oude) gin. In the historic progression to the London dry style, the botanics were dialed back and the sugar all but eliminated.

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this is finally what i'd like to hear about why old tom gin would be special in any way. did you find anything about the quantitative botanical intensity of the gin in grams of extract per liter? how does it compare to things like tanqueray and beafeater that are on the market now?

maynard amerine compared the extract of vermouths and gave recommendations on how many grams of botanicals per liter. i'm sure the same techniques could easily shed some more light on gin.

[Chris Amirault]

I'll see if I can get a clarification, but I believe she's looking for anecdotes about cocktails -- origins, developments, brawls, whatever -- that can be entries in the "Top Tales" section of this reference.

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Ann wrote back:

That’s correct, we’re also looking on a more simple level of the most important cocktail moments, events, people, places, and drinks. Lists of are fine.

[XagaEnergon]

So, not quite a cocktail, more just liquor, but how about the story of Moutai and it's use as the chinese government's official liquor as well as its use in entertaining US dignitaries back when China was more closed.

Or is this strictly cocktails?

[Chris Amirault]

I think it's strictly cocktails -- so what's your favorite Moutai tipple?

[The Drinkist]

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head:

1) What about Dr. Siegert and the development of Angostura bitters? Not necessarily amusing, but given that bitters were the defining ingredient of a cocktail for about 100 years (and are tasty good to boot), some nod to them seems natural. People would likely know Angostura, but perhaps an older bitters would be appropriate instead?

2) As a hotbed of cocktail culture back in the day, with plenty of amusing anecdotes to go along, how about the Waldorf-Astoria bar?

3) I have very little knowledge of the invention of the cocktail glass. It's iconic, of course, and I think an entry discussing its creation/evolution/etc. would be well-received.

[JAZ]

At the risk of heaping scorn upon my head, I'm going to suggest the 1867 patent by Lachlan Rose to preserve lime juice without the use of alcohol. Within a decade, his company was successfully bottling and selling Rose's Lime Cordial. Like it or not, Rose's has been a mainstay in the bar world, officially as an ingredient in the Gimlet, and less officially and less felicitously, in all kinds of drinks that call for fresh lime juice.