The Harlem Cocktail

[spiritchild]

I'm interested in finding out the origin of the Harlem Cocktail (yes, I get the obvious comeback here). Was it actually developed in Harlem? And when? And by whom? Any answers to any of my questions would be wholly appreciated as I have made a few attempts to procure info on this cocktail and have come up short-handed. The recipe I know is as follows:

1 1/2 oz gin

3/4 oz pineapple juice

1/4 oz maraschino

Cheers!

[Splificator]

I'm interested in finding out the origin of the Harlem Cocktail (yes, I get the obvious comeback here).  Was it actually developed in Harlem?  And when?  And by whom?  Any answers to any of my questions would be wholly appreciated as I have made a few attempts to procure info on this cocktail and have come up short-handed.  The recipe I know is as follows:

1 1/2 oz gin

3/4 oz pineapple juice

1/4 oz maraschino

Cheers!

←

A quick and unsystematic search through the professional literature locates this recipe in The Diners' Club Drink Book, from 1961. But since at least some of the recipes in that book come from Mr. Boston, I'd look through the 1950s versions of that old chestnut, if I had them. As far as I can tell, it doesn't show up in the other Wad-o-Drinks books (as DrinkBoy would call them--the books that round up every cocktail recipe they can find and cram them between two covers without testing or comment) from the 1940s or 1950s. There is, however, a "Harlem Cocktail No. 2" in the 1930/1934 edition of Cocktail Bill Boothby's World Drinks (one of the earliest Wad-o-Drinks books). This is nothing like the recipe above, but at least it implies that there was another Harlem Cocktail out there, which--who knows (probably Ted Haigh)--might very well be yours.

Of course, none of this helps with the question of the drinks origin, beyond establishing that it's at least fairly old.

Best of luck,

DW

[Lan4Dawg]

my 1935 copy of Mr. Boston shows the Harlem Cocktail (no number) w/ the same proportions.

An educated guess as to the origins of the cocktail is that there was a Manhattan and several versions of a Bronx cocktail as well as a Brooklyn therefore a new cocktail would be named after another area of New York, hence: The Harlem Cocktail. I do not think it came fr/ the original Harlem (actually spelled Haarlem if memory serves) in The Netherlands but seeing as how gin is the central ingredient it could have.

in loving memory of Mr. Squirt (1998-2004)--the best cat ever.