As I visited with my daughter and her girls at a New Hampshire tavern this week, I pondered my “RailPenny Punch” cocktail. Creating that balance of all of the ingredients so that they blend together well is an art form that goes beyond the little umbrella and fruit pick. I wondered, if not for the first time, how cocktails came to be created. What was the inspiration? I found specific answers to be as allusive as the perfectly made cocktail.
The New York weekly publication, “The Balance, and Columbian Repository” (May 13, 1805), first defined the cocktail as “a stimulating liquor composed of any kind of sugar, water, and bitters, vulgarly called a bittered sling.” This separated it from the drink of the day known as “the sling,” which was made without bitters.
However, I found much controversy about who actually invented the first cocktail. I eventually stumbled on the extensive research of David Wondrich’s “Imbibe” (2007). He determined credit can be given to London pharmacist, Dr. Richard Stoughton. As a hangover cure, Dr. Stoughton created a concoction of citrus peels, distilled roots, and bark and sold as “Stoughton’s Bitters.” He recommended they be added to brandy or wine as a hangover cure. In America, bitters replaced traditional ginger and pepper, and the cocktail was born. This formulation is still used by bartenders.
The artist of all bartenders was Jerry “Professor” Thomas from Connecticut who created a publication called “How to Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion” (1862) which became the bartender’s guide to making cocktails. It helped define the distinction of “cocktails” from “the sling” or the British punch of the day.
However, the real explosion of the popularity of cocktails can be credited to Frederic “Ice King” Tudor who perfected the business of providing ice to all climates.
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