Top 10 classic cocktails: a history

The birthplace of the cocktail is much disputed, with London and New York both laying claim to its invention.

The first print mention of the name “cocktail” appeared in 1798 in The Morning Post and Gazetteer; a long-folded London newspaper, while a name-check in a New York newspaper didn’t appear until 1806.

Wherever it originated, the work of two men – Connecticut-born Jerry Thomas and Gloucestershire lad Harry Craddock – in putting the classic cocktail on the map is indisputable.

The former wrote the first book containing a selection of cocktail recipes in 1862, leading him to be hailed the godfather of American bartending.

Meanwhile, no bar has done more to launch and sustain the classic cocktail than The Savoy on the Strand at its American Bar.

Releasing The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, Harry Craddock sealed the fortunes of the classic cocktail, The Savoy as a mixed drink institution and himself as a cocktail god, in a tome that still serves as a bible for bartenders around the globe.

Craddock is credited with the invention of classics such as the White Lady and the Corpse Reviver #2, both of which are still shaken at the current incarnation of the American Bar, run by the dashing, debonair and trophy-laden Erik Lorincz and his ambitious and ebullient apprentice, Tom Walker.

In part two of our classic cocktail round up, we explore the origins of some of the most famous and best loved cocktails ever shaken, from the Manhattan to the Mint Julep.

10: Tom Collins

Similar to the Gimlet and Gin Fizz in character, the Tom Collins blends gin with lemon juice, sugar and soda water. The cocktail first made it into print in 1876 in Jerry Thomas’ cocktail bible, The Bartender’s Guide, and is thought to have mutated from the John Collins, named after a waiter at Limmer’s Old House on Conduit Street in Mayfair where the fizzy drink was invented in the 1860s.

Starting out life more like a gin punch such as those served at fashionable London clubs like The Garrick in the mid-19^th century, Thomas changed the name from the John to the Tom Collins in 1876 due to the use of Old Tom gin.

By the late-19^th century, the cocktail was being served across America. Much twisted on, the Juan Collins uses Tequila in place of gin, while the Jack Collins uses Applejack, the Ron Collins rum, and the Phil Collins Pisco.

9: White Lady

Boasting a plethora of nicknames, from the Delilah to the Chelsea Sidecar, the White Lady is essentially a Sidecar made with gin in place of brandy. Invented by the aforementioned Harry Craddock at The American Bar at The Savoy, the original recipe, printed in his 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, includes gin, Cointreau, fresh lemon juice and egg white served in a Champagne coupe or Martini glass.

Another theory has it that the White Lady was in fact the invention of Harry MacElhone from Dundee, who created the drink at Ciro’s Club in London in 1919, originally using crème de menthe, but substituting it for gin at Harry’s New York bar in Paris. According to Savoy bartender Joe Gilmore, despite its feminine name and ingredients, the White Lady was one of comedy duo Laurel and Hardy’s favourite drinks.

In John Le Carré’s 1965 novel The Looking Glass War, the protagonist, British spy Fred Leiser, has a penchant for White Ladies and makes several attempts to get his fellow agents to try the cocktail. A twist on the White Lady is the Boxcar, which features a sugared rim, replaces lemon juice with lime and includes a dash of grenadine, turning it pink.

8: Martinez

Thought to predate the Martini, the first mention of the Martinez appears in O.H. Bryon’s 1884 book, The Modern Bartender, where it is listed as a twist on the Manhattan. Four years later, it appeared in Harry Johnson’s Bartender’s Manual as a drink in its own right.

Another theory has it that the cocktail was created by a guy called Julio Richelieu in 1874 for a gold miner working in the Californian town of Martinez. A third claim to fame states that the Martinez was invented at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco near to the town of Martinez, which boasts a plaque commemorating it as the birthplace of the cocktail.

Early recipes use Dutch oude genever, though modern twists use London dry gin, with the remainder of the cocktail made up of Martini Rosso, orange curaçao and Angostura bitters. Jerry Thomas’ recipe blends Boker’s bitters with Maraschino, Old Tom gin and vermouth.

7: Clover Club

Much loved by yours truly for its pale pink hue and tart taste, despite its girly appearance, the Clover Club cocktail was invented in 1896 at a Philadelphia gentleman’s club of the same name formed mainly of journalists.

Predating Prohibition, the pink drink came into being during Clover Club gatherings at the Bellevue-Stratford hotel. It’s first print mention appeared in 1897, calling for a mixture of gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white, with the best results occurring when the egg is dry shaken before ice is added.

The drink’s popularity soon spread beyond the Clover Club to other gentleman’s clubs and oak-panelled lounges but eventually fell out of favour due to the addition of egg white.

Today’s Clover Clubs remain loyal to the original recipe, though Grenadine is sometimes used in place of raspberry syrup, meaning the rose hue is maintained. According to Wikipedia, there is both a bar in Brooklyn and a Belarussian indie rock band named in the drink’s honour. As for literary lovers, W.B. Yeats used to down them during dinner.

6: Corpse Reviver #2

One of Harry Craddock’s inventions, the Corpse Reviver #2 is an adaption of the original Corpse Reviver cocktail, which traditionally blended Cognac, Calvados and sweet vermouth and was said to be used as a “hair of the dog” hangover cure, hence the morbid epithet.

The #2 first appeared in Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Handbook in 1930 and is still served at the American bar to this day. The original Corpse Reviver was first mentioned in print in an 1861, with early recipes blending brandy, Yellow Chartreuse and Maraschino.

Craddock’s twist consists of equal parts gin, lemon juice, Cointreau, Kina Lillet and a dash of absinthe either added before shaking or used to coat the rim of the glass. The final blend is then garnished with a Morello cherry that sits neatly in the bottom of the Martini glass.

While assuaging a hangover with booze might seem like an appealing idea, Craddock warns: “Four of these taken in swift succession will un-revive the corpse again.”

5: Manhattan

As with many classic cocktails, the origins of the Manhattan are disputed, but one popular theory claims the drink came to be at the Manhattan Club in New York in the early 1870s.

The story goes that one Dr. Iain Marshall created the drink especially for a banquet in honour of presidential candidate Samuel Tilden hosted by Winston Churchill’s mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, at the Manhattan Club. Legend has it that the drink proved so popular during the dinner, that it soon spread outside the club to other New York bars, with punters requesting to try “the Manhattan cocktail”.

The drink consists of a simple mix of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters garnished with a Maraschino cherry, with Canadian whisky replacing Bourbon during Prohibition as it was easier to get hold of. It first appeared in print in William Schmidt’s The Flowing Bowl in 1891 in a recipe featuring all the usual ingredients along with two dashes of “gum” (gomme syrup).

The Manhattan is easily twisted on, with the Rob Roy replacing rye with Scotch, the Dry Manhattan made with dry vermouth, the Perfect made with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth and the Cuban Manhattan made with dark rum. Contrary to popular belief, Manhattans can be both shaken and stirred. Envelope pushing mixologist Rich Woods is currently serving a version made with bacon-infused Bourbon and salted caramel at Duck & Waffle in London.

4: Gimlet

Another simple concoction, the Gimlet mixes gin or vodka with lime juice. The cocktail shot to fame after a mention in Raymond Chandler’s 1953 novel The Long Goodbye, where it is stipulated that “a real Gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s lime juice and nothing else.”

With Rose’s lime juice predating the Gimlet, it is often credited for having created the cocktail, with Gimlet recipes appearing on the label. Author Ernest Hemingway was a Gimlet lover, and featured the drink in his short story, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.

The word “gimlet” was first linked to the cocktail in 1928. A common theory is that the name derives from a tool used for drilling small holes in a nod to the cocktail’s sharp nature. Another yarn is that the Gimlet is named after British Royal Navy rear-admiral, Sir Thomas Gimlette, who gave the lime-laced drink to his messmates in a bid to ward off scurvy.

“Why on earth this stroke of genius stands unheralded and unsung in this fair and allegedly free land of ours shall always be a mystery. It is simple without fancy fizzings and is one to experiment with until the precise amount of lime cordial is found,” wrote Charles H. Baker in The Gentleman’s Companion – an Exotic Drinking Book. In 2001 the Richmond Gimlet was created in Oregon adding mint to the mix.

3: Old Fashioned

Long before Mad Men’s Don Draper got his dirty mits around one, the Old Fashioned has been loosening tongues from tumblers for over a century. Proving that simple is often best, the drink is a humble mix of Bourbon, sugar, bitters and orange peel.

The name is said to be a hat tip to the tumblers in which the drink is traditionally served, which are also called “old fashioned” glasses, with the name coming into common parlance in the 1880s. Twists on the Old Fashioned feature rum, gin or brandy in place of Bourbon, with nutmeg sometimes being used as a garnish instead of orange peel, while other mutations include the addition of orange curaçao and absinthe.

The first public use of the term “Old Fashioned” for the cocktail came in 1881 at the Pendennis gentleman’s club in Kentucky, with the concoction said to have been invented by a bartender in honour Colonel James E. Pepper, a prominent Bourbon distiller who brought the drink to the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.

The recipe begins by dissolving a sugar cube with a little water in a tumbler, then adding two dashes of Angostura bitters and one jigger of Bourbon. Much mixing then ensues, with the end result garnished with a curl of orange peel. 

2: Mint Julep

The Mint Julep is inextricably linked to the Kentucky Derby. A simple blend of Bourbon, fresh spearmint, sugar and water, the refreshing drink is often served in a frosted pewter cup laden with ice. Coming under the “smash” category of cocktail, the spearmint is crushed in order to release its essential oils.

The Mint Julep is thought to have originated in America’s Deep South as a medicinal remedy for stomach ache, appearing in print as early as 1784. A little later in 1803, writer John Davis described the drink as “a dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it taken by Virginians of a morning”.

The word “julep” originates from the Persian word “gulab”, meaning rose water, with some believing that the cocktail has Arabic origins, starting life as a mixture of water and rose petals. In addition to Bourbon, there are twists that use gin, brandy and whisky as a base, with Jerry Thomas allowing for all three in his 1887 Bartenders Guide.

The cocktail’s Kentucky link began in the early-19^th century when US senator Henry Clay of Kentucky introduced the drink to the Round Robin bar at the Willard hotel in Washington. The cocktail has been linked to the Derby since 1938, with a staggering 120,000 Juleps served at Churchill Downs racecourse each year during the two-day event in collectible Kentucky Derby glasses.

The cocktail gets a mention in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, with Daisy in particular a fan. Writer William Faulkner was also a lover of the drink and was allowed to blend his own version at the Musso & Frank Grill in LA.

1: Sazerac

A drink as synonymous with New Orleans as Mardi Gras and grits, the Sazerac is named after the brand of Cognac originally used in the cocktail – Sazerac de Forge et Fils. Today, rye whisky is more commonly used as the base spirit, which is paired with absinthe, Peychaud’s bitters and sugar, with Cognac having fallen out of favour during the European phylloxera epidemic in the late-19^th century.

Claimed by some to be the oldest American cocktail dating back to pre-Civil War New Orleans, the drink gets its aniseed character from rinsing the glass in absinthe, with Herbsaint serving as a substitute while absinthe was banned in the US in the early-20^th century. Stories differ as to the inventor of the cocktail, with some camps crediting bartender Aaron Bird, and others bequeathing the accolade to apothecary Antoine Amedie Peychaud, who had a shop in the city’s French Quarter.

Having bought a bar called The Merchants Coffee Exchange from spirits importer Sewell T. Taylor in 1850, Bird changed the name to the Sazerac Coffee House and began selling cocktails made with Sazerac Cognac imported by Taylor and bitters made by Peychaud. Future proprietor Thomas Handy wrote down the recipe for the Sazerac in the 1880s, which first appeared in print in 1908.

In March 2008, Louisiana state senator Edwin R. Murray filed a bill declaring the Sazerac Louisiana’s official state cocktail. Closer to home, cocktail bar Nola in Shoreditch shines a light on the Sazerac, making the signature sip with both rye whiskey and Rémy Martin VSOP Cognac. At The Big Easy in Covent Garden meanwhile, Sazeracs are served as slushies, while Peg + Patriot in Bethnal Green offers a savoury version using a salt beef bagel distillate.