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May 14, 2013 (Day 6) – Whiskey Cocktail

The Bartender’s Guide: How to Mix Drinks Or the Bon Vivant’s Companion by Jerry Thomas is regularly considered the grandaddy of all cocktail books. In fact, it’s first run printing in 1862 seems to, at least historically, put it as the first cocktail book to be published in the United States. There’s good reason this has inspired countless bartenders, chefs, and mixologists throughout the years. Professor Thomas tears through page after page of hundreds of cocktails with easy-to-adjust and update steps.

Recently re-published in 2010, the book is now poised to introduce a whole new generation of drinkers to libations that otherwise would have been lost to time.

Whiskey Cocktail

3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup

2 dashes of Boker’s bitters

1 wine-glass of whiskey

Fill mixing glass one-third full of fine ice ; shake and strain in a fancy red wine-glass. Put in a piece of twisted lemon peel in the glass and serve.

Professor Thomas knows his shit. I went in expecting a bit of a snap and harshness, but the bitters and syrup balance the bite of the whiskey just perfectly.

Just like almost anything else in old-school cocktail books, it’s just about nothing but booze.

So proceed with caution.

Cheers!