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The commonly accepted history is that the cocktail (as an abstract) was a uniquely American invention of such luminaries as Professor Jerry Thomas, William Schmidt, and “Cocktail” Bill Boothby, amongst many others.
However, even before the the golden age of mixology in America (the years betwixt the Civil War and Prohibition), events in Europe and Asia would contribute to the art of mixology even to this day.
The first recipes for punches came from as far away as India in the early 17th century, combining citrus, spice, water, sugar, and spirit. From there, they spread to the furthest reaches of the British empire, embraced by all, even the aristocracy. Fancy punches and fruit shrubs were served at society functions throughout Europe as early as the 1730’s, mixing with the popular sweet wines, arrack, and brandy. Mixology found it’s roots in these early celebratory concoctions.
Mixology would be unrecognizable if not for the invention of carbonated water, accredited to English chemist and natural philosopher Joseph Priestley in Leeds in 1767. His 1772 pamphlet describing his process for “Impregnating Water with Fixed Air” paved the way for Johann Jacob Schweppe to later develop an economical manufacturing process for bottling carbonated water. Schweppes went on to found his eponymous company in 1783, changing the way the world drank. Carbonated water, fizzy water, soda, or seltzer, whatever you wanted to call it; was a huge sensation. The Schweppes company even received a Royal Warrant from King William IV of England. The populace could now enjoy their favorite spirits mixed with an effervescent sparkle.
The Scotch and Soda took England by storm, becoming the staple choice for a refreshing afternoon tipple. Drinking one’s whisky with the addition of cool carbonated water and ice somehow also made imbibing a little more genteel and socially acceptable. The sparkling concoction was modified to be served in a tall glass with a lemon peel, and introduced to the United States in 1895 as a “Highball” by Ashland House head bartender Patrick Gavin Duffy, author of The Official Mixer’s Manual, 1934. The cooling cocktail continued its tour around the world and received its warmest welcome in Japan, where it became known as the mizuwari. Even today, the Highball is making a huge mark in spirits parlors, with the Toki Highball draft system available at only the best Suntory accounts…
Another precursor to the cocktail, the toddy became a popular drink in the British empire in the late 17th/ early 18th century. Lifted in a typically colonial fashion from the “taddy” of India (a fermented drink made of palm sap), the word “toddy” was first formally recorded in 1786 meaning a beverage made of alcoholic liquor, hot water, sugar, and spices. Irish doctor Robert Bentley Todd was known for prescribing a toddy to patients to cure all manner of ailments. The British populace adapted the recipe, forgoing the brandy so popular in the rest of Europe and opting for Scotch whisky in toddies to ward off the perpetual chill.
Early American bartenders were keen on innovation, ever the masters of hospitality. The American tavern, like America itself, was a marketplace for new (and forgotten) ideas from the far corners of the world. Modern mixology might not exist, if not for these and many other secrets passed down to us from antiquity.
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