# Happy bicentennial to the cocktail!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-bicentennial-to-the-cocktail/355654>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 6, 2006, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-bicentennial-to-the-cocktail/355654 "2006-05-06T05:54:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-bicentennial-to-the-cocktail/355654/1 "2006-05-06T05:54:40Z")

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According to [The Museum of the American Cocktail](http://www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org/museum/TheBalance.html), this Saturday (May 6) is the 200th anniversary of the earliest known appearance of the term “cocktail” in print.

Now if _that’s_ not an event worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.

In honor of this occasion, here’s the recipe for the Whiskey Cocktail, from the 1862 edition of the earlist known bartender’s guide, _How to Mix Drinks, or, The Bon-Vivant’s Companion_, by “Professor” Jerry Thomas:

> [@](#):
>
> (Use small bar glass)
> 
> 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup [ed: use simple syrup, or muddle a sugar cube with an equal amount of water to make a syrup]  
> 2 dashes Bogart’s bitters [ed: no longer available; use angostura bitters instead]  
> 1 wine-glass of whiskey, and a piece of lemon peel.
> 
> Fill one-third full of fine ice; shake and strain in a fancy red wine-glass.

Cheers!

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**Author:** ![Tio\_Gringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@Tio\_Gringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tio_Gringo)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-bicentennial-to-the-cocktail/355654/2 "2006-05-06T19:55:06Z")

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Here, here!

I’ll drink to that!

🙂

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**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-bicentennial-to-the-cocktail/355654/3 "2006-05-06T23:20:15Z")

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Now when they ask us what we’re celebrating tonight, I’ll have an actual truthful answer!