The library
Where drinks came from, told from the record. Where the record runs out and the stories begin, we say so.
From elixir to cocktail · 1690 to 1880
In 1806 a New York newspaper defined the cocktail as spirits, sugar, water and bitters. The bitters came from the apothecary, and three bottles from three continents still sit on every serious bar.
5 min read · 5 sources
The Sazerac's long road · 1834 to 2008
A pharmacist's bitters, a coffee house named for a cognac, a switch to rye, an absinthe ban and a local substitute: the Sazerac is the city's drink by law since 2008, and its story is half record and half legend.
6 min read · 10 sources