Leo Engels, published his Bartender’s Guide, American and Other Drinks, in 1878. It is a fascinating glimpse into early mixology at a time when bar drinks and cocktails were just beginning to evolve and spread through North America and Europe. At that time, the word ‘cocktail’ was reserved for a specific type of bar drink, which resembles what we call the Old-Fashioned cocktail today. Other styles of bar drinks had their own names, the Crusta, the Smash, and the Julep just to name a few. Nowadays, these bar drinks are part of the entire class of mixed drinks called cocktails; but back then, they were each their own class of bar drink and the cocktail was class of mixed drink, separate and distinct. How the word ‘cocktail’ evolved to encompass all classes of bar drinks is unknown to me; but if you want to go back in time and build an original ‘cocktail’, Leo Engels’, American and Other Drinks is a great starting place.

Here is Leo Engels’ recipe for the Gin Cocktail:

Leo Engels’ 1878 Gin Cocktail

one wine glass of (about 2 oz) Gin
2 dashes of Orange Curacao
2 or 3 dashes of Brokers bitters (see note below)
3 dashes of Plain Syrup
squeeze of Lemon peel

Fill the shaker 1/3 full of ice
Add all ingredients and shake well
Strain into a glass

(Note: I subbed 1 dash of Angostura Bitters and 1 dash of Fees Cocktail bitters in lieu of the Brokers Bitters)

Note: If  you are interested in more cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!