Tag: history

Grenadine Syrup Recipe
Blog Post, History, Syrups

What is Grenadine Made From?

What would you say if I told you the literal translation of grenadine from French didn’t mean pomegranate in the context of the sweet red syrup called grenadine? What would you think if I said modern grenadine is an over-simplified corruption of a once complex and interesting product? I’m sure you would be curious, so let’s break this down because […]

Abbott's Bitter Label
Bitters

Abbott’s Bitter Recipe

Back in 2009, I stumbled upon a bitters recipe with two Abbott signatories on the document. Since Abbott’s was one of the most popular bitters before prohibition, it required further investigation. And that led me to present all this research at Tales of the Cocktail 2016. And now here it is for you. My original goal was to recreate the bitters […]

Rhode Island Cabinet History
History

The Coffee Cabinet of Rhode Island

Rhode Island seems to be a sleepy little state nestled amongst giants like New York and Massachusetts. One of the state’s quirks is the drink called the cabinet which to the rest of North America is called a milkshake or ice cream shake. The Coffee Cabinet (or coffee milk) is the states official drink. Why do they call them cabinets […]

A recipe for a non-dairy sweetened cream syrup for use in cocktails and sodas
Syrups

Cream Syrup

A genuine cream soda requires cream, but that is not an option for all diets. This recipe from the 1800s is a substitute cream syrup used at soda fountains and it is tasty.

Lemon Soda Phosphate
Soda

Lemon Phosphate Soda

When flavoured soda water became a thing, lemon was the preferred choice. In fact, it was the most popular flavour for 30 years. Modern variations of this classic flavour include Sprite and 7-Up.

Soda Jerks History in Atlanta
History, Soda

Beverage Business (1886)

These old newspaper articles about soda fountain provide a glimpse into the period and city they were written. This article comes from the Rocky Mountain News in Denver circa 1886. Reporters would just report on the happening of the local soda fountain and the new drinks being served. Cocaine, again, makes an entrance to a new city via the soda fountain, […]

Lunar Milkshake Phosphate
History, Soda

Talk with the Soda Men of Atlanta (1885)

This is a great article from the June 7th, 1885 Atlanta Constitution detailed the state of affairs at the local soda fountains. The reporter interviews a local soda proprietor and gets all the goods. One of the great things about this article is that it mentions Coca-Cola for the first time, though the reporter spells it “coco cola”. If you […]