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 […]
Tag: history
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 […]
History of the Malt Milkshake
As ice cream became the mainstay of the soda fountain, malt milkshakes became so popular that they started to change the name of the establishments to Malt Shops.
Vanilla Milkshake
The classic milkshake flavour is easy to make and anything but boring.
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 […]
History of the Milkshake
The milkshake was a simple drink, but unique and there are a few drinks that resemble it today.
The Origin of Cream Soda
Cream soda has a long history and was the soda fountain drink that influenced the ice cream float and the milkshake.
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.
Mart Ackerman’s Saloon (Toronto, 1855)
The history of cocktails would be quiet boring with out the accompanying saloons. This one, from Toronto, is interesting because it had an expansive cocktail list back in 1855.
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.
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, […]
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 […]