The Museum of the American Cocktail, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to education in mixology and preserving the rich history of the cocktail as developed in the United States. Among its events are tastings in association with specific seminars or exhibits. It annually presents the American Cocktail Awards (the "Olives"), together with the United States Bartenders Guild.
The Museum of the American Cocktail was founded in October 2004 by Dale and Jill DeGroff, Robert Hess, Philip Greene, Ted Haigh, Anistatia Miller, Jared Brown, Chris McMillian, Laura McMillian, and a group of spirits experts, writers, and cocktail historians including David Wondrich, drink correspondent for Esquire; and Gaz Regan, among others. The Museum provides education in mixology through its exhibits, monthly seminars, publications, and events.
Visitors are treated to the history of the cocktail and the way it has influenced music, theater, art, film, and politics around the world during its two-hundred-year history. The exhibit includes antique and vintage cocktail shakers, Prohibition-era literature, recorded music, bar tools, photographs, and cocktail memorabilia from the collections of the Museum's friends and founders. [1]
The Museum of the American Cocktail publishes a website, a monthly newsletter, and an annual journal titled Mixologist. In May 2006, the Museum published The Museum of the American Cocktail Pocket Recipe Guide, a pocket-sized book of cocktail tips, techniques and 100 classic recipes, including by Jerry Thomas of mid-19th century New York, considered the "father of American mixology." [2]
The Museum returned to New Orleans in July 2008. It moved to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in 2014, which is located in the former Dryades Street Market at 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. [3]
The Museum of the American Cocktail showcases a collection of rare spirits and books, including Prohibition-era literature. It features examples of the cocktail's influence on broader historical trends and its place in social history. The museum has featured tastings associated with specific events and seminars. Though it is not operated as a bar, the museum facility is connected to a bar and restaurant demonstrating many classic cocktails. [1]
The Museum of the American Cocktail annually presents the American Cocktail Awards (the "Olives"), in association with the United States Bartenders Guild. [4] Awards are given to establishments and individuals for individual pre-dinner cocktail recipes and execution, and overall cocktail list development.
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across regions of the world, and many websites publish both original recipes and their own interpretations of older and more famous cocktails.
The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically served in a Collins glass over ice. A "Collins mix" can be bought premixed at stores and enjoyed alone or with gin.
The Sazerac is a local variation of a cognac or whiskey cocktail originally from New Orleans, named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. The drink is most traditionally a combination of cognac or rye whiskey, absinthe, Peychaud's Bitters, and sugar, although bourbon whiskey is sometimes substituted for the rye and Herbsaint is sometimes substituted for the absinthe. Some claim it is the oldest known American cocktail, with origins in antebellum New Orleans, although drink historian David Wondrich is among those who dispute this, and American instances of published usage of the word cocktail to describe a mixture of spirits, bitters, and sugar can be traced to the dawn of the 19th century.
Bitters is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now are sold as digestifs, sometimes with herbal properties, and as cocktail flavorings.
The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruits or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century. Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.
A bartender is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment. Bartenders also usually maintain the supplies and inventory for the bar. A bartender can generally mix classic cocktails such as a Cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, and Mojito.
Eggnog, historically also known as a milk punch or an egg milk punch when alcoholic beverages are added, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and whipped egg whites. Distilled spirits such as brandy, rum, whisky or bourbon are often a key ingredient.
A Stinger is a duo cocktail made by adding crème de menthe to brandy. The cocktail's origins can be traced to the United States in the 1890s, and the beverage remained widely popular in America until the 1970s. It was seen as a drink of the upper class, and has had a somewhat wide cultural impact.
A flaming drink is a cocktail or other mixed drink that contains flammable, high-proof alcohol, which is ignited before consumption. The alcohol may be an integral part of the drink, or it may be floated as a thin layer across the top of the drink. The flames are mostly for dramatic flair. However, in combination with certain ingredients, the flavor of the drink is altered. Some flavors are enhanced, and the process may impart a toasted flavor to some drinks.
The Pink Lady is a classic gin-based cocktail with a long history. Its pink color is due to adding grenadine.
Jeremiah "Jerry" P. Thomas was an American bartender who owned and operated saloons in New York City. Because of his pioneering work in popularizing cocktails across the United States as well, he is considered "the father of American mixology". In addition to writing the seminal work on cocktails, Bar-Tender's Guide, Thomas displayed creativity and showmanship while preparing drinks and established the image of the bartender as a creative professional. As such, he was often nicknamed "Professor" Jerry Thomas.
Dale DeGroff, also known as the King of Cocktails or King Cocktail, is an American bartender and author. The New York Times in 2015 called DeGroff "one of the world’s foremost cocktail experts", and wrote that his book "The Craft of the Cocktail" is considered an essential bartending reference. From 1987 to 1999 DeGroff rose to prominence as the original chief bartender in the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center in New York City, where his then-unusual emphasis on classic cocktail recipes and high-quality ingredients led to substantial acclaim and emulation by many other bars in New York City and beyond.
Fernet-Branca is a brand of fernet, which is a style of amaro originating in Italy. Manufactured by Fratelli Branca and formulated in Milan in 1845, it is one of the best known of Italian bitters.
The Clover Club Cocktail is a cocktail consisting of gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, and an egg white. The egg white is not added for the purpose of giving the drink flavor, but rather acts as an emulsifier. Thus when the drink is shaken a characteristic foamy head is formed.
A Signature drink is any unique or original drink that expresses the nature of the person or establishment creating it.
Derek Brown is an American entrepreneur, writer, and bartender. He owns the bars Columbia Room, The Passenger, Mockingbird Hill, Eat the Rich, and Southern Efficiency in Washington, D.C. Brown serves on the Board of Directors for the Museum of the American Cocktail and is the Chief Spirits Advisor for the National Archives Foundation. Brown also teaches seminars on the importance of alcohol in shaping society.
Chris McMillian is a New Orleans bartender and a co-founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail. Imbibe Magazine mentioned McMillian as one of the top 25 most influential cocktail personalities of the last century.
Warren Bobrow is a mixologist, chef, and writer known as the Cocktail Whisperer. Bobrow is a freelance mixologist specializing in Craft Spirits. He has developed bar programs and implemented their cocktail and ice programs. Warren served as master mixologist for several brands of liquor, including the Busted Barrel rum produced by New Jersey's first licensed distillery since Prohibition.
Lynnette Marrero is an American bartender, mixologist, and philanthropist known for creating the world's first all-female speed bartending competition, "Speed Rack." She is widely regarded as one of the pioneer female cocktail-specific bartenders in the industry, and is based in New York City.
Jim Hewes is an American bartender and cocktail historian who has worked at the Willard InterContinental Washington's Round Robin Bar for over 30 years, making him the longest serving bartender in Round Robin's over 180 year old history.
