Author name: thecuriouscocktail

The Mystery of the Manhattan

On November 3rd 1874, Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden was elected governor of the state of New York. To celebrate socialite Jenny Jerome threw a party in her father’s NYC mansion. The mansion eventually became the headquarters for the city’s historic Manhattan Club. The governor eventually ran for President of the United States. He lost. 

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The One, The Only

Of all the bartenders nearing the end of the 19th century, William Schmidt (yes, another William) seems to be written about in the press the most. Many refer to him as the second greatest bartender of his time. The first being Jerry Thomas of course. I’d say that isn’t such a bad level of status

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You Can Find Me In The Club

Long before the days of overpriced bottles of shitty alcohol, chemical infusions of MDMA, and exclusive VIP rooms that were tucked into the obscure buildings of New York, before there was Miley Cyrus, Fatboy Slim, Madonna or Studio 54, there was another kind of club taking over the city’s social scene. That was the Gentleman’s

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There, He Blows?

This post is not about a whale. Unlike some of my other posts, it is also not about a William. This entry is about an Englishman named Sir Thomas Davey. Through the years of 1813 to 1817, Sir Thomas Davey served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, the Australian island that is now called Tasmania.

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The More Things Change

“… I never saw anything that can compare with the sleight of hand, the gymnastic skill of the group behind the bar…The rapid way in which they would range a string of tumblers from hand to elbow-bow filling at the same time out of different cocks, and flinging them to different customers, without spilling a

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Hold My Beer

It was a balmy afternoon in June, 1598. Sir Francis Drake and his crew had been at sea for months on end. On this day at the request of the Crown, they were on their way to sack the port of Havana. But there was a problem. Drake’s crew was sick. Very sick. So sick

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