Entering the World of the Cocktail

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Yes, I am indeed a professor of cocktail studies. 

I do not say that glibly.  I am by trade a professional historian, and because human beings live out their lives in order of time, literally every human activity has a past, which means that everything has a history, which gives me the freedom to study practically anything.  When laypeople think of "history" they generally think of political, diplomatic, and military history.  But historians examine a plethora of other subjects:  science, religion, migration, movies, murder, disability, climate change, childhood, even sex.  (For my own part, I'm currently at work on the modern study of suicide and suicidal behavior in the United States.)  Logically, then, there should be a history of cocktails.

And indeed there already is, although at present nearly all of it is written by professional bartenders--"mixologists" is the fancy term--who have a passion for their profession that often leads them to explore the history behind the cocktails they serve and the culture they inhabit.  Meehan's Bartender Manual written by bartender Jim Meehan and considered one of the best books on the subject, opens with a chapter on the history of mixology, based in part on a study of cocktail manuals, the first of which dates back to 1862:  How to Mix Drinks, or:  The Bon-Vivant's Companion, written by bartender Jerry Thomas, who worked at the Metropolitan Hotel in New York. 

 


Another modern mixologist, David Wooldrich, points to punch as the distant proto-typical cocktail, whose first mention was in 1632.  (See his book Punch:  The Delight (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl.) 

So there you have it:  a history of cocktails.  But my own exploration will go well beyond history.  It will be interdisciplinary, and will prominently include my own entry into the world of the cocktail, with the objective of becoming a bartender myself.  In my next entry I'll tell you how I came to do that. 

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