BEHIND BARS

Victorian Mixed Drinks

"...I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when someone tapped me on the shoulder, and turning round I recognized young Stamford, who had been a dresser under me at Bart's." Dr. J. H. Watson, A Study in Scarlet

"There were several bartenders in their shirt sleeves, hard at work mixing drinks for the loungers who fringed the broad, brass-trimmed counter." The Valley of Fear

Cocktails, in the modern sense, first appeared in the 1800's. Recent versions are usually sweet, fairly high in alcohol, and served chilled. Early examples of mixed drinks were often drunk hot and were meant to be sipped during friendly chats or when one was in a reflective mood. What follows are some of the potions that were available to Mr. Holmes and his faithful companion.

CANONICAL CONCOCTIONS

HALF AND HALF

"I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses, and received in exchange twopence, a glass of half and half, two fills of shag tobacco, and as much information as I could desire about Miss Adler, to say nothing of half a dozen other people in the neighbourhood in whom I was not in the least interested, but whose biographies I was compelled to listen to." Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal in Bohemia

Lovers of malt liquors in London had their choice of ale, beer and twopenny. Connoisseurs seeking a more subtle flavour than these could offer on their own called for "half and half": half of ale and half of beer or half of ale and half of twopenny, or half of beer and... well, you get the point.

A FOUR OF GIN HOT

"I was a-strollin' down thinkin' between ourselves how uncommon handy a four of gin hot would be..." Officer Rance, A Study in Scarlet

From about 1820 to the turn of the century one of the main ways of drinking gin was with hot water. "A four" is possibly an abbreviation of the colourful bar-measure "four fingers" or it may be a reference to the measure, "four penn'orth".

WHISKEY PEG

"There he sat on his veranda, drinking whiskey-pegs and smoking cheroots, while the country was in blaze about him." Jonathan Small, The Sign of Four

To keep late Anglo-Saxon citizenry on the straight and narrow, King Edgar ordered that pegs be fastened in drinking vessels at given intervals; anyone who drank beyond these marks at one draught was liable to punishment. Meant as a deterrent, they became a provocation. Peg-tankards contained two quarts, and were divided into eight draughts. They inspired such expressions as "to take him down a peg" and "to put a peg (nail) in one's coffin". In popular parlance any drink of spirits became known as a peg.

Anglo-Indian in origin, a chota peg is a slang term for a drink of a spirits (usually brandy or whisky) and soda water, which one drinks in the early evening on the veranda while wearing one's solar topi (pith helmet).

PUNCHES & CUPS click for recipes

BRANDY PUNCH

THE GENERAL

An old army recipe

HUNGERFORD PARK

"Hungerford Park is an excellent beverage, and is especially suitable for shooting parties in hot weather," according to John Bickerdyke, writing in 1889.

PEABODY PUNCH

Made with limes, guava jelly, rum, cognac, Madeira and more. The recipe suggests any left-over punch be bottled for future occasion as "its pleasantness improves with age."

PIMM'S CUP

Invented by James Pimm in 1841, Pimm's Cup was commercially marketed in the 1870's.

PORT CUP

COCKLE WARMERS click for recipes

PORT WINE NEGUS

(Professor George Saintsbury, a wine fancier of great experience and firm opinions, lamented in 1920 that "modern sherries of the drier and less full-bodied kind make negus impossible; with a full golden or brown you may make a fair alternative to the port mixture.)

BISHOP

“I made it myself in my own rooms [at Oxford], for joint consumption with a friend, who, as a matter of fact, actually did become a bishop later," confides Professor Saintsbury. "The flames will be of an imposingly infernal colour, quite different from the light blue flicker of spirits or of claret mulled. Before it has burned too long pour it into a bowl, and drink it as hot as you like. It is an excellent liquor, and I have found it quite popular with the ladies."

CAUDLE

A warm drink based on gruel mixed with ale or wine to which spices, sugar or honey were added, caudles were commonly given to sick people and especially to women in childbed.

DOG'S NOSE

Described as a "policeman's drink when on duty on cold nights."

FLIP

Sugar, lemon, ale and eggs...

COCKLE COOLERS click for recipes

SHERRY COBBLER

“Sherry cobbler is indeed a most excellent drink,' writes Professor Saintsbury, "I was taught to make it as an undergraduate.” Cedric Dickens suggests that a tablespoon of port be added. It “gives the whole a thrilling and inviting appearance,” says he.

SHANDY GAFF

Imbibe only on the hottest summer days, after rowing.

TEWAHDIDDLE

Beer & brandy

FANCY BAR-ROOM DRINKS click for recipes

Note: The jigger measure in the days these recipes were developed was 2 ounces. It has shrunk to 1½ ounce in modern times. A pony is 1 fluid ounce. A wineglass is a shade more than 2 fluid ounces. A dash is 1/3 teaspoon.

BURNT BRANDY AND PEACH

FANCY BRANDY

BRANDY, WHISKY OR GIN SMASH

FRENCH POUSSE CAFE

DUNHILL

ROB ROY

JERSEY COCKTAIL

(Could this have been a tribute to Mrs. Godfrey Norton?)

BLACK VELVET

CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

CLASSIC CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

COLLINS

The JOHN COLLINS, named for a 19th century London barman, was made with "Holland Gin". The TOM COLLINS was made with "Old Tom", a sweet London gin.

OLD TOM COCKTAIL

MARTINEZ COCKTAIL

This is the precursor of the Martini. Some say is was invented in San Franciso by the famous barman, Dr. Jerry Thomas at around the time Mr. Francis Hay Moulton and his lovely fiancée, Miss Hattie Doran, were in town. Others say it is an English invention, named for the Martini rifle used in India.

HAIR OF THE DOG

For the "morning after"