How did cocktail culture spread around the world?

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21/02/2022
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By Baptiste BochetGeoffrey AvéUpdated on ShareSend by e-mail

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I certify that I do not send unwanted e-mailsThe RVF met the American cocktail historian David Wondrich, who sheds light on the beginnings of the "modern" cocktail, at the end of the 19th century.

> David Wondrich, American cocktail historian:

David Wondrich: It was the Americans who more or less invented the modern cocktail, around the 1900s. Drinking a few sips of spirits and liqueurs mixed in a small glass, it was their idea. This concept then spread all over the world: in Paris, Cuba, China… and new recipes appeared, with new alcohols and new ingredients. Unfortunately, in the United States prohibition and the Second World War put the fashion for cocktails, which took a very long time to come back.

How did cocktail culture spread around the world?

Baptiste Bochet, cocktail expert: I have the impression that by moving from punch to “modern” cocktails, we have lost complexity in the recipes...Punch was invented in the 17th century. It was a simple mixture consumed by sailors, consisting of spirits, citrus fruits, sugar, water and spices. His recipe was then personalized around the 1870s, some added ingredients to it, others took them away.

These variations of punch gave rise to other cocktails that can still be found on our menus, such as the Mint Julep, in which citrus fruits are replaced by mint. History shows that cocktail recipes follow trends, and when these become too complex, mixologists invariably return to simpler recipes. The perfect example is the Dry Martini recipe, developed at the end of the 19th century, which only has two ingredients.

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Is it true that at the beginning of the 20th century, men tended to drink the fruitiest cocktails, and women the strongest cocktails? Men didn't just drink whiskey and beer. They also drank more delicate cocktails. But there were no cocktails for men or women, as you might hear today.

What were the habits of cocktail consumption? In the 19th century, the regulars of cocktail bars belonged to the middle or upper class. They were journalists, lawyers, artists… There were also a lot of gamblers there, during horse races or boxing.

You have chosen to drink the legendary Brandi Crusta cocktail. What can you tell us about it? The Brandi Crusta is one of my favorite cocktails. It was created in New Orleans in the 1850s. Its recipe is very simple: aromatic bitters, sugar, cognac and lemon juice. Today I add curaçao, an orange liqueur which greatly enriches the taste. It's a bit like putting onions in your stew!

The ingredients have changed a lot over the centuries. Can we find the original taste of a cocktail today? Today, you can prepare a cocktail that tastes very similar to that of the time, using current ingredients. For example, to make a historic gin cocktail, you'll use a classic London Dry gin. The spirits haven't changed that much. I recently tasted a cognac from prephylloxera vines, and I can tell you that it tasted very similar to other contemporary cognacs. But if you find that your cocktail tastes weird, it's because you need to change its ingredients.