Cocktails

Just about every cocktail has lore attached to its name and origins. Did the martini come about because it first was mixed in Martinez, California? Was the first Manhattan drunk at the Manhattan Club in New York? Historians agree that gin and tonic was created to help British officers in India consume quinine and thus prevent malaria. The skip and go naked originally was named the hop, skip, and go naked, but as far as we know, no one takes credit for creating it. New Orleans’ sazerac is well documented. It began as medicine, concocted in the 1830s by Antoine Peychaud, who ran a pharmacy and served his potion to customers who frowned on booze (as well as on the taxes applied to adult beverages), but were perfectly happy to enjoy their medicine.