In the early 20th century, bartenders at the world-famous Waldorf-Astoria memorized 271 concoctions. Scores of signature drinks were dreamt up in honor of people and events: the “Arctic” to celebrate Peary’s discover of the North Pole, the “Coronation” to commemorate King Edward’s ascension to the throne, the “Commodore” and “Hearst,” honoring business tycoons, and even the “Charlie Chaplin.” Imbibing at the mahogany bar aligned oneself with the wealth and tastemakers of America; crowds of Wall Street bankers like J.P. Morgan, celebrities like Buffalo Bill Cody and Mark Twain, and the high-society elites all enjoyed more than a few of the bar’s signature cocktails.[1] Yet, for many, these spaces of inclusion and identity were off-limits.
Cocktails — the ingredients, the stories, the pageantry — can reveal more than expected about the Gilded Age. From the 1870s through WWI, America took its place among the industrial and political powers of the world. Great fortunes were amassed by railroad tycoons and oil magnets such as the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers. A search for identity among the nouveau riche upper class grew out of the nation’s rapid modernization and unimaginable wealth. Identity — who you are and where you belong — became a major theme in the Gilded Age.
The era gave us some of our most famous cocktails as well; the Martini, the Daiquiri, the Old Fashioned, and more. Not every Gilded Age concoction was a hit, however. Some — such as the “Waldorf Astoria” (Benedictine and whipped cream), the “Bradley Martin” (crème de menthe and raspberry syrup), and the “Black Velvet” (champagne and porter) — we are more than glad to keep in the 1800s.[2] Yet those names — Bradley Martin, an infamous society host, Waldorf Astoria, the most elite hotel in New York, Daquiri, alluding to America’s global ambitions — all hint at identity and who is worthy of being remembered — and cheered too! These signature drinks (and countless more) served at the Astoria hotel or Fifth Avenue dinner parties reveal the loyalties of New York’s elite class and the familiar haunts of the millionaires.
Coinciding with a Gilded Age in cocktails, signature concoctions — full of ingredients and anecdotes — populated the landscape and secured the identity of a person, place, or idea for generations. Imbibing in cocktails became simultaneously a signal of inclusion to some groups or an act of defiance for others.