The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-04
ORIGIN OF THE BARTENDER.
Also Some Information About the
Drinks He Mixes.
From the Philadelphia Times.

From the Philadelphia Times.
Whence comes the bartender?
The modern brewer of the cup which
cheers and sometimes inebriates is a thing
of beauty and a joy forever by natural
inheritance. The original bartender was
the most beautiful boy ever born. Jove
selected him from all beings of his celes-
tial realm TO act as his cupbearer Gany-
mede took to his office kindly, and from
that day his successors have grown In
potency of the touch with which they in
spire their beverages.
The literature of drinking has yet to
have justice done K by a master hand, but
the subject is Well worthy of research.
Whatever author assumes the task he
will find his adjectives exhausted when ne
comes 10 treat upon the glorles with
which the American bartender has sur
rounded the achievements of his art. Had
the cocktail which he alone can brew ana
to which he gave existence, been known
to the ancients, Ancaeos might have known
prophecy, and the world would not TO-
day have as an oft-quoted saying,
There's many slip twixt the cup and
the lip" The legend is a familiar one.
After Ancaeos had succeeded Typhys as
the pilot of the Argonauts, he was told by
a slave that he would never live to taste
the wine of his vineyards. When bottle
made from his own grapes was set before
him. he sent for the serf to laugh at ms
prognostication There's many slip
'twixt the cup and the lip" AT that mo-
ment messenger rushed in ana annouhc-
cd that a wild boar was lying waste the
VINEYARDS of Ancaeos. The latter there
upon hastily set down his cup, went out
against the boar and was killed in the
encounter If it mad been an American
cocktail which Ancaeos had held in his
hand, ne would never have thought, no
matter what danger threatened OF sell
ting it down before draining the glass.
The cocktail, by the way, was the m
vention of Col Carter of Culpepper Court
House, Va Many years ago, in that 10
cality. there was a wayside inn named
The Cock and Bottle" the semblance
of an old English tavern, and which bore
upon its swinging sign a COX ana bott4e
meaning thereby that draugnt ana botHeo
ale could be had within-the cock, IN
old vernacular, meaning the tap. He,
therefore. who got the last and muddy
portion of the tap was said to have re-
ceiyed the Cocktail" Upon one occasion
when Col Carter was subjected to the
indignity of having this muddy beverage
put before him, he threw it angrily upon
the floor and exclaimed: Hereafter l
will drink cocktails of my own brewing,
and then and there INSPIRED evidently by
the spirit of Ganymede, he dashed toseth-
er bitters sugar, the oil of lemon peel and
some cd Holland gin, and thus and there
was the original cocktail coneocted.
The mint julep is another delight for
which the American bartender is respon-
sible 1t got its name from the Southern
gentleman who Was great admirer of
Shakespeare's works, and who, upon an
occasion after having tired grass in his
likker" was so moved by the result that
there came in his mind a vision of his
favoriIe heroine, the daughter of Lady
nj he of
Romeo; thereupon he enthusiastically
named the beverage mint Juliet" a term
which later bibbers have corrupted into
mint julep.
Dexterous as is the touch of the Ameri-
can bartender when throwing his soul
INTO a punch, he cannot lay claim to the
invention of that seductive compound.
Strangely enough, it had its rise in India,
its name being derived from the Indian
word punj, meaning five, and having ref
erence to the number of ingredients in
the original mixture; spirit. water, lemon,
sugar and spice. When it was first in
troduced into England, it was named
Contradiction. because it was composed
of spirits 20 make II strong and water to
make Il weak, OF lemon juice to make It
sour and sugar TO make it, sweet BY
this time il will be observed the spices
had been eliminated
To his English brother, uninventive as
he generally is, the American bartender
must concede the credit of having discov-
cred TON and Jerry" That dangerous
combination obtained its name from two
characters in a one-tme famous play,
Pierce Egan's Life in London"
To the clergy can the American bar
tender ascribe the indignity so frequently
put upon his artistic ability when he is
called upon to open a bottle of beer, which
in no way represents the possibilities of his
genius The famous Dean Newell was
very fond of fishing, and generally placed
sor1e new beer in bottle and took it
with him upon his excursion. one day be-
ing disturbed he buried his bottle under
the grass, and when he sought it some
days afterward it had so greatly i'm
proved that he ever afterward drank
bottled beer.
Now you know what you are drinking.