Introducing Know Your Cocktail: An Exploration of Cocktails and Their History
Hello! Some of you may recognize my username from comments, posts, and one incident involving an ambitious menu on this sub. Well, beyond Reddit, I’m a Sociocultural Anthropologist who got my Master’s from the University of Chicago in 2024. Part of that experience for me was becoming a better researcher, not only in an ethnographic sense, but I did a lot of reading, source hunting, and academic scrutinizing.
Another part of that was I got into cocktails. Draw your own conclusions there. First it was just what I could make and proper technique. Then I realized the history is absolutely bananas. I heard a lot of tall tales and bullshit about how some cocktails came into the world.
I eventually found myself trying to get something resembling the truth about my favorite drinks and started hunting down old cocktail books, scouring newspaper archives, and dedicating a significant chunk of my attention towards making drinks and knowing their history. So I’ve decided to do something with all this rather convoluted historical nonsense in my skull and I formally introduce to you all:
Know Your Cocktail
An essay series where each installment will focus on a single cocktail’s ingredients, history, and my preferred way to make them. However, while I live for research and hold myself to academic rigor, I am electing to use my own sardonic and occasionally profane voice.
I intend this series to one that appeals to both the cocktail nerds and novices, or really anyone who just wants to learn. You can find the first three essays I’ve released using the hyperlinks below. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!
Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were not used in any way to write, edit, or research these essays. I am the sole author and take full responsibility for my words, mistakes, and eccentricities.