Jerry Thomas
Contents |
Jerry Thomas
Biography
B.1825 D.1885
Cocktail Connection
Named author of the earliest known guide to bartending, The Bartenders Guide or How To Mix Drinks: The Bon-Vivants Companion [1], published by Dick & Fitzgerald in New York, 1862
David Wondrich Says
"I don't think Thomas excercised much authorship even for the first edition [of "The Bartenders Guide" (1862)], besides contributing recipes for the American drinks; for the second (1876), some recipes sound like him, some don't; for the third edition (1887), it seems very unlikely indeed that he had anything to do with it"
"Dick & Fitzgerald actually copyrighted a Bar-Tender's Guide, or Complete Encyclopaedia of Fancy Drinks, etc. in June, 1859. This book was never released, or if it was no copies survive in any form. Nowhere on the copyright or announcements of the book's publication is Jerry Thomas' name mentioned. Some time between 1859 and 1862, clearly, one of the Principals of Dick & Fitzgerald--probably William Dick--discussed the project with Jerry Thomas, who put them straight. Jerry Thomas' involvement is most likely confined to the actual bartender's drinks--Toddies, Slings, Juleps, individual Punches, Cocktails, Crustas, some of the Fancy Drinks and a few others."
