1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

Old Waldorf Bar Days tening of the St. Francis or the St. Peter or the St. John, though the first may have been called after a California hotel, and not after a friar long deceased. And those drinks went further than St. Peter, and spelled sacrilege, though I do know persons whose fam– ily name is Christ. This was the content of wha t was described as a "Christ" cocktail, and which I prefer to believe was named after some mundane materi a list who may have needed something spiritual, but got only as far as the spirituous. It began harmlessly enough. First there was the juice of half a Lemon; then came a half a spoonful of Sugar, followed by a pony of Raspberry Syrup, and then a quarter of a pony of White of an Egg. Here the Tempter came in, and took the form of a jigger of Gin. The stage, whether or not it drove men to drink in those days, certainly inspired much drinking, and suc– cessful plays often stood godfather for bartenders' con– ceptions. The great success of "Rosemary," with which John Drew and one of Charles Frohman's best com– panies helped open the Astoria part of the big hotel, was celebrated in a cocktail of the same name, composed of equal parts of Vermuth and Bourbon. The tuneful "Merry Widow" and the almost equally whistleable "Chocolate Soldier" were drowned in baptismal cock– tails at the Waldorf Bar. The Merry Widow cocktail was made of half French Vermuth and half Dubonnet; the Chocolate Soldier, an appropriately stronger potation, was composed of one-third Dubonnet, two-thirds Nich– olson Gin and a dash of Lime Juice. "Peg o' My Heart" and "Rob Roy" named other cocktails. "Trilby" had [ 104]