#90 David Wondrich – Cocktail History: The Only William, Savoy Without a American Bar, WW2 Supply Officers, Business Cards, Unmarked Graves, America's Love of Ice

<p>David Wondrich is a drinks historian and author of Imbibe!, Punch and the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, and The Comic Book History of the Cocktail. </p><p>The conversation runs from a $3,000 freelance gig in December 1999 to four centuries of drinking history. Wondrich left academia, almost by accident, to become Esquire&#39;s drinks editor, and that training in chasing sources and revising a story when new evidence turns up has shaped every book since.</p><p>We get into how The Comic Book History of the Cocktail came together and what a graphic novel forced him to cut that a straight history wouldn&#39;t. From there we go back to the beginning: what punch actually was before it became shorthand for a bad party bowl, the unresolved fight over where the word &quot;punch&quot; comes from, and the likely, disputed origin of &quot;cocktail&quot; itself. We spend real time on the people usually left out of the story: William Schmidt, &quot;the only William,&quot; New York&#39;s most famous 19th-century bartender, buried without a headstone; and Ned Stokes, who reinvented American bar service after doing time for murder. </p><p>Along the way: the birth of the American ice trade and why George Washington&#39;s &quot;wine and bitters&quot; might be an early cocktail. We didn&#39;t get past the early 20th century, so we&#39;ll be back for a part two, picking up the mid-century, the dark ages of the cocktail, and tiki.</p><p><br></p><p>🍋‍🟩 Fever-Tree - For the very best mixers that taste pretty damn good even by themselves☕ Algebra Drinks - The world&#39;s best coffee liqueur (partly because it&#39;s low in sugar - get 15% off at http://www.algebradrinks.com with the code CURIOUS15🌾 Belvedere Vodka - Organic vodka, with substance, made from Polish rye and absolutely no additives.🍷 Denver &amp; Liely - The best glassware on the planet - get 15% off at http://www.denverandliely.com with the code CURIOUS15📷 Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tristanstephenson/📚 I&#39;ve written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - https://www.thecuriousbartender.com/</p>