The Surprising History of the Cocktail

by Jared Brown

While cocktails as we know it are an American invention, mixing disparate liquors in a manner that the English and Italian would deem gauche. But in a travel piece for The Telegraph, Jared Brown looks into London's role in cocktail history, emphasizing the rise of "American bars" in England to support the growing number of Americans visiting.

By the dawn of the 20th century, the term "American Bar" was entrenched in European vocabulary. American Bar nights were popular society events staged as charity fundraisers. Hotels and restaurants in London caught on to the trend as well but none would prove as influential or enduring as the one at The Savoy.

[Continue reading at: The Telegraph]