Oh Hey — Today’s Bartender Appreciation Day too! Great time to give a shout out to the legendary Tom Bullock (b. 1872) , a pioneering American bartender from Kentucky who just so happened to be Black. Mr. Bullock was the first African American to publish a cocktail book, The Ideal Bartender (1917), which preserved pre-Prohibition drink recipes that could have otherwise been forgotten. He’d risen from starting as a bellboy to become star mixologist at elite clubs and was well known and loved for his his famous Mint Juleps which for a host of reasons solidified his legendary status in cocktail history. They were so good in fact it was reported that Teddy Roosevelt sued Bullock for libel after Bullock implied Roosevelt enjoyed his Mint Juleps “too much”!…
His book which broke racial barriers based on skill alone. As it remains essential for understanding early American cocktail culture, i proudly purchased my (still in print!) copy from a Brooklyn jewel purveyor of published materials BEM BOOKS & More
Lastly for now on this topic , enjoy this related IG reel of a fab (if i must say so myself!) mini vid i made for 🎥 World Bartenders Day 🍸 not too long ago shouting out some of the beloved bartenders i am grateful for today…
92 yrs ago today on December 5, 1933:
Constitutional Amendment Twenty-one : the “Repeal of Prohibition” was the 21st amendment to the US Constitution — ratified on December 5, 1933 — and in doing so it repealed a previous (Eighteenth Amendment implemented in 1919 — which had established a nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in America.) ….
Oh so wait, did that 18th Amendment NOT establish a ban on the CONSUMPTION of alcohol? For FOURTEEN YEARS (1919-1933) during that “dry” American period aka the “Prohibition” era?
… And if it DIDN’t why were bars and juke joints and speakeasies consistently raided and people arrested?
For the answers to these Q’s and MORE, join my PATREON to learn lots of un-taught “missing history” that’s more inclusive than you might’ve ever imagined American history could be….
🎁 GIVE THE GIFT OF THE FOOD GRIOT’S CULINARY (& COCKTAIL!) CREATIVITY TO YOUR FAVE FOODIE and/or DRINKS lover THIS YEAR ! 🎁 …[LEARN ➡️MORE ABOUT MY PATREON PLATFORM ⬅️HERE]