Alcademics

Category: history

  • 100 Years Ago: Duncan Nicol Dies, Takes Pisco Punch Recipe to the Grave

    Published Feb 10, 1926, San Francisco Chronicle

    ‘Pisco Punch’ Secret Lost
    Famed Drink Mixer of Old Days Passes

    Popular Bar Prey of Drys

    Duncan Nicol died last night.

    With him passed the secret of his famous Pisco punch in the days of the Bank Exchange, which once stood on the southeast corner of Montgomery and Washington streets. Travelers in all parts of the world knew “Pisco John’s place,” as it was most frequently called, and his Pisco punch, or “stirrup cup,” was the vaunted drink of his day.

    Nicol had been ill for two years. Death overtook him in a private hospital at 1054 Sutter street. He was 72 years old and a native of Glasgow, Scotland.

    Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Mary Nicol, living at 1770 Union street, and a brother and sister, William and Mary Nicol.

    OPENED IN FIFTIES

    The Bank Exchange opened in the fifties. The marble of which it was built was brought round the Horn and it was the handsomest drinking establishment of the time.

    Then came Nicol, a lone, penniless boy from Scotland. He saved the money he earned at hard work and eventually was able to take over the Bank Exchange. From that moment its popularity was revived.

    Nicol was remembered and liked by all with whom he came in contact. Captains of industry, merchants princes, the greatest politicians of the day discussed their most confidential business within Nicol’s hearing as he chilled his glasses with infinite care and poured into them strange and soothing potions of which no man knew the contents save himself.

    BORE GOOD NAME

    There was no rowdyism in Pisco John’s place. Men brought their wives and sweethearts there, even their mothers, for a refreshing sip or two of Nicol’s famed concoctions.

    Travelers and tourists from afar ranked a visit to the Bank Exchange on a par with a tour of Chinatown and few left San Francisco without having been there.

    The famous painting, “Samson and Delilah,” which once hung over the bar of the Bank Exchange, was purchased by the late M. H. de Young and placed in the de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park.

    With prohibition Nicol was compelled to quit his business. He took a trip to Glasgow with his wife, then returned to San Francisco.

    He did not condemn prohibition; he settled down to an attempt to keep up with the times, although old age was coming fast upon him.

  • The Old Fashioned and the Champagne Cocktail are the Same Drink

    Well, more or less. In my latest for Food & Wine, I trace the origin of both drinks and how they each deviated from the original Cocktail.

    Read it here.

  • 103 Things to Drink in San Francisco, 1855

    I am reading the 1855 book Land of Gold, Reality Versus Fiction by Hinton Helper. You can find it online here. It talks a lot of smack about San Francisco and I love it.

    San Francisco was a brand new city in 1848 when gold was discovered in Sacramento, but by 1855 the population was over 20,000, soon to be 30,000 in another couple of years. And already you could get all this stuff to drink.

    BILL OF FARE OF A CALIFORNIA GROGGERY.

    1. Scotch Ale,
    2. English Porter,
    3. American Brandy,
    4. Irish Whiskey,
    5. Holland Gin,
    6. Jamaica Rum,
    7. French Claret,
    8. Spanish Sack,
    9. German Hockamore,
    10. Persian Sherbet,
    11. Portuguese Port,
    12. Brazilian Arrack,
    13. Swiss Absynthe,
    14. East India Acids,
    15. Spirit Stews and Toddies,
    16. Lager Beer,
    17. New Cider,
    18. Soda Waters,
    19. Mineral Drinks,
    20. Ginger Pop,
    21. Usquebaugh,
    22. Sangaree,
    23. Perkin,
    24. Mead,
    25. Metheglin,
    26. Eggnog,
    27. Capilliare,
    28. Kirschwassen,
    29. Cognac,
    30. Rhenish Wine,
    31. Sauterne,
    32. Malaga,
    33. Muscatel,
    34. Burgundy,
    35. Haut Bersac,
    36. Champagne,
    37. Maraschino,
    38. Tafia,
    39. Negus,
    40. Tog,
    41. Shambro,
    42. Fisca,
    43. Virginia,
    44. Knickerbocker,
    45. Snifter,
    46. Exchange,
    47. Poker,
    48. Agent,
    49. Floater,
    50. I O U,
    51. Smasher,
    52. Curacoa,
    53. Ratafia,
    54. Tokay,
    55. Calcavalla,
    56. Alcohol,
    57. Cordials,
    58. Syrups,
    59. Stingo,
    60. Hot Grog,
    61. Mint Juleps,
    62. Gin Sling,
    63. Brick Tops,
    64. Sherry Cobblers,
    65. Queen Charlottes,
    66. Mountaineers,
    67. (continued)
    68. Brandy Smashes,
    69. Whiskey Punch,
    70. Cherry Bounce,
    71. Shamperone,
    72. Drizzles,
    73. Our Own,
    74. Red Light,
    75. Hairs,
    76. Horns,
    77. Whistler,
    78. White Lion,
    79. Settler,
    80. Peach and Honey,
    81. Whiskey Skin,
    82. Old Sea Dog,
    83. Peg and Whistle,
    84. Eye Opener,
    85. Apple Dam,
    86. Flip Flap,
    87. One-eyed Joe,
    88. Cooler,
    89. Cocktails,
    90. Tom and Jerry,
    91. Moral Suasion,
    92. Jewett’s Fancy,
    93. Ne Plus Ultra,
    94. Citronella Jam,
    95. Silver Spout,
    96. Veto,
    97. Deacon,
    98. Ching Ching,
    99. Sergeant,
    100. Stone Wall,
    101. Rooster Tail,
    102. Vox Populi,
    103. Tug and Try,


    One mistake: 67 is (continued) where it went onto the next page, so make that 102 things to drink!



    To learn more about San Francisco’s bar and cocktail history, join me for an upcoming history walking tour. Information is here!

  • Did the Original Cocktail Sauce Contain Angostura Bitters?

    I am researching Prohibition and a search for “cocktails” in the San Francisco Chronicle turned up a story from 1920 on the origin of the “oyster cocktail” that I think is what today we call “cocktail sauce” that is used more on the shrimp cocktail. (I am a 30+ year vegetarian so I could be wrong it though!)

    I just noted the part about Angostura Bitters and ketchup – see the second image. If you give that recipe a try… let me know how it goes.

  • 50 Year Time Capsule from the Transamerica Pyramid

    There’s a new exhibit at the Transamerica Pyramid from a time capsule buried 50 years ago. I checked it out. 

    The building was completed in 1972- the time capsule is from 1974. Before that, from 1853-1959, it was the Montgomery Block that hosted the Bank Exchange Saloon. The Bank Exchange was the home of the Pisco Punch, the most famous cocktail in SF from roughly 1870-1920. Duncan Nicol, mentioned in the pictures, was the proprietor of the Bank Exchange in its later decades, and the person who popularized the Pisco Punch. He took his secret recipe to his grave.  

    I’ve left these images purposefully crappy to encourage you to go see it yourself! 

    Transamerica time capsule 1974 - 2025_1

    Transamerica time capsule 1974 - 2025_1 Transamerica time capsule 1974 - 2025_4

    Transamerica time capsule 1974 - 2025_5
     Transamerica time capsule 1974 - 2025_7

     Transamerica time capsule 1974 - 2025_10
    Transamerica time capsule 1974 - 2025_11 Transamerica time capsule 1974 - 2025_13

  • The Only Good Alcohol is Made from Wine

    I’ve read in other sources that when grain distillation became available in the 1400s and 1500s, it was viewed as a far less healthy alcohol than that distilled from grape wine. 

    The sources I’m thinking of were from Germany, at a time when distilled spirits were still technically medicinal, even if people were dipping into the medicine enough that governments passed laws about how much medicine could be dispensed at one time. 

    I also knew that when absinthe came into vogue in the early 1800s, it was initially made with a wine base, but due mostly to phylloxera that killed of the vines in France, producers swtiched to alcohol made from grain or beets. 

    I knew they called absinthe “artificial” and this pointed to it being flavored with wormwood and anise. I got the sense that the base spirit was considered “artificial” as well. 

     

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    I have just started reading The Hour of Absinthe, an academics look at the popularity and downfall of absinthe in France and its colonies. I have the feeling I’m going to get a lot of use out of this book. 

    Anyway, the author Nina S. Studer makes it explicit: 

     

    IMG_4432

     

    So that’s cool. I look forward to continuing to read the book. 

     

     

    Buy: The Hour of Absinthe A Cultural History of France's Most Notorious Drink Volume [amazon][bookshop] 

    Your purchase supports my research as well. 

  • Esquire’s Best and Worst Cocktails of 1934

    Esquire magazine printed an article with the Ten Best Cocktails of 1934 – the year after Prohibition was repealed. They included at the end a list of the Worst cocktails as well. 

     

    Esquire Best Worst Cocktails of 1934_1

     

    Esquire’s link to the story is here, but it requires a subscription to view. 

    DiffordsGuide has the list of best and worst, but not the entire article it comes from. 

    Here’s the Worst list: 

    Esquire Best Worst Cocktails of 1934_5

     

    I’ve seen this list in a lot of places online, but never the full article, so I went to the San Francisco Public Library yesterday and took it out of the archives.

    I didn’t realize that not only was Esquire huge in size something like 11 x 17 back then, but also had a ton of pages. It was basically a book every month.

     

  • Heinold’s First and Last Chance Over the Years

    I stumbled across this thread on Threads -it’s a history of the wonderful and historic the bar Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon in Oakland’s Jack London Square, as seen through pictures of its front. 

    If you haven’t been, Heinold’s is a little shack built from the remains of a paddle steamer boat, which opened in 1884 (or 1883, depending on which history you believe). The interior of the tiny bar runs on an extreme slant as the ground beneath it compressed during the 1906 earthquake. The bar is so angled that if you set a full pint of beer on top it will likely pour out of the side – they sometimes offer coasters in a wedge shape like a doorstop so that drinks stay flat! It’s a magic place. 

    The post was put together by the San Francisco Ghost Signs Mapping Project. 

    Here are a few pics and I’d recommend  you follow the entire thread, it’s great and there are a lot more to see. 

     

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  • The Cocktail is the International Alcoholic Esperanto

    Here’s a fun excerpt: 

    The American Mercury 1924-09: Vol 3 Iss 9

    CLINICAL NOTES
    BY GEORGE JEAN NATHAN AND H. L. MENCKEN

    The cocktail, once observed George Ade, follows the American flag. That was twenty years ago. The flags of all nations today follow the cocktail. Its fame has spread over the globe, and justly. It has captured the English and the French, the Danes and the Italians. Five o'clock in Piccadilly brings its gin and vermouth and dash of bitters as five o'clock along the grand boulevards brings its iced brandy and gum syrup and dash of Byrth. It is the gift of smiling America to lackadaisical Europe. It is the international alcoholic Esperanto.

     

    Screenshot 2025-01-06 at 9.13.31 AM

  • The Best Drinks Books of 2024

    These are some of my favorite cocktails and spirits books I read in 2024. Several of them I blurbed for their authors. There are few more books that were published this year that I haven't read yet, so maybe they'll get on next year's list.

    My 2023 Best Of List is here, by the way. In no particular order: 

     

    Cocktail Theory – A Sensory Approach to Transcendent Drinks

     

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    A sciency book that's half about the perfect conditions for cocktails, half about applying perfumer techniques to cocktail development. 

    My video review

    Buy It: Amazon Sfumato 

     

     

    Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits

    Dustry booze cover

     

    My blurb: An investigation into the secretive and competitive collectors and their methods, unsolved mysteries, and mythological caches. The once worthless dusties inspire Goldfarb to debate the monetary value of quality versus rarity and the proximity to fame. And unlike, say, stamp collectors, the author and every other dusty hunter must grapple with the decision whether to taste a moment in time or to keep time locked away in a bottle.

    My review

    Buy it: Amazon (note: super cheap right now) Bookshop

     

    Cocktail Parlor: How Women Brought the Cocktail Home

    The cocktail parlour

     

    My blurb: The Cocktail Parlor is a literature review of women-authored books in which there are mixed drink recipes, and an analysis of what those drinks reveal about the changing role of women in society. [Along the way,] Dr. Nice cites so many fascinating authors that I kept one browser window open to search for more information about them and another to add their books to my reading list. Rarely has a drink book so enthralled me yet left me thirsty for more.

    My review

    Buy It: Amazon (currently on sale) Bookshop

     

    The Absinthe Forger: A True Story of Deception, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Dangerous Spirit

     

    Absinthe forger

     

    My blurb: Retracing the steps of a prolific modern-day forger of absinthe who tricked enthusiasts and experts, Evan Rail deciphers how the spirit was distilled, colored, blended, bottled, and sold a century ago, and takes us to meet members of the current absinthe collecting community spread throughout Europe who improbably cracked the case of the faker together. I finished this book in a couple sittings because of its plot and pacing, but also learned a ridiculous amount of new and unexpected information about absinthe along the way. If you’re interested in vintage spirits generally, absinthe specifically, the importance of online communities, or tasty true crime, this book is for you!

    My review

    Buy It: Amazon Bookshop

     

    Malört: The Redemption of a Revered and Reviled Spirit

    Malort

    A wonderfully surprising and authentic telling of brand history that had me engaged and enraged! 

    My review

    Buy It: Amazon Bookshop

     

     

    The Bourbon Drinker's Companion: A Guide to American Distilleries, with Travel Advice, Folklore, and Tasting Notes

    Bourbon Drinkers Companion

    Tastings and a travelogue. Tons of great information from a distiller's point of view, and honest reviews not given in isolation. 

    My review

    Buy It: Amazon Bookshop

     

     

    Spirits Distilled : A Guide to the Ingredients Behind a Better Bottle

     

    Spirits distilled

    My blurb: Spirits Distilled is a new view of booze from the ground up. Beyond illuminating the plants, people, and production of all the major spirits categories, Nat Harry’s thoughtful recommendations should empower us to make better choices in the liquor aisle.

     

    Buy It: Amazon Bookshop