Chicago Cocktail — The Cocktail Ontologist

Variants (5)

156 Recettes de Boissons Americaines by Niels Larsen (1899, p.3) — Larsen 1899, cocktails section

1 zest	lemon peel — zeste de citron	acid
1 Madeira glass	cognac — fine champagne	base
2 teaspoon	simple syrup — sirop de sucre	base
6 drop	Angostura bitters — angostura	bitter
2 teaspoon	curacao	modifier
splash	champagne — Source: add a little champagne.	other

Stir the base ingredients with crushed ice, strain into a cocktail glass, add champagne and expressed lemon peel, and serve.

Garnish: Expressed lemon peel

Ice: Crushed ice

Das Buch der American Drinks by Richard Andeck (1910, p.15)

1 teaspoon	gum syrup — gummisirup	base
5 drop	Angostura bitters — angosturabitter	bitter
1 slice	lemon slice — zitronenscheibe	garnish
2 teaspoon	curacao	modifier
1 glass	champagne — champagner	other

Stir the gum syrup, curacao, and Angostura bitters well together and pour Champagne over them.
Fill the mixture into a glass containing three-quarters ice and a slice of lemon.
Serve with straws.

Garnish: Lemon slice

Ice: Crushed ice

American Drinks by Victor Hugo Himmelreich (1921) — Himmelreich 1921, opening cocktails section

3 dash	dissolved sugar	base
4 dash	Angostura bitters	bitter
3 dash	curacao	modifier
1 garnish	cherry or lemon spiral	other
top	Yquot Champagne	other

Stir very cold with clear ice, pour into a champagne cocktail glass, top with Yquot Champagne, and serve with cherry or lemon spiral.

Garnish: Cherry or lemon spiral

Ice: Clear ice pieces

About Town Cocktail Book by Joe Fitchett (1925, p.11) — About Town 1925

	lemon juice — Moisten the glasses with lemon juice.	acid
	lemon peel — Drop in a squeezed lemon peel.	acid
1 cocktail	brandy cocktail — Plain brandy cocktail	base
	champagne — Pour a little Champagne on top.	other
	pulverized sugar — Dip the moistened glasses into pulverized sugar.	sweetener

Make a plain brandy cocktail.
Pour a little Champagne on top, add squeezed lemon peel, and serve in cocktail glasses moistened with lemon juice and dipped in pulverized sugar.

Garnish: Squeezed lemon peel

This matters because it preserves the prose-defined Chicago service grammar even where the source references the underlying brandy cocktail rather than restating it fully.

The sugared-rim Champagne finish is the defining service feature here.

Cocktails by Pedro Chicote (1928, p.125) — Orange slice garnish

0.5 part	gin — Gordon gin	base
1 small spoon	lemon juice — Jugo de limón	base
0.5 part	Italian vermouth — Vermut Cinzano	modifier

Shake and serve in a cocktail glass, adding an orange slice.

Garnish: Orange slice

Ice: Chopped ice

This matters because it preserves a Spanish interwar Chicago Cocktail that is much drier than some better-known later versions.

Related recipes

Chicago Cocktail variation

See also: Martini Cocktail, Bronx Cocktail