St. Croix Rum Sour

The Cocktail Book a Sideboard Manual for Gentlemen (1901, p.62)

1. Dissolve the sugar, lemon juice, and squirt of seltzer well.
2. Add the St. Croix rum and ice, stir well, and strain into a sour glass.
3. Ornament with fruit.

Garnish: Fruit.

Ice: Ice

This is a useful rum sour checkpoint that sits between the older bar-glass sour line and the charged-water long-drink field.

The small seltzer addition is part of the written structure, not just a serving flourish.

The Up-to-Date Bartender's Guide by Harry Montague (1913, p.43)

1. Fill a large bar glass three-quarters full with shaved ice and add the sugar dissolved in a little seltzer, lemon juice, and St. Croix rum.
2. Stir, strain into a sour glass, decorate with fruit, and serve.

Garnish: Fruit

Ice: Shaved ice

About Town Cocktail Book by Joe Fitchett (1925, p.27) — About Town 1925

1. Dissolve well and add the rum.
2. Fill the glass with ice, stir well, strain into a sour glass, ornament with fruit, and serve.

Garnish: Fruit

Ice: Ice

This matters because it preserves a slightly aerated St. Croix rum sour in the late social-book layer.