Tract · Cocktails

Highball · Built in glass · Historical · complexity 2/5

Chicago Cooler

Mahoney's Chicago Cooler is a ginger-ale cooler with lemon juice and a float of claret.

sour · ginger · winey · refreshing · long drink · refreshing

Served in Large punch glass. Ice: Ice.

Family

Variants (2)

The Hoffman House Bartender's Guide by Charles S. Mahoney (1905, p.164)

1 teaspoonfullemon juice acid
1 pieceice base
1 bottleginger ale — imported ginger aledilution
claret — Float a little claret on top.other
  1. Put the ice and lemon juice in a large punch glass.
  2. Add the imported ginger ale, float a little claret on top, and serve.

Ice: Ice

The Reminder by Jacob A. Didier (1909, p.79) — Didier 1909

2 dashLemon juice (fresh) — lemon juiceacid
1 pieceice — icebase
1 bottleginger ale — imported ginger aledilution
Claret (Bordeaux red wine) — claretother
  1. Use a punch glass.
  2. Add the ice and lemon juice.
  3. Add a bottle of imported ginger ale, float a little claret on top, and serve.

Ice: 1 piece

This helps show how the cooler line could absorb a wine float without leaving the ginger-ale long-drink world.

The claret is explicitly floated rather than mixed in, so the drink should read as a layered cooler rather than a red-wine highball.

See also: Brunswick Cooler, Claret Cup