Stone Wall

Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks by William Terrington (1869, p.198) — Terrington 1869

1. Use equal quantities of brandy and shaven ice.
2. Add the bottle of iced soda-water and serve.

Ice: Shaven ice

The contrast with Stone Fence is useful for charting nineteenth-century orchard versus soda long-drink naming.

It is less of a mixed drink than a service template built around cold dilution.

Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender by Wm. T. Boothby (1891, p.48)

1. Make the same as Stone Fence.
2. Serve cold over ice.

Ice: Cube ice

This naming layer is worth preserving because Boothby explicitly treats Stone Wall and Stone Fence as linked identities.

The service is inherited directly from Stone Fence rather than newly specified.

Wehman's Bartender's Guide by Henry J. Wehman (1891, p.41) — Henry J. Wehman 1891

1. Add the sugar, ice, whiskey, and plain soda water to a large bar glass.
2. Stir up well with a spoon.
3. Remove the ice and serve.

Ice: Ice lumps

Nose

Whiskey rises lightly through cold soda with only a faint sweet edge.

Palate

It is a simple lengthened whiskey drink, cleaner and more openly refreshing than sling or toddy service.

Finish

The finish is cool, grain-led, and briskly sparkling.

Summary

A plain whiskey-and-soda long drink showing the highball world emerging from older sweetened spirit service.

Stone Wall is historically useful because it helps map the route from older spirit-water forms toward recognisably modern long drinks. Even when simple, these names preserve service distinctions that matter for the family tree.

The removal of the ice is part of the old service style. The drink should feel mixed and cooled rather than built as a permanent on-the-rocks serve.

Compared with Stone Fence, this is less citric and more direct. Compared with High Ball, it still preserves more of the older sweetened-service grammar.

Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler (1895, p.105) — George J. Kappeler 1895

1. Put the ice, sugar, and whiskey into a long thin punch-glass.
2. Add a bottle of cold plain soda, stir, and drink during effervescence.

Ice: Ice

Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler (1895, p.109) — George J. Kappeler 1895

1. Put one lump of ice, sugar, and whiskey in a long thin punch-glass.
2. Add a bottle of cold plain soda and stir.

Ice: Ice

Nose

Anise, wormwood, and lemon oil lead immediately, with the bitters adding a subtle spiced edge.

Palate

The added water opens the absinthe and softens its force, making the drink read as a composed aromatic cocktail rather than a straight absinthe service.

Finish

The finish is cool, herbal, and persistent.

Summary

A fully fledged absinthe-led aromatic cocktail from a period when absinthe could still occupy the centre of the glass.

Kappeler's version matters because it treats absinthe as the base of a proper cocktail rather than merely a rinse or a dash. That places it within the broader aromatic cocktail family while preserving a distinctly absinthe-centred late nineteenth-century service style.

The water is structural here, not incidental. It stretches and opens the spirit before dilution from stirring has fully done the work.

Compared with smaller absinthe seasonings in Martini-era drinks, this entry preserves an older moment when absinthe itself could dominate the formula.

New and Improved Bartenders' Manual by Harry Johnson (1900, p.231) — Harry Johnson 1900

1. Add the sugar, lumps of ice, and whiskey to a large bar glass.
2. Fill with plain soda water.
3. Stir up well with a spoon, remove the ice, and serve.

Ice: Lumps of ice

Nose

Whiskey and soda read in a straightforward refreshing register, with sweetness softening the edge slightly.

Palate

This is a practical summer lengthened whiskey drink, showing one of the routes from older mixed service toward the modern highball world.

Finish

The finish is light, bubbly, and only gently spirit-marked.

Summary

A simple soda-lengthened whiskey serve that helps map the shift from older mixed drinks into the highball line.

Stone Wall is historically useful because it sits between plain service, cooler logic, and the emerging highball world. Johnson explicitly notes its warm-weather popularity, which confirms its role as a practical refresher rather than a cold-weather restorative.

The instruction to remove the ice matters. This is one of those service details that changes dilution and feel more than the ingredient list alone suggests.

The Hoffman House Bartender's Guide by Charles S. Mahoney (1905, p.212)

1. Add the powdered sugar, shaved ice, whiskey, and plain soda to a large bar glass and stir up well with a spoon.
2. Remove the ice if cracked and serve.

Ice: Shaved ice

The Reminder by Jacob A. Didier (1909, p.129) — Didier 1909

1. Build in a highball glass with the ice, sugar, lemon juice, and whiskey.
2. Fill up the glass with plain soda and serve with a bar spoon.

Ice: 1 piece

This is useful because it shows the Stone Wall name still being applied to a soda-lengthened whiskey service rather than only the older cider or beer forms.

The Buffet Blue Book by John H. Considine (1912, p.51)

1. Build the drink in a large bar glass with ice, sugar, whiskey, and plain soda.
2. Stir well, remove the ice, and serve.

Ice: Ice

Bartenders' Guide: How to Mix Drinks by Wehman Bros. (1912, p.67)

1. Combine the sugar, ice, whiskey, and plain soda water, stir well, remove the ice, and serve.

Ice: Ice

Bartenders' Manual by Bartenders Association of America (1913, p.43)

1. Stir up well with a spoon and remove the ice.

Ice: Ice