Tract · Cocktails

Spirit-forward · Built in glass · Historical · complexity 2/5

American Pousse Cafe

The Police Gazette's American Pousse Cafe is a layered quartered liqueur-and-brandy after-dinner drink.

sweet · herbal · anise · digestif · formal

Family

Variants (5)

The Police Gazette Bartenders Guide by Richard K. Fox (1888, p.34) — 1888

0.25 partbrandy — brandybase
0.25 partMaraschino liqueur — maraschinobase
0.25 partcuracao — curacoamodifier
0.25 partGreen Chartreuse — Chartreuse (green)modifier
  1. Layer the maraschino, curacoa, green Chartreuse, and brandy carefully.
  2. Keep the colors separate and serve.
Summary
A compact multicolored after-dinner serve preserving the codified layered liqueur tradition.

This matters because it shows pousse-cafe service still fully alive in an 1888 mainstream bartender's guide, not just in specialist French or theatrical contexts.

Color separation is the essential technique detail and should remain explicit.

Compared with Knickerbein, this is less yolk-led and more purely liqueur-architectural.

The Complete Buffet Guide by V. B. Lewis (1903, p.51) — V. B. Lewis 1903

0.2 glassbrandy — brandybase
0.2 glassMaraschino liqueur — Maraschinobase
0.2 glassanisette — anisettemodifier
0.2 glasscuracao — Curacoamodifier
0.2 glassGreen Chartreuse — green Chartreusemodifier
  1. Layer the maraschino, Curacoa, green Chartreuse, anisette, and brandy carefully so the colours remain separate.
  2. Burn and serve.

Garnish: Served aflame

Nose
The aroma is heavily perfumed with cherry, orange, alpine herbs, and anise.
Palate
More than a practical cocktail, this is a layered display drink whose appeal lies in liqueur architecture, aroma, and theatre.
Finish
The finish is sweet, herbal, and fiery.
Summary
A theatrical flamed pousse-cafe from the ornate after-dinner display branch.

Bartenders' Guide: How to Mix Drinks by Wehman Bros. (1912, p.44)

0.25 glassbrandy — Brandybase
0.25 glassMaraschino liqueur — Maraschinobase
0.25 glasscuracao — Curacoamodifier
0.25 glassGreen Chartreuse — Chartreuse (green)modifier
  1. Layer the ingredients in a small wine-glass, keeping the colors separate, and serve.

The Up-to-Date Bartender's Guide by Harry Montague (1913, p.31)

0.25 glassbrandy base
0.25 glassMaraschino base
0.25 glassChartreuse — chartreusemodifier
0.25 glasscuracao — curacoamodifier
  1. Pour the maraschino, curacoa, chartreuse, and brandy into a small wine glass in layers.
  2. Keep the colors separate and serve.

Built by careful layering to preserve distinct colors.

Cocktails by Pedro Chicote (1928, p.316) — American

0.2 partcognac — Fine Champagnebase
0.2 partstrawberry syrup — jarabe de fresabase
0.2 partCuraçao — curacaomodifier
0.2 partMaraschino — marrasquinomodifier
0.2 partyellow chartreuse — chartreuse amarillomodifier
  1. Layer the ingredients very gently in a sherry glass so they do not mix.
  2. Serve with straws.

This matters because it preserves a named American pousse-cafe branch in a Spanish 1928 source.

The instruction to place the liqueurs one above another is the key service detail.

See also: Pousse Cafe, Parisian Pousse Cafe

Source prints the final brandy fraction on the next page after a line break.