André Darlington (website, Instagram) is the author of 12 books, including the one we discussed, Cowboy Cocktails.
In 2020, André became the first cocktail writer to circumnavigate the globe since Charles H. Baker a hundred years ago. A record of his journey became Booze Cruise: A Tour of the World’s Essential Mixed Drinks.
A few things worth noting that I found fun from our conversation
• There was heavy Spanish and Mexican influence in cowboy culture. For example, the term I’ve always heard as “ten-gallon hat”, is actually “tan galan”, which means very handsome.
• In many western towns there was no shortage of luxurious goods (champagne, Grand Marnier, Chartreuse, etc.) because as people came into large amounts of money, they craved indulgences to spend them on. Pairing this with long periods of deprivation while cowboys were out on the plains, they often liked sweeter drinks. Modern-day staples like sugar and eggs were also luxuries.
• While whiskey was popular on the plains, mezcal (Tequila did not become an official designation until l1974) was common because agave is more at home in dry climates.
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