Learn how naval grog and East India Company punch evolved into the American whiskey cocktail, and why bitters became a defining ingredient.

Learn about the first published bartender's guide, its 1862 Whiskey Cocktail recipe, and how it evolved into the modern Old Fashioned.

Learn the real, murkier origin stories behind the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan, including which famous claims, like the Pendennis Club story, don't hold up.

About the course

This module traces American drinking culture from Colonial-era punch to the eve of Prohibition. You'll learn the etymology and evolution of punch, grog, and the mint julep, meet legendary bartenders like Jerry Thomas, and dig into the true (and often disputed) origin stories of the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan. Along the way, you'll cover the rise of American bar culture in the late 19th century and the invention of the cocktail party itself.  This is a standalone module: it does not include the Level One exam or certification, which are only awarded with the complete 10-module program.

Your Instructor: Susan Reigler

Susan Reigler wrote the book on American whiskey. Eight of them, actually. She's the author or co-author of eight books on bourbon and American spirits, an adjunct professor of Beer & Spirits at Eastern Kentucky University, and a working spirits judge — which means she's spent decades doing exactly what this course teaches you to do, at a level most drinkers never reach. She's judged whiskeys against each other by the hundreds, trained hospitality students on the science behind every barrel, and turned some of the industry's driest regulations into stories people actually remember. That's the instructor behind every module in American Whiskey Scholar: someone who has done the tasting, read the fine print, and can tell you precisely why your glass tastes the way it does.

Curriculum

1 Chapter · 16 Lessons

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Welcome to Drinking Culture & Cocktails

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Intro to Drinking Culture & Cocktails: Colonial America to 1920

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Punch

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      The Mint Julep

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Bitters

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      The Cocktail Gets a Name

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      Jerry Thomas and Bartenders Guide

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      American Bars in the Late 19th Century

    9. (Included in full purchase)

      The Old Fashioned

    10. (Included in full purchase)

      The Manhattan

    11. (Included in full purchase)

      The First Cocktail Party

    12. (Included in full purchase)

      Drinking Culture & Cocktails - Colonial America to 1920

    13. (Included in full purchase)

      Timeline of Punch & Cocktails

    14. (Included in full purchase)

      Quiz

    15. (Included in full purchase)

      Review

    16. (Included in full purchase)

      Recommended Reading

Learn the real story behind your favorite cocktail.

Enroll in History: Drinking Culture & Cocktails and trace the path to the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan.

$49.00

Enroll now