The Father Of American Mixology

Quiet Beginnings to Bustling Bars

Born on October 30, 1830, in Sackets Harbor, New York, Jerry started in a small lakeside town with little hint of the whirlwind he’d become. The Gold Rush of 1849 drew him to California among thousands chasing fortune. He landed in San Francisco during the early 1850s, stepping into the chaotic saloons of the Barbary Coast. One story paints him juggling bottles to hush a rowdy mob of miners—an early sign of the flair that would define him.

By the 1860s, he was a fixture in New York, running the bar at the Metropolitan Hotel, a hub of high society. His voice boomed across the room, and his presence turned heads—especially with that diamond stickpin catching the light. One night, a patron marveled at it; Jerry unpinned it, handed it over with a chuckle, and kept pouring like it was nothing. That mix of generosity and bravado earned him the nickname “the Professor,” a nod to his command of the craft.

A Book That Bottled an Era

In 1862, Jerry released How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon-Vivant’s Companion, the first bartender’s guide in the US and likely the first worldwide, with no earlier dedicated guides identified in Europe or elsewhere. Before this, mixing drinks was a wild guessing game—more spill than skill. Jerry’s book brought order, detailing recipes for cocktails, slings, and punches. It launched the “Golden Age of Cocktails,” when drinks became refined and bartenders became pros.

The book’s reach didn’t stop there. It saw multiple editions—later ones dubbed The Bar-Tender’s Guide—and crossed borders in translations like German and French. It became a global touchstone, proving Jerry’s ideas were more than a passing fad.

The Blue Blazer: Flames and Fame

Jerry’s creativity peaked with the Blue Blazer, born during his Gold Rush days in San Francisco. Picture the El Dorado saloon—miners and gamblers shoulder-to-shoulder, the air electric. Jerry pours whiskey, strikes a match, and flings the flaming liquid between two mugs, tracing a blue streak across the dimness. One slip could’ve sparked chaos, but he nailed it every time, grinning through the danger.

He claimed it started as a warmer for a cold customer, but the real magic was the spectacle. Whiskey, hot water, and sugar turned into a performance that left crowds gaping. The Blue Blazer sealed his status as a barroom icon, a feat few dare to recreate.

A World of Wander and Wonder

Jerry’s talents traveled far. He crossed the Atlantic, bringing his American style to London and Paris, where locals dubbed him “the American Professor.” Back in the States, he worked bars in New Orleans, St. Louis, and beyond, leaving a string of amazed patrons. One tale has him betting skeptics he could mix 50 drinks in an hour—then doing it with minutes to spare, bowing, and buying everyone a round.

Later, he opened his own saloon at 622 Broadway in New York, a magnet for the city’s elite. Dressed in a white coat, stickpin shining (when he hadn’t gifted it away), he ruled the space. A stock market crash in 1884 hit him hard, but his spirit held firm. When he passed on December 15, 1885, the bar world lost a giant, but his echo lingered.

A Legacy That Keeps Flowing

Jerry’s impact stretches across time. He took the cocktail—first noted in 1806 as a political tool (see Cocktails in the American Political Imagination)—and made it a craft. The martini? No solid link—his 1862 book skips it, and the Martinez appeared in an 1887 edition after his time—but he gave us more: a guide and a gusto that redefined drinking.