"Gibson Cocktail" wrong in Arthur Schwartz NEW YORK FOOD

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Arthur Schwartz has published a book on NEW YORK FOOD. He's probably never heard of me, which is goddamn amazing at this point.

There is a drinks section. My groundbreaking work on drinks cannot be found here at all. You'd never know that I'd found the earliest "Manhattan." You'd never know that I'd found the earliest "Bloody Mary."

He states that the "Gibson Cocktail" is a New York drink, named after boxing promoter Billie Gibson. This is not a new theory--it was mentioned in the Waldorf Bar Book of 1931. However, it's abysmally wrong.

No one does original work!...Maybe Schwartz should try Mel Gibson.


(GOOGLE)
Zigy's Martini Lounge "Zigy's Pick"
... Bar Days of 1931 credits the Gibson as being in honor of Billie Gibson, sports promoter ...
So if you've never had one, grab your shaker and a cocktail onion and ...
members.aol.com/zigystar/zigyspick/ - 11k - Cached - Similar pages
And the winner is the Gibson (lovingly referred to as "Onion Soup"). Basically a Gibson is a dry Martini with cocktail onion instead of olive or lemon peel. But even something this simple is full of controversy over who invented it. There are about three different legends of how this drink come around.

.....One story has it that an American ambassador named Gibson serving in London during Prohibition wished to make his English guests welcome with a good cocktail. Inexplicably he personally felt constrained to follow his country's laws even while abroad. So during receptions he would circulate carrying a glass of water with a cocktail onion in it, while the guests would be served real gin. When someone asked his aide what the diplomat was drinking, the young man answered "a Gibson."

.....Steve Zell at the Occidental Grill in San Francisco says the name came out of Chicago. "You'll notice that Gibsons are usually served with two skewered onions. I heard that during the twenties in Chicago there were twin sisters named Gibson who loved Martinis but hated olives. Whenever they'd go out, they'd get the bartenders to use two pickled onions - twins for twins."

.....A more likely story is that Charles Dana Gibson, the famed illustrator and creator of the Gibson Girl, dropped into The Players, his New York club, and asked the bartender, Charley Connolly, to mix him "a better Martini." Connolly simply exchanged an onion for an olive and dubbed it the Gibson.

DrCoctail at aol.com also told me this story: "The Waldorf's Old Waldorf Bar Days of 1931 credits the Gibson as being in honor of Billie Gibson, sports promoter, promoter of fights, famous in his day... forgotten now. Certainly doesn't make for such a culturally resounding Gibson story...... but that's rather an argument in its favor don't you think? --Doc."

.....But no matter how the Gibson came about, it is truly my favorite libation of those I've put forth. So if you've never had one, grab your shaker and a cocktail onion and give it a try.

(GOOGLE)
MartinisOnline
... Instructions: Stir with ice. Add the cocktail Onion. ... Another story credits Billie
Gibson, a fight promoter. Send this recipe to a friend. Visitor Reviews. ...
martinisonline.com/Recipe68.aspx - 18k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
BILLY GIBSON DIES; WAGED FIGHTERS; Handled Tunney and Leonard in Successful Ring Careers ;" uAlso Was Promoter
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Jul 22, 1947. p. 23 (1 page):
He was listed by police as being 65, but other records indicate he may have been 71. (...)
Gibson managed both Tunney and Leonard during the greater part of their boxing careers. He started piloting Tunney in 1920. (...)
Gibson, always a free spender and a popular figure in sporting circles, also was well known as a restaurateur. The owner of the Criterion Cafe in the Bronx, Gibson catered to judges, lawyers, politicans, boxers, newspapermen and show people.

I posted this 1904 "Gibson Cocktail" back in August 2003. This totally rules out Billy Gibson. The Gibson popular in that era (1900) was Charles Dana Gibson.

(NEWSPAPERARCHIVE)
   Atlanta Constitution  Sunday, June 26, 1904 Atlanta, Georgia
...wm be as follows: Anchovy Baskets GIBSON COCKTAIL Little Neck Clams Olives.....Croft. Mrs. Bettle Mattox and Mrs. GIBSON and little daughters left a at..
Pg. 5, col. 8:
Gibson Cocktail