Mai Tai Evolved from The Knickerbocker?

Author David Wondrich makes this claim in his new book: IMBIBE!

First off, this is not a book about tropical drinks. The title page describes this book, "From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to 'Professor' Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar". I think that sums up this book by David Wondrich well. This book covers the history of American drink from the 1850's to the turn of the century. If you are fascinated by stories of early mixology, then you might enjoy this book.

In a description of the drink known as the Knickerbocker, the author writes on page 105:

"In any case, for a while there in the 1850s and 1860s it was a popular drink, even turning up, in somewhat basterdized form, in England. But then, for whatever reason, it faded away, and the last anyone hears of it is in 1882, when a writer for The New York World admonished, "in the resume of what is good to drink in the summer-time the Knickerbocker should not be forgotten." An old-timer, no doubt. But the thing is, he's not wrong: With its rum and lime juice, its syrups and liqueurs, the Knickerbocker is the spiritual progenitor of the Tiki drink. Think of it as an 1850s Mai Tai-- similar drink, different island."

Certainly this is not a shocking statement, cocktails existed long before Vic Bergeron got out of diapers. But the connection is new to me.

Here's the original recipe for the Knickerbocker, from the 1862 writing of Jerry Thomas, as listed in Wondrich's book:

1/2 a lime or lemon, squeeze out the juice, and put rind and juice in the glass
2 tea-spoonfuls of raspberry syrup
1 wine-glass Santa Cruz Rum
1/2 teaspoonful of curacoa

Hmmmm.

Trader Peg just posted on this a week ago (The Knickerbocker - a Primordial Mai Tai?), but I find arriano's revelation of Jerry Thomas' White Lion to be even closer to the Mai Tai. Replace the pulverized sugar with Rock Candy Syrup and replace the Raspberry Syrup with Orgeat Syrup and it would be difficult to convince anyone that they were not drinking a Mai Tai.

On 2008-02-20 09:05, arriano wrote:
Interesting theory regarding Knickerbocker/Mai Tai.

For a similar drink, try another from Jerry Thomas' arsenal, the White Lion:

Take 1 tea-spoonful of pulverized white sugar.
1/2 a lime (squeeze out juice and put rind in glass).
1 wine-glass Santa Cruz rum.
1 tea-spoonful of Curacoa. (Orange Curacao)
1 tea-spoonful of Raspberry Syrup.
Fill the glass half-full of shaved ice, shake up well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Ooops! Missed Trader Peg's thread somehow.

Great minds, Bongo!

In fact, Wondrich brings up the White Lion in his section about the Knickerbocker, and tells us that it's the same drink with the swap-out of the pulverized sugar and some of the raspberry syrup. He prefers the Knickerbocker and doesn't include the recipe for the White Lion, just the name. I don't have a copy of Thomas' book so I couldn't explore further -- thanks for posting that recipe here, too!

Again, I'm not suggesting an actual connection between the early drinks and the Trader's famous experiment -- just an interesting coincidence.

For another fahncy straight-up cocktail with a Tiki flair, try the Velvet Williams from Wondrich's book -- it's newfangled but delicious, using pineapple juice and coconut water.