A man walks into a bar… So many great tales and riddles have begun with these words, as well, as it turns out, one of our favorite cocktails. The story goes that a guest entered bartender Hugo R. Ensslin’s New York City bar in 1916 humming “It’s a Long Road to Tipperary” and ordered a drink. The song was an anthem of soldiers in World War I longing to return home from the front to Ireland’s charming County Tipperary. As you mix this week’s recipe below, perhaps sing to yourself and dream of future journeys to the Emerald Isle. Until then, sláinte!

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In 1927, in the throes of Prohibition, the professional prospects for bartenders seemed dim. Many learned new trades, of course, while others set out for new lands where bars and clubs packed with nightly revelers looking for the latest stylish cocktail were still a welcome sight. Namely, Europe. And while Thursdays were perpetually thirsty during this dark time for American cocktail culture, had Harry MacElhone been able to stay behind the posh bar of New York’s Plaza Hotel, we may not be sipping our Boulevardier cocktails this evening…

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