Gibson Cocktail

Gibson Cocktail Story

Is a Gibson anything more than a Martini with a garnish of pungent, garlicky pickled onions? The myriad of urban myths proclaiming its origin, all tied to the mid-century’s political elite and high society, skip over its first appearance in William Boothby’s 1908 guide The World’s Drinks and How to Mix Them. This recipe, however, simply described a Martini made with dry gin and dry vermouth, without bitters. Since tracing the history of the Martini is never easy, the onion was not the garnish in the Gibson, but in a forgotten 1912 cocktail called the “Hanford Cocktail.” As olives and lemon twists became more popular garnishes for cocktails that resembled Gibsons but were just called Martinis instead, the Gibson reluctantly took on the obscure and eccentric mantle that was the Hanford Cocktail. So is the Gibson a cocktail in and of itself, or not? It is, above all, an order, and a very deliberate one at that. No onion, no Gibson.