21st Century Cocktail

21st Century Cocktail Story

The Twentieth Century Limited, known as “the Most Famous Train in the World,” shuttled passengers like Theodore Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan between New York City and Chicago from 1902 and 1937 in record time: 20 hours. A redesign with a more streamlined system was announced in 1937, unveiled in 1938, and ran until its discontinuation in 1967. This new and improved train cut the original travel time down to only sixteen hours. Inspired by the redesigned locomotive, British bartender C.A. Truck dedicated a new mixed drink, the 20th Century Cocktail, in the 1937 edition of the United Kingdom’s Bartender’s Guild recipe guide, the Café Royal Bar Book.  

In order to bring the drink into the twenty first century, PDT barman Jim Meehan shook up the cocktail with tequila instead of gin for an updated take on the traditional, aptly named the 21st Century.