Iowa Spring-Summer 21 - 18

he first combination of alchol and milk?
The 1862 handbook written by The Father
of American Mixology, Jerry Thomas, was
called " The Bar-Tender's Guide, " and included
cocktails such as Milk Punch and White Tiger's Milk,
drinks that blended fresh milk, ice and liquor.
Though a little different than modern shakes,
because the milk wasn't frozen or whipped, this is
the origin story of boozy milk concoctions.
The phrase " milk shake " came along in an 1886
article published in the Atlanta Constitution. The
recipe was simple: whole milk, flavored syrup and
a dash of grated nutmeg. Just shake the drink
strenuously for a couple of minutes and then serve.
The most popular flavors included vanilla, straw-

berry, banana, chocolate, pineapple, peach and
ginger. The light, frothy, sweet drink quickly
became a soda shop, drugstore and ice cream
parlor favorite.
So alco-shakes weren't the invention of today's
bearded, tattooed hipster bartenders-shakes were
spiked with alcohol from the very beginning.
Bartenders were adding spirits to the mix and creating sweet, potent, creamy cocktails. It wasn't until
early in the 20th century that shakes became almost
exclusively alcohol-free and more closely associated
with families and kids than with adult drinkers.
As you might expect, it got pretty tiring shaking
all those drinks, especially when there was a line
of customers waiting at the counter. Naturally, this

Pumpkin Bourbon
Milkshake
4 scoops vanilla ice cream
½ cup canned pumpkin
¼ cup milk
2 oz. bourbon
⅛ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
⅛ tsp. nutmeg
whipped cream
Blend ice cream, whiskey, milk,
pumpkin and spices until smooth.
Pour into a tall glass and top with
whipped cream and a pinch of
cinnamon.

18 IOWA SPIRITS

Iowa Spring-Summer 21

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