Seelbach

Champagne · Classic/vintage

3.6 19 ratings

Ingredients

How to make

39.4% alc./vol. · 1.1 standard drinks · 109 calories

History

A champagne cocktail strengthened with bourbon and triple sec.

Mark Twain is reported to have once said, "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story, unless you can't think of anything better." There is, unfortunately, more truth to this quote than there is to the previously accepted story behind the creation of the Seelbach Cocktail. It has emerged that the Seelbach Cocktail was created by Adam Segar in 1995. At the time, Segar was an unknown bartender in his late 20s and had recently taken charge of the beverage operations at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. To lend his new creation importance, Segar fabricated the story that he had rediscovered what he claimed was the hotel's pre-Prohibition signature cocktail, dating from circa 1917, while searching through old hotel menus. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported on what its editor believed was a rediscovered local classic, thus giving Segar's fabrication legitimacy. This story was then repeated by Gary "gaz" Regan and Mardee Haiden Regan in their 1997 book New Classic Cocktails, and subsequently by Ted Haigh in his influential 2009 book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Segar's fabrication thus became the accepted truth until guilt compelled him to confess everything to gaz Regan. The myth was debunked by Robert Simonson in his The New York Times drinks column in October 2016. Segar departed the Seelbach Hotel in 2001. A cynic might suggest that Segar only confessed to both gaz and a New York Times journalist to generate publicity for his own venture, a bar in Manhattan. Should you find yourself in Louisville, The Old Seelbach Bar has been restored to its authentic early 1900s decor and continues to serve its "signature" drink. Gaz Regan once described the extensive bourbon selection displayed on the back bar there as "one of the finest stretches of mahogany in the country." When visiting the Seelbach, be sure to explore the beautiful tiled function room with its vaulted ceiling located in the basement.

Created by Adam Segar