The Origin & Inspiration of Classic Cocktails (?)

Cocktail Kingdom Library
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As a new member - I stumbled upon this community while doing some informal research about the origins and inspirations to some classic cocktails. Classic in the sense of of the early ones - Prohibition and prior. I’ve been doing a ton of experimentation and having fun doing so. I am afforded much travel and seek to find the best cocktail experiences - I’ll save that for another topic!

Specifically - I have created my own cocktail book with our favorites - with pictures, ingredients and a blurb on flavor profile and bit or too regarding its origins - information I have picked up from numerous resources. A simple hobby that I share within my friend cocktail community. The first one was so popular (26 recipes that I can make on demand when at home), that I am looking to complete another…

This one will be based on the Savoy Cocktail Book, selecting another 25 or so, with the most interesting origins… Obvious options are those named after people… Some are are easy - some are not… for an example: Babbie’s Special, Charles, Dolly O’Dare, Eddie Brown, Loud Speaker are ones that I have found little to nothing on their origins and/or inspirations.

I would be interested if there are any aficionado’s out there, that may have theories, thoughts or suggestions for checking these out… A few others, where I have found a few nuggets - Alfonso, After Dinner, After Supper, Corpse Reviver (1 & 2), Charles Lindbergh, Hanky Panky, Eddie Brown (baseball player or actor?), Leap Year…

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Welcome to the community! It’s always nice to see anyone taking an interest in drink origin stories, as difficult as they can be to track down.

The Charles cocktail is named for Bonnie Prince Charlie. (note Craddock’s Jacobite reference)

Otherwise, I don’t have anything conclusive for you, but a couple thoughts:

  • drinks that start with a name and are followed by “Special” can be a quasi-custom drink for a frequent—or notable—customer; if so, who was Babbie?
  • I’ve seen someone claiming that the Dolly O’Dare was named for an obscure comic book character, but that doesn’t check out, since the comic books in question didn’t begin until 1944; it’s possible that the comic book was preceded by a pulp fiction character, but I am speculating
  • The Loud Speaker may be nothing more than a reference to fashionable technology, although Craddock’s annotation specifically mentions Radio Announcers, and he may or many not have had an individual in mind
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Thanks Martin - I drew similar conclusions from Harry’s notes in the Savoy Cocktail Book. One notable aspect - I did stumble upon all of the classic cocktail books of yore - all of them in pdf format - great reference material. Fortunately for me - this research is for hobby and will afford me a little “poetic license “ but I would prefer a bit more substance - at least some shred of a story that can be embellished. For what ever reason - the Dolly O’Dare just has me intrigued. Thanks again!