Come the great Republican party split in 1912, Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose splinter inspired no shortage of cocktails.
A simple sort were quaffed at the new party’s Chicago convention. According to the Chicago News, “Among some of the delegates the favorite drink is the ‘bull moose’ cocktail. It is made this way: ‘Three fingers of whisky (most any brand), a jigger of aqua pura.'”
A more elaborate effort was made by a bartender in Oyster Bay, Long Island, Colonel Roosevelt’s hometown. After “he had listened for three hours to an argument between seven of his customers on the Colonel’s real chances in November,” the barkeep, “under the dazed inspiration of the talk-fest…began putting things from bottles in a mixing glass,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He mixed up vermouth, gin, both Angostura and orange bitters, nerve tonic and finished it up with a dash of brandy. “The effect of the combination was so satisfactory he at once put it on his list.”
There it stayed, at least for the duration of the election. Men visiting Roosevelt to angle for offices in the Bull Moose administration (that was never to come) would first stop at the bar, “drink one and meet the Colonel’s iron grip without flinching.”
The Bull Moose spread quickly around the nation. The cocktail was described by the L.A. Times as being “the latest thing on Spring street. Two make a man climb a tree.”
The Monroe News-Star newspaper suggested “A taxicab should be ordered just before drinking the third cocktail.” Very sound advice indeed.
Cocktail recipe by Jonathan Fain of Bar Pilar
The WEEKLY STANDARD, together with Washington’s Bar Pilar have rescued and revived the Bull Moose Cocktail. The drink, updated for modern tastes, is now on the drink menu at Bar Pilar, and to learn how to make it at home, watch the fourth and last episode in our “Campaign Cocktails” video series.
Join in the tradition and the fun by coming up with an original campaign cocktail of your own. We will pick the best Clinton quaff and Trump tonic sent to us, and proclaim them as the winners of the WEEKLY STANDARD campaign cocktail contest. Send your drink to [email protected] by October 14.
This video is the fourth (and final) in a series that will feature cocktails celebrating Presidents Taft, Teddy Roosevelt, and the Bull Moose Party. Be sure to check back for new episodes here. You can watch the first episode here, the second episode here, and the third episode here.
