Brigham, Peter Bent (1807–1877), set the canon of American drinks for a generation in 1842 when the extensive list of “Fancy Drinks” (a term he popularized) offered at his Oyster Saloon in Boston caught the attention of the national press. It would serve as a source of both moral indignation and commercial imitation for the next twenty years, and as a de facto checklist of what Americans were drinking. Saloons copying the list could be found from coast to coast, and as far away as Paris. It would not be superseded until 1862, with the publication of Jerry Thomas’s Bar-Tenders Guide. See Thomas, Jerry.
Brigham, a native of Vermont, opened his first oyster counter in Boston in 1828. By 1836 he was the lessee of the large, old Concert Hall in the center of the city, and it is there where he opened the Oyster Saloon in 1842, “fitted up in a style of splendour unequalled in the Union,” as his advertisements claimed. Here there were not only oysters of all origins and preparations but also “other Refreshments,” served both in the large “gentlemen’s gorgeous and neat saloon,” as one patron called it, and the smaller “Ladies’ Saloon” around the corner. Those included the fancy drinks.
On offer were least eighteen mixed drinks, including six different kinds of punch, plus such oddities as Tippe na Pecco, Tip and Ty, Fiscal Agent, and Wormwood Floater. When Charles Jewett, a prominent Prohibitionist, criticized the list in print, Brigham responded by adding a Jewett’s Fancy. By the end of 1843, the list had stretched to encompass eleven kinds of julep (including such elaborations as Capped Julep and Race Horse Julep), five cobblers, and seventeen other drinks. See julep and cobbler. It had also been printed in newspapers all around the United States. Unfortunately, none of his recipes are known to survive.
Brigham never married, devoting his life to his business. As a saloonkeeper he was known for his hands-on management and his constant battles with Boston’s many and vocal Prohibitionists. See
In 1869, Brigham retired from the saloon business and devoted himself to investing in local real estate. This made him a fortune, which upon his death went to the endowment of a hospital. Today, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital is one of the most famous and respected in America.
“Progress of Temperance.” New Orleans Daily Picayune, October 31, 1843.
“Peter Bent Brigham.” Boston Journal, May 25, 1877.
By: David Wondrich