Bullock, Tom (Thomas Washington) (1872–1964), was an African American bartender who penned a celebrated cocktail book just before the Volstead Act banned the profession that he’d thoroughly documented. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and it is believed that Bullock worked at both the Pendennis and Kenton clubs there beginning in the mid-1890s before moving to Missouri in around 1904 and working at the St. Louis Country Club. It was here that Bullock would write Written in 1917, The Ideal Bartender is one of the last cocktail books written before Prohibition, and it serves as a snapshot of drinking styles before the thirteen-year drought. In fact, Bullock’s publication may be credited with helping to preserve the tradition of American mixology and the types of concoctions that would have otherwise been lost during Prohibition. There are many stories yet to be discovered about the contributions of Black bartenders to US cocktail history. Tom Bullock is a fine example of a prominent bartender whose profession suffered the mayhem of Prohibition (he seems to have found work, as the law took force, as a waiter on the Pennsylvania Railroad). Fortunately, he recorded his skills and knowledge in The Ideal Bartender, which serves to guide future generations of mixologists. Smith, Frederick. “British Attorney General Discovers New United States in a Fighting Mood.” New York Sun, April 20, 1918, 8. By: Duane Sylvestre
