Sour (cocktail) claims the White Lady (gin, Cointreau, fresh lemon juice). The recipe appears in his "Savoy Cocktail Book", published in 1930. Joe Gilmore, former Head Barman at The Savoy, says this was one of Laurel and Hardy's favorite drinks. In John le Carré's 1965 novel "The Looking Glass War", British spy and main protagonist Fred Leiser's favorite drink is a White Lady, and he makes several attempts to get other agents to try the cocktail. In Dorothy Sayers' mystery novel "Have His Carcase" Lord Peter has a White Lady when he hears about his "Lady" Miss Harriet Vane being in trouble
Cocktail publication of a bartenders' guide which included cocktail recipes was in 1862 – "How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon Vivant's Companion", by "Professor" Jerry Thomas. In addition to recipes for punches, sours, slings, cobblers, shrubs, toddies, flips, and a variety of other mixed drinks were 10 recipes for "cocktails". A key ingredient differentiating cocktails from other drinks in this compendium was the use of bitters. Mixed drinks popular today that conform to this original meaning of "cocktail" include the Old Fashioned whiskey cocktail, the Sazerac cocktail, and the Manhattan cocktail. The ingredients listed (spirits, sugar, water, and bitters) match