Gibson (cocktail) bartenders' guides sometimes gave the recipe as 50/50 gin and vermouth, Gibsons in the early days were much drier than other martinis. A third version, supported by Kazuo Uyeda in "Cocktail Techniques", states that Gibsons started as very dry martinis garnished with a cocktail onion to distinguish them from traditional martinis, but as the fondness for drier martinis became popular the onion became the only difference. There is no direct evidence that Charles Dana, or any other Gibson, created the drink. But, Charles Dana Gibson was certainly the artist who created the Gibson Girl illustrations—popular from the 1890s through about
John Collins (cocktail) John Collins (cocktail) A John Collins is a cocktail which was attested to in 1869, but may be older. It is believed to have originated with a headwaiter of that name who worked at Limmer's Old House in Conduit Street in Mayfair, which was a popular London hotel and coffee house around 1790–1817. The John Collins is a Collins cocktail made from Bourbon whiskey or London dry gin, lemon juice, sugar and carbonated water. A recipe for a John Collins is featured in the "Steward and Barkeeper's Manual" of 1869: <poem>Teaspoonful of powdered sugar The juice of half a lemon