Gibson (cocktail) Gibson (cocktail) The Gibson is a mixed drink made with gin and dry vermouth, and often garnished with a pickled onion. The oldest published recipe for the Gibson is found in the 1908 book, "The World's Drinks And How To Mix Them" by William Boothby. Other pre-prohibition recipes for the Gibson exist. They all omit bitters and none of them garnish with an onion. Some garnish with citrus twists. Others use no garniture at all. There is no known recipe for the Gibson garnishes with an onion before William Boothby's 1908 Gibson Recipe. Some sources persist in using other garnishment
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