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
Rob Roy (cocktail) Roy can be made "sweet", "dry", or "perfect". The standard Rob Roy is the sweet version, made with sweet vermouth, so there is no need to specify a "sweet" Rob Roy when ordering. A "dry" Rob Roy is made by replacing the sweet vermouth with dry vermouth. A "perfect" Rob Roy is made with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth. The Rob Roy includes a "dash" of Angostura bitters (mostly for color) and is usually served in a cocktail glass and garnished with two maraschino cherries on a skewer (for the standard version) or a lemon twist (for the perfect