Joe Gilmore

Joe Gilmore (19 May 1922 – 18 December 2015)^[1] was one of the longest running Head Barmen at The Savoy Hotel's American Bar. He was born in Belfast and moved to London in 1938.^[2] Gilmore started as a trainee barman at The American Bar in 1940 and was appointed Head Barman in 1955, a position he held until he retired in 1976. Over his years as Head Barman, Gilmore invented numerous cocktails to mark special events and important guests, a longstanding tradition at the American Bar. Gilmore has invented cocktails in honor of a number of royalty, politicians and celebrities including The Prince of Wales, Prince William, The Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Prince Andrew, Sir Winston Churchill, and American Presidents Harry S. Truman and Richard Nixon. He also invented cocktails to commemorate the first walk on the moon in 1969 by Neil Armstrong, and the American and Russian link-up in space in 1975.

In addition to serving five generations of royals at private receptions and parties, Gilmore has also served Errol Flynn, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Grace Kelly, George Bernard Shaw, Ernest Hemingway, Noël Coward, Agatha Christie, Alice Faye, Ingrid Bergman, Julie Andrews, Laurence Olivier Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.

Gilmore retired from the Savoy in 1976 and died in 2015.^[2]

Cocktails created by Joe Gilmore

The Blenheim

The Blenheim

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Brandy
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	3 parts Brandy 2 parts Yellow Chartreuse 1 part Lillet 1 part Orange Juice 1 part Dubonnet
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Created for Sir Winston Churchill’s ninetieth birthday. It is also known as the Four Score and Ten.

Churchill

Churchill

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Scotch whisky
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	3 parts Scotch whisky 1 part Lime Juice 1 part Sweet Vermouth 1 part Cointreau
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Created for Sir Winston Churchill on one of his many visits to The Savoy.

Common Market

Common Market

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	1 part Elixir d’Anu (Belgium) 1 part Cherry Brandy (Denmark) 1 part Noilly Prat (France) 1 part Schlichte (West Germany) 1 part Sloe gin (Britain) 1 part Orange Curacao (Netherlands) 1 part Dry White Wine (Luxembourg) 1 part Coffee Liqueur (Ireland) 1 part Carpano (Italy)
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Created to mark Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community in 1973, using drinks from all the member states.

Four Score (1955)

Four Score

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Brandy
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard garnish	Lemon
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	Three parts Brandy Two parts Lillet One part Yellow Chartreuse
Preparation	Stir together with ice, strain into glass, garnish with a twisted lemon rind
Notes	This cocktail is very similar to The Blenheim

Created for Sir Winston Churchill’s eightieth birthday.

Golden Doublet

Golden Doublet

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	3 parts Orange juice 1 part Lime Juice 1 part Grand Marnier
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into champagne cocktail glass, and fill with champagne.

Created in 1973 to commemorate the wedding of HRH The Princess Anne to Captain Mark Phillips. Doublet was the name of the Princess’s horse on which she participated in the European Championships in 1973.

Kensington Court Special

Kensington Court Special

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Vodka
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	1 part Passion Fruit Juice 1 part Lime Juice 1 part Apricot Brandy 3 parts Vodka
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Created for Sir David Davies.

Link Up

Link Up

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Vodka
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	1 part Southern Comfort 1 part Russian Vodka Teaspoon of fresh Lime Juice
Preparation	Shake well, serve on the rocks.

Created in 1975 to mark the American and Russians link up in Space, the Apollo–Soyuz project. The Link Up cocktail was sent to the U.S. and U.S.S.R. for the astronauts to enjoy when they returned from their mission. When told this by NASA as they linked up in Space, they responded, "Tell Joe we want it up here".

Lorraine

Lorraine

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Gin
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	2 parts Gin 1 part Lillet 1 part Grand Marnier
Preparation	Stir with ice, strain into glass, and serve.

Created to mark President Charles de Gaulle’s State visit to Britain after the Second World War.

Missouri Mule

Missouri Mule

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Bourbon whiskey Campari
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	2 parts Bourbon whiskey 2 parts Applejack 2 parts Lemon Juice 1 part Campari 1 part Cointreau
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

The Missouri Mule cocktail was created for President Harry S Truman. The cocktail commemorates Truman's homestate of Missouri and the donkey mascot of the Democratic Party (a mule is a hybrid of a donkey and a horse).

Moonwalk

Moonwalk

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	1 part fresh Grapefruit Juice 1 part Grand Marnier 2 dashes Rosewater
Preparation	Shake well, strain into wine glass and top up with champagne.

Created in 1969 to mark the first moon landing. The cocktail was the first drink the American astronauts had when they returned to Earth.^[3] A letter of thanks was later sent from Neil Armstrong to Joe Gilmore.

My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Gin
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	1 part Gin 1 part Lemon Juice 1 part Orange juice 1 part Sirop de Fraise/Strawberry Syrup 1 dash of egg white
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Created to mark Julie Andrews’ first night in the musical My Fair Lady.

Nixon

Nixon

Cocktail
Type	Mixed drink
Primary alcohol by volume	Bourbon whiskey
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard garnish	a slice of fresh peach and a cherry
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	1 part Bourbon whiskey 1 part Sloe Gin 2 dashes of peach bitters
Preparation	Stir and serve on the rocks, garnish.

Created in 1969 to mark American President Richard Nixon's visit to Britain.^[4] The cocktail was mixed at the American bar and then sent over to Claridge's where Nixon was staying.

Powerscourt

Powerscourt

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Brandy
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	1 parts Brandy 1 parts Lime juice 2 part Orange Juice 2 part Creme de Peche Liqueur
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Created for Sarah, Duchess of York’s

The Ed Shelly

The Ed Shelly

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Whiskey
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Snifter
Commonly used ingredients	1 parts Canadian whisky 1 parts Apple Schnapps (Pucker)
Preparation	Shake ingredients together. Serve straight or with one ice cube

Created for Edward Shelly at his request.

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Brandy
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Champagne flute
Commonly used ingredients	1 part Lemon Juice 1 part Cherry Brandy 1 Strawberry 1 teaspoon sugar
Preparation	Blend and then pour into a champagne glass and fill with champagne.

Created to mark the Investiture of HRH The Prince Charles as Prince of Wales..

Royal Arrival

Royal Arrival

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Gin
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	4 parts Gin 1 parts Lemon Juice 1 part Crème de Noyaux 1 part Kümmel Dash egg white Dash vegetable extract
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Created in 1960 to mark the birth of HRH The Prince Andrew.

Wolfram

Wolfram

Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Gin
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
Commonly used ingredients	2 parts Gin 2 parts Wolfschmidt Kummel 2 parts Dry Vermouth 1 part Lemon Juice
Preparation	Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Created in 1990 to commemorate the election of John Wolff Director of Rudolf Wolff as Chairman of the London Metal Exchange. "Wolfram" is another name for the element tungsten.

See also

• List of cocktails

References

Further reading

• McDaid, Laura (January 25, 2016). "Belfast barman who served cocktails to the stars dies aged 93". BBC News. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
• "Joe Gilmore: Head barman of the Savoy Hotel's American Bar". The Independent. February 2, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
• "Cocktail king Joe Gilmore, Belfast's barman to the stars". The Irish News. January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
• Nicholas Foulkes "Joe Gilmore and his cocktails" (2003)