DOTD For Thursday, August 28, 2025

A Mocktail To Celebrate A Legendary Bartender!

Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a mocktail, a non-alcoholic version of the Bijou Cocktail, to celebrate the birthday of legendary bartender Harry Johnson, the man who literally wrote the book on bartending. And yes, Harry Johnson was a real life bartender, and not just a funny name you might use to prank call the bar.

Harry Johnson was born in Prussia on August 28, 1845, but after time as a sailor, he found his way to the U.S., where he became a kitchen-boy at the Union Hotel in San Francisco. Johnson worked his way up from there to be a bartender, & then manager. That’s where he met Jerry Thomas, who would become another influential American bartender. Unsurprisingly, a rivalry ensued between the two.

Harry Johnson eventually moved to Chicago, and later New York City, gaining fame along the way. In 1869, Johnson wrote his first book, Bartender’s Manual, which would go on to become one of the bibles of the industry. By 1881 the International News Company asked Johnson to expand his book, and in 1882 they published the New and Improved Bartender’s Manual. This was perhaps the first publication that was more than recipes, and even included instructions on how to operate a bar. Updated versions of the New and Improved Bartender’s Manual followed in 1888 and 1900. The later version has a full 157 pages on how to operate a bar.

Harry Johnson invented a number of drinks during his career, including hair-of-the-dog hangover cures like the Morning Glory Fizz. But today’s DOTD, the Bijou Cocktail, was one of his creations that languished in obscurity after Prohibition. The Bijou regained attention in the 1980s when the “King of Cocktails” Dale DeGroff saw it in Johnson’s book. The Bijou then took off in the early 2000s as bartenders began to look back in time for inspiration.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’re going to need for this great mocktail drink: