Boston Cooler, Sarsaparilla and Ginger Ale from 1922
Reader ratingsEqual parts sarsaparilla and ginger ale over a lump of ice and a whole lemon peel in a large tumbler, drunk while it fizzes: a soft cooler from a 1922 London bar book.
- Recipe makes
- 1 tall drink, about 8 fl oz
- Prep
- Total
Boston Cooler over a lump of ice and a spiral of lemon peel in a heavy tumbler, beside the peeled lemon.
The story behind the recipe
A Boston Cooler is two sodas in one glass: sarsaparilla and ginger ale in equal parts, poured over a lump of ice and the whole peel of a lemon in a large tumbler. Robert Vermeire printed it in 1922 in Cocktails: How to Mix Them, a London bar book, and finished the recipe with an order: “Serve and drink when fizzy.”
Coolers with and without
Vermeire’s coolers page opens by saying that “some are made with liquors; others are absolutely non-alcoholic drinks,” and this is one of the second kind. The long lemon peel is the same trick as the Horse’s Neck, and sarsaparilla is the root-beer side of the soda fountain, close to a Fountain Root Beer. It isn’t the Detroit Boston Cooler, a ginger-ale float with ice cream. The bar book’s other drinks for the dry guest are told in What Did Bartenders Mix for Non-Drinkers in the 1920s?
Read more about this recipe
Making it today
Sarsaparilla is still bottled, and root beer is the nearest swap. Both sodas should be cold, and pour them gently down the side of the glass so the fizz lasts.
Boston Cooler. Put in a large tumbler the whole peel of a lemon, a lump of ice, with equal parts of Sarsaparilla and Ginger Ale. Serve and drink when fizzy.
Recipe makes: 1 tall drink, about 8 fl oz
Ingredients
For 1 tall drink, about 8 fl oz. Quantities are shown as written.
Quantities as written here, for 1 tall drink, about 8 fl oz.
- Lemon, for its peel1
- Large ice cube1
- Sarsaparilla or root beer, chilled4 fl oz
- Ginger ale, chilled4 fl oz
Measurement notes
Ingredients as written here
- 1 lemon, for its peel
- 1 large ice cube
- 4 fl oz sarsaparilla or root beer, chilled
- 4 fl oz ginger ale, chilled
Equipment
Vegetable peeler or paring knife
Large tumbler, about 12 fl oz
Instructions
Peel the lemon in one long spiral with a vegetable peeler or paring knife, keeping as little of the white pith as you can.
Put the peel in a large tumbler, curling it around the inside, and add the large ice cube.
Pour in the chilled sarsaparilla or root beer, then the chilled ginger ale, slowly and down the side of the glass. Serve at once, while it fizzes.
Nutrition
100calories per serving
- Recipe makes
- 1 tall drink, about 8 fl oz
Estimated from typical label values for sarsaparilla and ginger ale (about 40 kcal per 100 ml), for one 240 ml glass.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
Keep sarsaparilla and ginger ale in equal parts, and build each glass separately.
Notes
Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the batch.
Vermeire gives no glass size; a large tumbler of about 12 fl oz takes 4 fl oz of each soda and leaves room for the ice and peel. Keep the peeled lemon for its juice; it doesn’t go in the drink.
Scaling changes the ingredients only; glassware, ice and timings need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.
Sources and attribution
Robert Vermeire, Cocktails: How to Mix Them (London: Herbert Jenkins, 1922; eleventh printing), p. 55, “Boston Cooler”
See the original pages (scan at Internet Archive) (opens in a new tab)
Recipe details
- Drink
- Alcohol-freeMocktail
- Drink family
- Sodas & Soft Drinks
- Region
- British
- Era
- Jazz Age
- Source decade
- 1920s
- Base
- Spices
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Occasion
- Summer party
- Season
- Summer