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Drinking Vintage: Local Mixologist's Prize-Winning 1959 Recipe for the "Honeymoon Cocktail"
September 15, 1959: Albert Carrillo, center, North Hollywood man whose recipe for Honeymoon Cocktail won him trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he will compete for international title, pours his prize-winning drink for Bob Phillip, right, UKBG president, as Frederick H. Browne, guild trustee displays $1,000 check awarded Carrillo by guild (Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection)
In 1959, North Hollywood resident Albert Carrillo rose to fame among the imbibing ranks after taking first prize in the United Kingdom Bartender's Guild competition in Los Angeles for his "Honeymoon Cocktail."
The Brandy-based drink is accented with Falernum, which is a sweet syrup similar to orgeat that is used in tropical drinks. It was first mentioned in bar manuals in the 1930s, which is also around the time tiki bars and drinks were coming into vogue.
What we love about this photo and reference from the Hollywood Citizen News/Valley Times Collection in the Los Angeles Public Library's archives is that not only do they include the recipe, but they also refer to Carrillo and the other men pictured as "master mixologists." Yep: Mixologists. So for anyone who things the contemporary bar scene coined (and has been abusing) the term, you're at least 50-plus years out of date in your disdain.
While we know winning this contest made Carrillo eligible to compete at the International Bartender's Guild competition (he won the trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, to do so, too), we haven't been able to unearth how he fared there. But if you want to give his winning recipe a shot, here it is!
Honeymoon Cocktail
1 ounce brandy
1 ounce orange juice
1/4 ounce Cointreau
1/4 ounce Falernum
Shake over shaved ice and serve
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