In the early 1900’s it may have appeared to be the height of glamour to travel across the USA by steam train, but the reality was that you would arrive at your destination with your face, hair and clothes covered in the soot belching from the chimney of the engine.
One company, the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad solved this problem by introducing clean burning anthracite coal and they wanted to let everybody know of the difference through an advertising campaign.
Enter Phoebe Snow, said to be the first fictitious advertising character played by a real model. She was an auburn haired, young, feminine, New York socialite dressed in a white dress, white hat and white gloves to symbolise how clean it was to travel on the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad.
But what would Phoebe Snow drink while travelling the railroad? Well, this is where the Alexander comes in. Troy Alexander, a bartender at Rectors, a fancy New York Lobster restaurant where the party to celebrate the advertising campaign was to be held was asked to create a drink for dinner to represent everything that Miss Snow embodied. Troy set about creating a drink almost as white as Phoebe herself.
The original Alexander is equal parts Gin, Crème de Cacao, and Cream, and that is what is in the photo, however, the now more popular Brandy Alexander, also known as an Alexander #2 did not appear until a little later. The exact date is debatable with sources suggesting 1937, however my Savoy cocktail book from 1930 has the Alexander #2 in it so it must have been before that. Oddly enough, my cocktail book also footnotes the Alexander with “Ladies are advised to avoid this Cocktail as often as possible”, perhaps a hint to the calories in the cream 😉
In any case, wherever your travels take you this weekend, and no matter how filthy they leave you, I’ll say cheers and happy travels with a poem from Phoebe. Remember to try both versions, the Alexander #1 with Gin and the Alexander #2 with Cognac. After those 2 you probably won’t care where your travels take you.
Says Phoebe Snow
about to go
upon a trip to Buffalo
“My gown stays white
from morn till night
Upon the Road of Anthracite”