East India No.2

History

An East India No. 2 classically has pineapple syrup (or pineapple juice), while an East India No. 1 instead calls for raspberry syrup.

The earliest East India recipe (No. 1), with raspberry syrup, appears in Harry Johnson's 1882 New and Improved Bartender's Manual, and it's Harry Johnson who also first records the use of pineapple syrup, in his updated East India recipe for his 1888 New and Improved Bartender's Manual.

The use of pineapple syrup in an East India is then supported in tomes such as Robert Vermeire's 1922 Cocktails: How to Mix Them, Frank Meier's 1936 The-Artistry of Mixing Drinks, and Harry MacElhone's 1923 Harry of Ciros ABC-of-mixing-cocktails, all pretty much the same as Harry Johnson's 1888 recipe. Indeed, MacElhone credits the recipe to Johnson.

Harry Craddock's influential 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book stipulates pineapple juice in place of pineapple syrup, and this is repeated in other cocktail books which follow, including William James "Billy" Tarling's 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book. I've honoured all the above by using both pineapple juice and syrup in my version of an East India.

175. EAST INDIA COCKTAIL.
(Use a large bar glass.)
Fill the glass with shaved ice;
1 tea-spoonful of raspberry syrup;
1 tea-spoonful of Curaçoa (red);
2 or 3 dashes of Bitters (Angostura);
2 dashes of Maraschino;
1 wine glass full of brandy;
stir up with a spoon, strain into a cocktail glass, and twist a piece of lemon peel on top, and serve.

Harry Johnson, New and Improved Bartender's Manual, 1882

119. EAST INDIA COCKTAIL.
(Use a large bar glass.)
Fill the glass with shaved ice;
1 tea-spoonful of Curaçoa (red);
1 tea-spoonful of Pineapple syrup;
2 or 3 dashes of Bitters (Boker's genuine only);
2 dashes of Maraschino;
1 wine glass full of Brandy;
stir up with a spoon, strain into a cocktail glass, twist a piece of lemon peel on top and serve.
This drink is a great favorite with the English living in the different parts of East India.

Harry Johnson, New and Improved Bartender's Manual, 1888

75. East India Cocktail.
1 teaspoonful of Curaçao, 1 teaspoonful of Pineapple Syrup, 2 dashes Angostura Bitters, ⅔ Brandy.
Stir up with a spoon, strain into a cocktail glass, serve with a cherry.
(Recipe by Harry Johnson, of New Orleans.)

Harry MacElhone, Harry of Ciros ABC of Mixing Cocktails, 1923

EAST INDIA COCKTAIL.
1/8 Pineapple Juice.
1/8 Orange Curaçao.
1 Dash Angostura Bitters.
¾ Brandy.
Stir well and strain into cocktail glass.

Harry Craddock. The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930