The Old Fashioned's Apothecary

This bar is the main location for my Wine and Dine project and is owned by the character based on the origin of cocktails themselves. The pertinent parts of how his history relates to this bar is through the apothecary.

The apothecary was the doctors office and pharmacy for many hundreds of years. Medicines were created to treat common ailments using a combination of herbs, fruits, animal products, minerals, and even alcohol. The London apothecary Richard Stoughton created the first aromatic bitters in the 1690's, originally advertising them as a hangover cure. By adding a teaspoon of his bitters to a glass of alcohol, you could instantly create "purl" - a botanically infused booze that was believed to be a digestive aid. Originally incorporated into beer and wine, soon Stoughton's bitters were being mixed with spirits, eventually leading to the creation of what we now refer to as an "old fashioned" cocktail.