The original version of East India cocktail was first published in Harry Johnson’s 1882 New and Improved Bartender’s Manuel and believes to be named after the East India Company – the company accounted for half of the world’s trade, particularly in basic commodities including cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, spices, saltpetre, tea, and opium.

Perhaps being the favourite with English living in the different parts of India and South East Asia, the original recipe was calling for red Curacao liqueur.

But there’s something interesting… In the edition of the 1882 New and Improved Bartenders Manual, he changed the recipe from raspberry syrup to pineapple syrup in the following editions of 1888 and 1900.

This really shows a transition of the drink but didn’t stop there. Throughout the time bartender had been adapting the recipe. We can find it in William J. Tarling’s 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book and also in David A. Embury’s 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.