Liberal Cocktail was first published in Jacob A. Grohusko’s 1908 Jacks Manual where he calls for equal parts of rye whiskey, Italian vermouth, and a dash of Picon Amer.

The recipe also appears in Jacques Straub’s 1914 Drinks Manual but was is in Albert S. Crockett’s 1935 Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book where the recipe changes to the one we know today with a dash of Orange Bitters.