The first written of the Toronto cocktail was as “Fernet Cocktail” in Robert Vermeire’s 1922 How to Mix Them. He describes it as being “much appreciated by the Canadians of Toronto”, from where takes its name.

Unfortunately, because the importation of alcoholic beverages to Ontario was banned as a result of the 1921 Prohibition Referendum, a reliable source for the Italian-made fernet would not have been available and the cocktail would be forgotten.

Later, the cocktail was published as the Toronto Cocktail in David A. Embury’s 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, with slight measures adjusted.