The Booze: The Southern Cross by William Schmidt

The Box: Cross Box by Robert Yarger

While navigating the perplexing "Cross" puzzlebox, let's sip on something seaworthy. Perhaps a combination of lime juice (we are at sea, after all, and don’t want scurvy), sugar, rum, brandy, curacao and mineral water? The “Southern Cross” cocktail is attributed to William Schmidt, who published “The Flowing Bowl: What and When to Drink, Full Instructions How To Prepare, Mix and Serve Beverages” in 1891 under his moniker “The Only William”. That was before people called themselves by one name – now he would probably be known as “William” and he would be friends with “Beyonce”. He was, after all, a celebrity bartender of the day, often featured in the New York papers, and known for his magnanimous personality and inspired cocktail creations. As you might expect, photos confirm he sported one impressive moustache.

He valued courtesy, politeness and quality in his profession, and was quoted saying that these elements improved the flavor of his drinks, which he called his “liquid pictures”. He was an artist behind the bar, and I’ll happily toast his memory with this tasty combination of rum and lime while enjoying the modern day artistry of Robert Yarger, who also embodies these fine characteristics and more. Robert is an artist and a gentleman, and his incredible work might be considered his “wooden stories”. Now I’ll set sail again and leave you with Steven Stills once more: “I have been around the world, Lookin' for that woman girl, Who knows love can endure, And you know it will” … Cheers!

The Southern Cross by “The Only” William Schmidt circa 1891:

“Juice of 1 lime” (I used 1 oz)

“A dash of mineral water”

“a spoonful of sugar” (I used ½ oz simple syrup)

“2/3 of St. Croix rum” (I used 1 ½ oz Plantation white rum)

“1/3 of brandy” (I used ½ oz)

“1 dash of curacao” (I used a barspoonful)

The original recipe calls for stirring and pouring into a “sour” glass but a more modern approach is to shake this with ice well and strain into a favorite glass filled with crushed ice.

For more information about this box and booze pairing see the full article:

Boxes and Booze: Setting Sail