A surviving printed account establishes that the reported practice was documented by its publication date; it does not by itself establish when, where, or by whom the practice was invented.
The earliest known U.S. printed cocktail reference identified by Wondrich dates to 1803Chicago evidence predates the Pendennis Club Old-Fashioned origin storyThe Sazerac was not the first cocktailEarly Manhattan evidence does not support a Jennie Jerome origin or a universal rye formulaTom and Jerry predates Jerry Thomas's invention claimRoutine cocktail icing became established mainly in the 1850sThe word speakeasy predates National ProhibitionDocumentary evidence favors Bourbon County over Bourbon Street as bourbon’s namesakeKeep first mention, first explicit definition, first known formula, and claimed invention separate. Print survival is uneven, so absence before a date is not proof of nonexistence.
Created after complete 419-sheet textual and visual review of Imbibe! and cross-database deduplication on 2026-08-27. Developing until primary period artifacts or another independent specialist source are linked.
One durable idea in original wording, promoted only after full source review and deduplication.
Atomic idea
The Atomic Statement is complete, self-contained, and narrower than a manuscript claim.
Reasoning
Rationale and Implications explains the rule and its consequences. Review Notes preserve the present evidence boundary and next maturity condition.
Provenance
The Imbibe! Literature Note supplies provenance, with Excerpts and Citations providing the evidence chain. Direct Source is retained only for compatibility with the current architecture.
Connections
Approved History, Cocktails, and—where relevant—Styles Tags support retrieval. Related Claims are connected through reciprocal relations.
Maturity checklist
Tomes application after complete supplied-copy reading
Printed pages61–63 (PDF63–65) document an iced Champagne cocktail in a specific Aspinwall setting. Publication in1855 supplies a documentary date; the narrative does not establish invention or nationwide adoption. “Lower documentary boundary” has been replaced with clearer wording to avoid implying that the drink could not have existed earlier. Keep first surviving mention, reported event date, codification, diffusion and invention distinct. This example supports the interpretive rule without establishing that Tomes is the earliest surviving instance. Maturity remains Developing.
Imbibe! fresh evidence audit — October 1, 2026
PDF 252 separates the 1880 attestation from the club's 1881 founding and the later 1882 account. PDF 257 labels the Sazerac supplement undated even though its parent volume is dated 1908. Store publication date, document version and claimed event date separately. Neither an earliest located occurrence nor absence from an archive proves invention. Existing Developing maturity remains appropriate.