🏠» Cocktails » Swank Cocktail Guide: 80 cocktails in 80 days

The Millionaire No. 1 is cocktail number 55 on the Swank Cocktail Guide.
Millionaire No. 1 cocktail history
Numerous beverages have used the Millionaire name over the decades, whether as a cocktail, punch, or sour. In 1905, a Millionaire Cocktail with a peculiar drinking style was described as:
“It’s foundation is a martini, but syrup and lime juice complicate the mixture. Unlike most mixed drinks it is not to be taken slowly, but gulped down, the peculiar after taste giving it especial merit.”


Jacques Straub’s 1913-1914 Millionaire recipes
In 1913, Jacques Straub published a Millionaire Cocktail recipe containing Rye Whiskey and Curaçao. The following year in his book, Drink, Straub added a punch and a sour to the Millionaire recipes.



Harry McElhone’s Whisky-based Millionaire Cocktail
In 1930, Harry McElhone in Harry” of the New York Bar Paris (Late of Ciro’s’), ABC of Mixing Cocktails, listed a whisky-based Millionaire Cocktail recipe on page 59:
182. Millionaire Cocktail
1 white of a Fresh Egg, 2 dashes of Curaçao(Orange), 1 teaspoonful of Grenadine, 2/3 Canadian Club Whisky. Shake well. Strain into cocktail glass. (Recipe from Ritz Hotel, London)
William T. Boothby’s Four Millionaire Cocktails
Hon. William T. Boothby’s 1934 “Cocktail Bill” Boothby’s World Drinks and How to Mix Them, contained four Millionaire cocktail recipes on pages 115-116: Millionaire, Millionaire No. 2, Millionaire No. 3, and Millionaire Royal.
Millionaire
- Whisky 1/2 jigger
- Grenadine 1/4 jigger
- Curaçao 2 dashes
- Egg 1/2 of white
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and serve.
Millionaire, No. 2
- Gin 1/2 jigger
- Anisette 1 dash
- Absinthe 1/4 jigger
- Egg of white
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, grate nutmeg over and serve.
Millionaire, No. 3
- Rum 1/4 jigger
- Apricot Brandy 1/4 jigger
- Sloe Gin 1/4 jigger
- Granadine 1 dash
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and serve
Millionaire, Royal
- Whisky 1/2 jigger
- Absinthe 2 dashes
- Grenadine 1/4 jigger
- Curaçao 1 dash
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and serve.
Comparing Boothby’s recipes:
- Millionaire is similar to Jacques Straub’s 1913-1914 version.
- Millionaire No. 2 is similar to the Swank Millionaire No. 1
- Millionaire No. 3 is similar to the Swank Millionaire No. 2
Millionaire No. 1 cocktail recipe

2/3 Dry Gin, 1/3 Pernod, 1 Egg White, 1 dash Anisette. Shake well with ice and strain into glass.
Ingredients used:
- Ford’s Gin
- Pernod
- Hiram Walker Anisette
- Pete and Gerry’s Organic Egg Whites
Millionaire No. 1 cocktail review
Our ratings (1-5 🍸)
Greg: 🍸
Kim: 🍸
Perhaps the most licorice-flavored beverage we’ve ever attempted to drink. A sip and a pour down the sink.
We recognize this cocktail contains raw eggs so, while we made and enjoyed this cocktail, we don’t recommend drinking anything with raw eggs, so our advice is to skip this one.
Next up… Cocktail # 56, Millionaire No. 2