The drink is a simple variation on a plain whiskey or cognac "Cock-Tail" (alcohol, sugar, water and bitters) and could have been ordered in any latter 19th Century bar in the U.S. as a Whiskey Cocktail with a dash of absinthe.
The drink is a simple variation on a plain whiskey or cognac "Cock-Tail" (alcohol water). The drink is a simple variation on a plain whiskey or cognac "Cock-Tail" (bitters). The drink could have been ordered in any latter 19th Century bar in the U.S. as a Whiskey Cocktail with a dash of absinthe. Alcohol is sugar.