By: Jenny Castro
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 6/17/25
Released last February, Andre Darlington’s “Cowboy Cocktails,” is a unique take on 60 drink recipes inspired by culture from the American West. Darlington, a best-selling author of 12 cocktail books, is ecstatic over his cowboy take on cocktails and did much research in preparation for the book which included traveling to Texas, “This ended up being one of my favorite books I’ve ever worked on,” Darlington said. Adding, “And I’m one of those people that do a deep dive. And so, from the cocktail world and perspective, we kind of focus on the East Coast, right? We basically know what cocktails were like in Chicago, New York, and maybe San Francisco during the gold rush or during prohibition. So, everything’s very East Coast urban focused in general, so I was really excited to do research on what people were drinking during the cowboy era which I’ve identified as sort of post-civil war up to the turn of the century. So late 1860s to 1900 or 1890s up to 1900. And it’s just like this largely unresearched area, and I had such a blast discovering this particular time period.”
For research, Darlington read many cowboy books and journals searching for information on beverages, but also spent some time in San Antonio, Texas where he learned more about the history of cowboys and their drinking preferences while utilizing cattle maps to find historical trails along the way. “Everything that’s in here is something that cowboys would have run into on the trail or when they went to town with money. What I really discovered as a surprise is when they came in with their earnings, they were not ordering whiskey. They actually wanted sugar, because they didn’t have access to sugar which was really expensive, and there would have been none out on the trails,” he said. Darlington also notes that cowboys loved champagne and whiskey mixed with liqueurs and at the time sugar was a sign of wealth coinciding with the fact that wealthy people loved to drink fancy cocktails with fruit in them, “When they (cowboys) were rich from their earnings, they wanted that too which is kind of a surprise,” Darlington adds.
In Western films, Darlington also notes that cowboys are mostly seen drinking shots of whiskey in dirty bars, a common but general stereotype. Darlington wants people to know that a whole class of gamblers actually existed who loved drinking a variety of exotic drinks. “In these gambling saloons, there was a lot of fancy liquor,” he said. Adding, “Doc Holliday for instance had a real sweet tooth. He loved maraschino liqueur and champagne. And for this book, it’s perfect for people who want to just grill out in their backyard and have something that goes with a charred steak. But I also wanted it to be pretty historically accurate as well.”
In the book readers will find a mix of recipes and playful drinks such as, “I’m Your Huckleberry,” a fun take on the saying from 1993’s Tombstone film featuring Val Kilmer. According to Darlington, it turns out gambler Doc Holliday actually stated such words. Inspired by the saying, this particular cocktail features bourbon whiskey, huckleberry syrup, fresh lemon juice, and Angostura bitters. Other cocktail recipes include “The Alamo City,” featuring reposado tequila, sarsaparilla syrup, 1 egg, and a dash or orange bitters, and “Billy the Kid,” named after historical American outlaw Henry McCarty also known as “Billy the Kid.” That drink features some bourbon, coffee liqueur, Licor 43, and cola. With 60 recipes and beautiful photos to accompany them, Darlington admits this book was extremely special to him, “I had a pretty emotional connection with this book just because this is really what Americans were drinking during this era and in that particular area of the country. At this time, cattle was also a major commodity product, which is kind of how the United States raised itself up to a minimum GDP and helped create the American economy,” Darlington said.
For readers, they will absolutely enjoy the blend of recipes, stylish photos, and historical narratives behind each cocktail.
Find “Cowboy Cocktails” on Amazon here.
Visit Andre Darlington’s Official website below
