I retell one of the several stories about the origin of the Gibson and give references to sources for others (M,SU, 141n59). In citing my own source, I made a typographical error.  It should have read: Perrin C Galpin, ed., Hugh Gibson, 1883-1954, etc.

The source of the anecdote about Gibson's invention of the Gibson is named as Neil MacNeil (not further identified) and the date as ca. 1945.  Gibson, in the anecdote, dates his invention to "years ago," when he was serving in the State Department in Washington.  From his biography as it emerges in the book just cited, I judge that Gibson must have been referring to a time before 1920.

Here is a reference to the Gibson that I cannot explain:

In Gumbrecht's In 1926*, I found a quote from a 1926 novel by Paul Morand,** who, in a rhapsodic passage, associates each of several cocktails with a particular place.  He refers to "the 'Gibson' of Yokohama, so unique with its white onion" (74ff. of the novel; 37 of Gumbrecht).  I have no idea what the connection is between the Gibson and Yokohama.

This reference to the Gibson predates the earliest one in OED², s.v. "Gibson," which is 1930 (H. Craddock, Savoy Cocktail Book).

July 23, 2001. The mystery deepens. I have recently come across a Gibson recipe in a 1909 bartender's manual published in Leipzig.*** The recipe calls for one half Gordon's gin and one half French vermouth. For its time, a dry Martini. The garnish, however, is the olive and not the pearl onion. The Martini recipe in this manual calls for one half Old Tom gin and one half Italian vermouth, i.e. the sweet drink that the Martini was in its early years.

*Gumbrecht, Hans Martin.   1997.  In 1926 : Living at the Edge of Time.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
**Morand, Paul. 1926.  Rien que la terre: Voyage.  Paris.
*** Seutter, Karl A. 1909.  Der Mixologist: Illustriertes internationales Getränke-Buch.  Leipzig.

© 2001, Lowell Edmunds