William T. Boothby

1862–1930

The dean of Bay Area pre-Prohibition mixologists

Bill Boothby bartended in various cities before returning to the Bay Area, where he worked at the Silver Palace, Palace Hotel, and then owned his own saloon. Boothby may or may not have also served in the California State Legislature (as he claimed), but he represented himself as an upstanding and leading citizen with unapologetic saloon associations, calling himself The Honorable William T. (Cocktail) Boothby. Boothby began publishing early—1891—and he revised and republished his book several times across nearly forty decades.