Seelbach

An easy resolution to keep? Drink more Seelbachs. 

The Seelbach is a bubbly cocktail that patrons at the famous Seelbach Hotel in Louisville were enjoying even long before Prohibition. Unfortunately, the cocktail’s memory and recipe were forgotten shortly after Prohibition and it fell into obscurity. However in the early 1990s, a hotel bartender named Adam Seger discovered the recipe on an old menu in the hotel’s archives. 

Seger soon learned that the Seelbach was accidentally created when a bartender spilled Champagne into a Manhattan after being bumped by a shaggy old dog. Thrilled at the discovery, the hotel immediately added the cocktail to all of its menus and promoted it as a rediscovered classic. It wasn’t long until the Seelbach became incredibly popular thanks to its charming history and backstory. 

Too bad it was all a big fat lie. 

Almost two full decades later, Seger admitted to the New York Times that he had fabricated the entire story to bring in some business to the hotel and build his own reputation. The shaggy dog, clumsy bartender, old menu – all of it totally made up. Yet Seger’s little lie was believable enough to be picked up not just by the hotel, but by historians and publications like “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails” by Ted Haigh and “New Classic Cocktails” by Gary Regan. 

Whether Seger’s stunt should be considered sociopathic or just… creatively entrepreneurial remains to be seen. But whether fact or fiction, the Seelbach itself can be considered delicious. Similar to the Golden Dram, the Seelbach is a bourbon cocktail that’s topped with cold Champagne for a crisp and celebratory flair. While Seger makes a New Year’s resolution to be a bit more honest, try toasting in the new year with a Seelbach or two.