Cato Alexander was born a slave, remained illiterate all his life, and is said to have known George Washington. By dint of inherent intelligence and hard work, he rose to become the owner of a highly popular early New York City tavern and has been hailed as “America’s first celebrity bartender.” Unfortunately there are no known images of Alexander, described as “dark-complected, broad-shouldered and sturdy… hospitable and dignified.”
While Alexander’s birth year is generally agreed as 1790, the place variously is given by historians as New York, Virginia or South Carolina. My inclination is to the Southern states where it was illegal to teach a slave to read and write. Early in life the boy Cato fetched up in New york City. That is where he apparently encountered George Washington known for stopping at inns for rest and refreshment. Because Washington died in 1799, Alexander at most would have been a groom, a young boy helping the former President from his horse and tending to the animal.
As he matured Alexander, by dint of his demonstrated abilities, found work in several New York City inns and hotels, learning both to cook and work behind the bar. He became free in 1799 through provisions of the Act For the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, opening new opportunities for the former slave. After a decade of working for others Alexander was able to muster sufficient resources to purchase the two-story building, shown below, and open it as “Cato’s Tavern.”
It was an almost immediate success, favored by the local New York elites. Among his customer base he could count the young people of wealthy families such as the Beekmans and Van Courtlands. Members of the Belvedere Hunting Club, a prestigious sporting organization, met there regularly, another lucrative source of revenue. Alexander had located his watering hole strategically on what was called “The Harlem Road,” today East 54th St. and 2nd Avenue. For young bucks with fast horses, it was ten minutes from the then city limits, then confined to the southern tip of Manhattan. The 1800’s print below features two sporty horse traps racing up the road to Harlem, possibly competing to arrive first at Cato’s.
Once there they would have been treated with topnotch food and drink. Alexander’s signature dishes included roast duck, fried chicken, curried oysters, and terrapin (turtle). His food was widely hailed but took second place to his mixed drinks, among the first to be referenced as “cocktails.” Among his most famous concoctions were his South Carolina Punch, Gin Toddy, below left, and Virginia Eggnog, right.
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The quality of his drinks led the Irish actor Tyrone Power (father of the 1950s movie star of the same name) to declare: “Cato is a great man. Foremost among cullers of mint…for julep” and “Second to no man as a compounder of cock-tail.” In 1835, the New York Mirror opined: "Who has not heard of Cato Alexander? Not to know Cato’s is not to know the world.” When Alexander married Eliza Jackson in 1828, the New York Evening Post printed this verse for the occasion:
Cato the great has changed his state,
From single to that of double;
May a long life with a Jackson wife
Attend him void of trouble.
Another writer, noting the frequent mention of Alexander in the press claims that: “Cato’s name became known all over the U.S….Word of mouth about his legendary [tavern] was spread as far as the tongue could wag.”
Not all New Yorkers were enthusiastic about Alexander’s success. He sometimes was harassed and threatened by whites who could not tolerate a formerly enslaved black man coming so far and rising so high in public attention and esteem. “Trouble” resulted in the shape of brothers George and Andrew Luke who plotted to bring down Alexander. Local tavern owners themselves, they were fiercely jealous of Cato’s success. In January 1831 with others they headed to his tavern on the Harlem Road. They brought with them chains, clubs and other weapons.
Their plans relied on Alexander’s soft heart. The tavern was shut tight. Cato and Eliza were both in bed, when a loud knock was heard at the door. Cato got up to see who it was. Through the door a woman pleaded to him to let her in to get out of the January cold. She said she had lost her way. He obliged and went back to bed. When she was assured the couple was asleep, the woman unlocked the door and let the Luke brothers and their accomplices inside.
The intruders proceeded to wreck the interior of the tavern, smashing mirrors, bottle of liquor, and furniture. Not content with damaging property, they attacked Cato and his wife, who was pregnant and almost beat them to death. It took months for the couple to recover from their wounds and similar time to repair the damage to the tavern. Eventually Alexander was able to recover and be back with a thriving business for at least 30 years.
Whatever his motive, Alexander accrued considerable debt. Whether his illiteracy prevented him from keeping accurate records or for other reasons, he
often was not paid back by those who borrowed. In the process, he accrued at least $100,000 in debts, equivalent to $3,000,000 today. Alexander was ruined financially and forced to close down Cato’s Tavern.
Before long Alexander attempted a new start by opening Cato’s Oyster House in Manhattan. It was not a success, driving the former slave even deeper in debt.
By now approaching 70 years old and in ill health, he shut down the restaurant after one year and retired. Alexander is believed to have died in poverty in New York in February, 1858.
What made Alexander even more remarkable as a mixologist is that, illiterate, he did not have any written drinks recipes. What he knew was the result of bar traditions passed down though the black community and his own experience. Posthumously proclaimed “Father of Mixology,” Alexander’s recipes have been lost in the mists of history.
A self-described “spirits savant” named Alexi Fisher, shown here, has attempted to remedy that sad fact by teaching online courses attempting to recreate the cocktails as Cato might have made them. She includes the well-recognized “Brandy Alexander,” unfortunately not invented by Cato but likely by another New York bartender, Troy Alexander, who held forth at the famed Rector’s restaurant.
Notes: Resources on Cato Alexander are abundant on the Internet. Principal among them are online articles by Sierra Lawson and David Wonderich. The slave turned master mixologist continues to fascinate. Above is the picture of “Cato’s Tavern made the centerpiece a quilt that recently sold online.
January 2, 2023 – “For contributions to the Scotch Whisky industry and the community on Islay.”
