01/10

Tadeáš Hájek z Hájku, the first Czech to publish a description of beer production in his work “ On Beer and its Making, Character, Potency and Qualities” was born (1525).

03/10

Alex Introvigne, the head barkeeper of the Venice-Simplon-Orient Express Piano Bar, arrived in Prague in his bar; among his specialties are -for instance- the Spark Plug: he mixes 7cl of grappa, 3cl of maraschino, and a dash of angostura in a mixing glass and serves the drink in a cocktail glass (1996).

04/10

The first London cocktail bar closed (1851).
The Orient Express set out on its maiden voyage from Strasburg railway station in Paris to Giorgiu in Rumania; the train had a luxurious dining car with a smokers’ compartment (1883).

05/10

The first batch of beer was brewed in the Plzeň Municipal Brewery – the current Pilsner Urquell (1842).
Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Cuba and thus indirectly paved the way for the establishment of the so called Cuban bartender school, which uses fresh fruit juices and cane rum in abundance (1492).

08/10

The liquor Fernet Stock Citrus was first presented in Prague and Brno (1997).

09/10

The second regular general meeting of the International Bartenders’ Association was held in the Venetian Royal Danielli Hotel; the Deutsche Barkeeper Union‘s membership was approved (1953).

10/10

In a diary written by bon vivant and foppish dandy Samuel Pepys we may read the following about gin: “Sir Barten advised me to take some geneva, a potent water made of juniper berries.” (1663).

14/10

The Cuban government nationalized the property of the Bacardi company, which at that time was worth $76 million (1960).
The Princ-Regent and future king of England, George V ordered “The splendid old light cognac from eau-de-vie from the Hennessy company (1817).

20/10

Swiss Roger Lebet was elected treasurer of the International Bartenders Association, a position he was to hold for an unbelievable 25 years (1957).

24/10

The “First International Mixer’s Prize Competition in Recipes of American Drinks, Namely Cocktails,” in Czechoslovakia was held in the Luxor Bar on Wenceslas Square in Prague (1927).
Breweries which in 1937 produced more than 150 000 hl of beer, were nationalized by a presidential decree (1945).

25/10

Four Prague bartenders, among them Viktor Hugo Himmlereich, author of probably the very first Czech manual for bartenders and Berthold “Harry” Reiman,requested the State Political Authorities to endorse the statutes of the International Bartenders Association for the Czech Republic (1921).
Dom Gossard, the procurator of the Hautvillers abbey and Dom Pérignon’s successor, wrote to M. d’Herbes from Ay in Champagne: “It was Dom Pérignon who discovered the secret of making sparkling white wine and how to obtain it clear, without having to decant the bottle...and it is him we have to thank for the cork plugs we use to this day.” (1821).

26/10

The shareholders of Fernet Stock decided to sell 51% of the company’s shares to the Italian Stock Trieste company for 134 million Czech crowns (1993).

27/10

The International Bartenders Association in the Czech Republic operated an American Bar within the framework of a professional exhibition, which took place in Prague Industrial Palace (1922).

28/10

“The World’s Best Bars”, the regular supplement to the magazine Newsweek was published (1996).

29/10

The Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Prague issued a certificate confirming the beneficiary effects of Fernet Stock on health. It has a positive effect as a digestive, enhances liver and kidney functions as well as metabolism, and is also psycho-stimulative (1990).