Lifetime Achievement Award – Mixology Bar Awards[citation needed]
Joseph "Joe" Gilmore (19 May 1922 – 18 December 2015) was a Northern Irish bartender and mixologist. He was the head barman at the Savoy Hotel's American Bar from 1954 to 1976 and is recognised as the creator of numerous cocktails to mark special events and important guests, a longstanding tradition at the American Bar. Gilmore's best-known creations include the Moonwalk, the Link-Up, the Savoy Corpse Reviver, the Lorraine, and the Missouri Mule.
Early life
Joseph Patrick Gilmore was born on 19 May 1922 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to John Gilmore, a tobacconist, and Margaret O'Connor, a tailor. He was the third of nine children.[citation needed]
In 1938, aged 16, Gilmore moved to London to find work and "adventure". He began working as a wallpaper packer at the Arthur Sanderson & Sons factory in Perivale, later taking up work as a kitchen hand.
Gilmore began his early bartender training at La Coquille, a French restaurant on St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, among other places. While working at the Olde Bell, he served the Welsh millionaire steel baron Kenneth Davies and the aviator Amy Johnson. The couple reportedly asked Gilmore for a dry martini, which he attempted unsuccessfully; Davies and Johnson politely demonstrated how to make one. Gilmore cited this interaction as the spark that fuelled his passion for cocktail mixology.
Career
Gilmore first began working at the Savoy Hotel as a commis waiter at the American Bar. By 1940, aged 18, he was promoted to trainee barman and began his apprenticeship with Harry Craddock, earning £3.10s a week.
In 1969, he created one of his most famous cocktails, the "Moonwalk", to commemorate the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The cocktail is a combination of grapefruit juice, orange liqueur, and rose water, topped with champagne. This was the first drink astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had upon returning to Earth.
Frank Sinatra was a frequent guest to the American Bar whenever he was in London and insisted only Gilmore was to serve him. It is widely believed that the line 'set'em up Joe', from his song "One for My Baby", is a reference to Gilmore.
Created in 1975 to mark the American and Russian link-up in space, the Apollo–Soyuz project. The cocktail was sent to the U.S. and U.S.S.R. for the astronauts to enjoy when they returned from their mission.
Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Personal life
Gilmore never returned to Ireland, but "...never forgot his Irish roots or family background and never lost his soft Belfast accent". He remained a Roman Catholic throughout his life, and died on 18 December 2015, aged 93.
↑Nincevich, Stefano (23 December 2015). "Peter Dorelli e il "suo" Joe Gilmore"[Peter Dorelli and "his" Joe Gilmore] (in Italian). Retrieved 28 January 2017.
