There are many drinks that have claimed the name “Millionaire Cocktail” using other base spirits like gin or rum. However, this recipe is the first recorded recipe for the Millionaire. The whiskey-based recipe originally appeared in Harry MacElhone’s 1923 ABCs of Mixing Cocktails, credited to the Ritz Hotel in London.
Harry’s Millionaire Cocktail calls rye whiskey, orange Curaçao, grenadine, and an egg white. Modern versions of this cocktail have added dashes of absinthe, pastis work well as a substitute. The flavor is complex, sweet-citrus with the hint of aniseed, smoothed out by the egg white.