Joe Gilmore

Joseph "Joe" Gilmore (19 May 1922 – 18 December 2015) was a renowned bartender and famous mixologist during the 20th century. He was 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 most famous creations include Moonwalk, Link-Up, The Corpse Reviver, Lorraine, and 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 tailoress, from Belfast, Ireland.

He was the third of nine children.

In 1938, aged 16, Gilmore moved to London looking for work and "adventure". He began working as a wallpaper packer at the Arthur Sanderson & Son's factory in Perivale, London, 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. By 1940, aged 18, he was promoted to trainee barman and began his apprenticeship with Harry Craddock, earning £3.10s a week.

In 1954, Gilmore took over as head bartender. Over the following two decades Gilmore created new cocktails, especially to honour special occasions and important guests, including Princess Diana, Prince William, Anne, The Princess Royal, The Queen Mother, Sir Winston Churchill, and American Presidents Harry S. Truman and Richard Nixon.

In addition to serving five generations of royals at private receptions and parties, Gilmore frequently served Errol Flynn, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Grace Kelly, George Bernard Shaw, Ernest Hemingway, Noël Coward, Agatha Christie, Alice Faye, Ingrid Bergman, Julie Andrews, Laurence Olivier, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and Winston Churchill.

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 the line from Sinatra’s One For My Baby "set’em up Joe" is in reference to Gilmore.

Gilmore retired from the Savoy in 1976. A letter of thanks was later sent from Neil Armstrong to Joe Gilmore.

My Fair Lady Created to mark Julie Andrews’ first night in the musical My Fair Lady.

Nixon Created in 1969 to mark American President Richard Nixon's visit to Britain. The cocktail was mixed at the American bar and then sent over to Claridge's where Nixon was staying.

Powerscourt

Created for Sarah, Duchess of York’s

The Ed Shelly

Created for Edward Shelly at his request.

Royal arrival Created in 1960 to mark the birth of Andrew.

Savoy affair Created by Joe Gilmore at the Atlantic Hotel, Hamburg, Germany.

Savoy royale Created for The Queen Mother on one of her private visits to The Savoy.

Savoy corpse reviver The Corpse Revivers are a series of hangover cures invented during prohibition. This recipe is a variation invented by Gilmore in 1954.

Wolfram

Created in 1990 to commemorate the election of John Wolff Director of Rudolf Wolff as Chairman of the London Metal Exchange. "Wolfram" is another name for the element tungsten.

Personal life Gilmore married Marie Jeanne Zambelli in 1943. They had three sons.

During The Blitz, Gilmore helped protect The Savoy by working as a fire warden from its roof.

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.