Locomotive hot cocktail in a goblet: mulled red wine with honey, egg yolk and cinnamon, based on Jerry Thomas's 1862 recipe

Vintage Cocktail

Locomotive

A richly unusual hot wine cocktail from Thomas's 1862 guide: red wine mulled with honey, curaçao, and egg yolk, served hot in a goblet with a lemon slice. One of the most distinctive recipes in the book — warming, complex, and entirely unlike any modern cocktail category.

  • warming
  • rich
  • honeyed
  • wine-forward
  • spiced
  • eggy
  • citrus
Arthur
By ArthurCocktail HistorianPublished Reviewed
Prep Time
12 min
Glass
goblet
Difficulty
Intermediate
ABV
12%
Yields
1 serving
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The Locomotive is a vintage cocktail, celebrated for its warming and rich character — a consistently top-searched locomotive. Whether you're after a reliable winter option or simply want to master a classic, this 12-minute recipe is straightforward enough for home bars yet refined enough to impress. Perfect if you've been searching for the best jerry thomas.

Key Takeaways

What you’ll learn

  • One of the most unusual recipes in the 1862 guide: hot red wine with honey, curaçao, and a tempered egg yolk — no modern cocktail category covers it.
  • Named for the era's defining technology; locomotive metaphors in the 1860s meant power and invigorating force.
  • Egg yolk tempering requires careful temperature control — wine at 160–170°F, never boiling, added slowly to the beaten yolk.
  • The recipe reflects pre-central-heating American winters where hot drinks served both gustatory and thermal functions.
  • Neither mulled wine nor a flip: the Locomotive occupies its own niche in historical cocktail taxonomy.

Ingredients

Serves
1 serving
Glass
goblet
Prep
12 min
  • 1/2 bottle (approx. 12 oz) per 4 servings — use 3 oz per personRed wine (Burgundy or robust red)
  • 2 tbsp (for 4 servings)Honey
  • 1 dashCuraçao
  • 1/2 tspGround cinnamon
  • 1 per servingEgg yolk
  • 1 slice, to garnishLemon

Method

Preparation

  1. 01

    In a saucepan, gently warm 1/2 bottle (roughly 12 oz) of Burgundy or robust red wine with 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 dash of curaçao, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Do not boil. Beat 1 egg yolk separately until smooth. Slowly temper the warm wine into the yolk, whisking constantly to prevent scrambling. Pour into a large warmed goblet. Garnish with a slice of lemon and grated cinnamon on top. Serve immediately while hot.

Origin

History & Origins

The Locomotive is the most unusual recipe in Thomas's 1862 guide by modern standards — a hot wine cocktail enriched with egg yolk that defies clean categorization. It is not quite a mulled wine (too many modifiers, egg yolk), not quite a flip (wine base rather than spirit), and not quite a toddy (no water, too complex). Thomas simply listed it among his hot drinks and gave it a name that conjured the most powerful machine of his era.

In 1862, central heating was rare outside of the very wealthy. American winters were managed with fireplaces, wood stoves, heavy clothing, and warming drinks. Thomas's hot drinks chapter is substantial — the Tom and Jerry, the Blue Blazer, the Mulled Wine, the Hot Toddy, and the Locomotive represent an understanding that hot cocktails were a genuine utility, not a novelty. The choice to heat wine with honey and egg rather than simply with spices and sugar is a recipe decision that connects American bar practice to the much older European tradition of posset and caudle — medieval warm wine or ale drinks enriched with egg and sweetened with honey that had been winter staples since the 14th century.

The drink's name is an advertisement of vigour. Locomotives in the 1860s were the fastest, most powerful machines human civilization had yet produced. They represented industrial ambition and continental conquest — the transcontinental railroad was under construction as Thomas wrote. A cocktail named after one promised the drinker something stimulating and powerful, a useful marketing claim for a warming egg-wine drink.

A cocktail named after one promised the drinker something stimulating and powerful, a useful marketing claim for a warming egg-wine drink.

The Locomotive has not been seriously revived in the modern craft period. Its combination of hot wine and egg yolk is too unusual for standard menus, and its preparation requires technique (careful tempering) that is not suited to bar service at volume. It remains a home bartender's historical curiosity — extraordinary when made well.

Bartender’s Insight

Pro Tips

Temperature control is critical. The wine must be hot but not boiling when you temper the egg yolk — above 170°F/77°C risks scrambling the yolk, producing an unpleasant curdled texture.

From Arthur

  • Use a full-bodied red wine but not a tannic one. Over-tannic wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo) becomes bitter when heated. Grenache, Côtes du Rhône, or Merlot work better.

  • Warm the goblet in hot water before serving. The drink loses temperature rapidly in a cold vessel.

  • Honey variety matters: a neutral clover honey lets the wine and spice speak; a darker buckwheat honey adds earthiness that pairs well with cinnamon.

  • For a single serving, scale proportionally: approximately 3 oz red wine, 1.5 tsp honey, 1 small dash curaçao, pinch of cinnamon, 1 egg yolk.

At the Table

Perfect Pairings

Roasted chestnuts
Gingerbread or spiced shortbread
Aged Gouda or Comté cheese
Dried fig and walnut bread
Dark fruit cake or plum pudding

Beyond the Classic

Variations

White Wine Locomotive

Use a dry white wine (Alsatian Riesling or Gewürztraminer) instead of red. The floral and spice notes of Gewürztraminer pair beautifully with the honey and cinnamon, producing a lighter, more aromatic version.

Port Locomotive

Reduce the wine quantity by half and substitute tawny port for half the volume. The oxidative nuttiness of the port intensifies the drink's richness and reduces the need for additional honey.

Questions

Frequently Asked

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