Each drink worked hard to get on the list: Saunders's trial-and-error system became legendary. She’d enlist the staff to make, say, 25 versions of the same drink, each slightly different, until they hit on the right proportions and ingredients.

“Wrestling over details like a dash of bitters or not, or quarter-ounce versus a half-ounce, could go on for almost an hour for one cocktail,” remembers former Pegu bartender Phil Ward. “It was a lot to taste and sometimes a bit hazy to finish your shift afterward.”

Getting a good cocktail recipe right is not an accident. (courtesy @cocktailnotes)