The Mixologist Club was a professional association of black bartenders in Pre- Prohibition Washington, DC [1] founded by Robert R. Bowie in 1898. [2] Immediately prior to the enactment of Prohibition, black leaders estimated that 900 black residents of DC were employed in bars as bartenders or porters. [3] [4] [5]
The group was announced in the Colored American, a Washington-area weekly newspaper, with the following announcement:
The group held an annual ball honoring black proprietors and managers of "high class" local restaurants and caterers along with mixologists. The mixologist deemed most popular was awarded a gold watch. [6]