This year is the 150th anniversary of the first cocktail guide for bartenders, written by genius bartender Jerry “The Professor” Thomas, also known as “The Father of Mixology.” (Or, as we here could call him, “The Reason We Have This Job.”)

On Friday, the Flagler Museum’s Whitehall Society will raise a glass - or three - to Thomas, to the cocktail itself and to the “Golden Age” of cocktails during the country’s “Gilded Age” in the 1870s. Welcome to “Mixing It Up: Celebrating The History of the Great American Tradition.” Revelers will gather in the gorgeously glass-roofed Kenan Pavilion, in the shadow of Henry Flagler’s private rail car, and enjoy six classic drinks of the era, which might be old, but are probably new to you.

“I’d never heard of most of these,” says mixologist Marty Belviso of Chez Gourmet Catering, who will be on hand to create unique-sounding libations like the Alamagoozlum Cocktail, Pisco Punch, the Sazerac Cocktail, the New Orleans Fizz, the Banana Daquiri (hey, we know that one!) and the bright, whiskey-based Ward Eight, featured here.

The cocktails were specifically chosen by the museum’s executive director John Blades. “They’re very elaborate,” explains public affairs director David Carson, who adds that the drinks match the Gilded Age environs of the museum. At Friday’s event, each cocktail will be accompanied by a poster detailing its ingredients.

The Ward Eight, our featured drink, was a favorite of President Teddy Roosevelt, whose decision to build the Panama Canal influenced Flagler to build his Over-Sea Railroad to Key West. A mixture of rye whiskey, lemon and orange juices, grenadine and a bit of powdered sugar, it’s pungent in pink.

Like the other cocktails on the menu, the Ward Eight packs a punch. “You have to remember that these men were Manhattan drinkers,” Belviso says of the all-alcohol favorite of the day, “so they liked their drinks strong.”

IF YOU GO:

The “Mixing It Up” cocktail event happens Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Flagler Museum, located at 1 Whitehall Way in Palm Beach; 561-655-2833; www.FlaglerMuseum.us

Tickets are $40 for museum members and $50 for non-members, and they’re available at flaglermuseum.us/whitehallsociety

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C O C K T A I L

Ward Eight

3 ounces rye whiskey

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1/2 ounce fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon grenadine

1 sprig mint

Shake the whiskey, juices, sugar and grenadine with ice; strain into a chilled beer goblet. Garnish with mint.