The Kiss the Boys Goodbye, a brandy and sloe gin sour from the 1940s, had been nagging at Alessandro “Alex” Pisi. The lead bartender at The Wells in Washington, D.C., has a lot of affection for the cocktail, but he couldn’t live with the fact that he didn’t know precisely where it originated. Since first encountering it during a class with cocktail historian David Wondrich three years ago, he’s been trying to figure out whence the drink had come. “When I found myself scrolling through the Port Authority of New York documents to find any reference to it,” Pisi says, “I was like, Have I gone too far?”

Luckily, Wondrich had the answer. The cocktail was printed in 1949 in Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts. According to Wondrich—an expert on many things, including Esquire’s drink coverage, due to his many years as their drinks columnist—cocktails featured in that book were likely first published in the magazine. And, although that original appearance can’t be readily located, he says that there is an interview with actor Mary Martin in a 1941 issue of Esquire while she was filming a movie called—you guessed it—Kiss the Boys Goodbye.

The film, a comedy starring Martin, Don Ameche and Oscar Levant, was released in August 1941. Though the phrase “kiss the boys goodbye” was used elsewhere, the long tradition of naming cocktails for movies, plays and actors, paired with the interview, make a good case for the drink taking its name from the film’s title.

In its ingredients and construction, the Kiss the Boys Goodbye is a charming relic of its time. It comes off as almost a tribute to the Allies of World War II, with two heritage European spirits forming its base: French brandy and English sloe gin. In the original recipe, these are combined with lemon and egg white. Pisi says he loves the balance the two spirits strike together to make the ideal cold-weather sour. “I like to say you’re getting mulled wine notes,” he says, because the red-fruit flavors of the sloe gin mingle with the pepper and vanilla elements in the Cognac. 

Because the original spec doesn’t specify which type of brandy to use, Pisi tried the drink with Cognac, Armagnac, apple brandy and even pisco. But it’s most likely that a French brandy was used; ultimately, Pisi settled on industry favorite Pierre Ferrand Cognac. Its dried fruit and spice contrast beautifully with the tart, piney sloe gin.

Pisi is a huge fan of sloe gin—a product that fits nicely into the gin-heavy program at The Wells. He loves the way it combines the bright berry flavor of, say, a crème de cassis with the juniper punch of a London dry while both fortifying and sweetening cocktails. Pisi finds that a lot of his guests aren’t familiar with sloe gin, and he relishes the chance to introduce them to it.

The version served at The Wells is essentially the same one Wondrich gave during the class years ago. But while the original Esquire recipe did not call for additional sugar (the original sloe gin used might have been sweeter than those common in cocktail bars today), Pisi opts to include a simple syrup made with pure cane sugar.

At the Wells, the Kiss the Boys Goodbye can be ordered with the egg white of the original recipe—which Pisi describes as offering the “foamy magic” typical of an egg white sour—or without, for a lighter, more refreshing drink. 

No garnish is called for in the original, but at The Wells, bartenders dash a few bitters in the now-common heart design atop the egg white foam; this adds a subtle spiced note in the drink, bolstering the low-key mulled wine vibe. Pisi likes the conversation the bitters have with the brandy. “Angostura or anything that has those deep cacao and vanilla notes,” he says, “match the Cognac side of things.”

The Kiss the Boys Goodbye has been a huge hit at The Wells. Pisi says it appeals to people both for its history in the WWII era and its flavor and texture. For him, there’s just something about the combination of the perfectly balanced split base and the smooth and frothy one-two punch of the simple syrup and egg white. As he puts it: “It’s like laying on a bed with silk sheets, but on top you have a goose-feather duvet.”