Step into Helena’s storied cocktail heritage with the Julian Anderson Cocktail Trail, a curated journey through bars, restaurants, and a craft distillery paying tribute to Julian Anderson—the legendary barman of the historic Montana Club. Anderson tended bar in Helena for roughly six decades beginning in the 1890s, earning a reputation for refined, “better than the finest” drinks and for educating patrons’ palates long before the modern craft revival.
Born in Virginia around 1860 to enslaved parents, Anderson moved West as a young man and eventually made Helena his home, working at the Broadwater and Merchant’s hotels before finding his place behind the bars of the Montana Club’s elegant reading room and lively Rathskeller. He became a beloved fixture of the Club, serving notable guests (author Mark Twain, stage star Otis Skinner, politician William Jennings Bryan, Prince Olaf of Norway and Belgian royalty. His favorite customer, however, was Teddy Roosevelt.) and members and developing a house style that blended classic technique with personal flair (including mint from his own garden).
In 1919, Anderson published Julian’s Recipes, only the second cocktail book by a Black bartender in the United States (following Tom Bullock’s 1917 The Ideal Bartender). The slim volume captures his approach to juleps, martinis, punches, oyster cocktails, and more, and has since been reissued in a centennial edition.
This trail launches as Helena celebrates the Montana History Celebration & the renovated Montana Heritage Center, inviting locals and visitors to toast the city’s past and present with seasonal specials that rotate and a set of year‑round signatures at each stop. Explore, connect, and experience a taste of our history—glass by glass.
Visit any participating venue in any order. There’s no passport so jump on and off whenever you please. This trail line shakes things up! While many destinations offer year‑round nods to Julian Anderson (classics with Helena twists) others will have rotating seasonal features.
For address and additional details click on the venue’s name.
Sip responsibly. Many destinations are a short walk apart, and several spots offer great food and sharing plates to compliment your Julian Anderson Trail Line experience. Rideshare and designated drivers encouraged.
Trail Map Available Soon! A pillar of Helena hospitality: Anderson became synonymous with the Montana Club, presiding over multiple spaces and earning loyalty that once even swayed the board to keep him during lean times.
National culinary significance: With Julian’s Recipes (1919), he entered American cocktail history—the second published Black bartender—and his legacy continues to inspire contemporary authors and bartenders.
A signature style: Famous for his Mint Julep, Anderson garnished generously and sourced mint from his own garden, a farm‑to‑bar ethos decades ahead of its time.
A remarkable life: Anderson retired in 1953, returned to the Club for a celebration of his presumed 100th birthday in 1960, and is recorded as having died in 1962 at approximately 102 years old.
Listen to the history of Helena in this specific Julian Anderson trail at your own pace.
Discover the past of these unique participating destinations.
Free! Just download the app and enjoy.
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