Created and originally served at New York's old Waldorf-Astoria prior to 1920. This recipe is adapted from Albert Stevens Crockett's 1935 The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book. The drink is named after Sir Charles Spencer 'Charlie' Chaplin (1889-1977), the English slapstick comic actor of the silent film era, who was at the height of his career when this eponymous cocktail was created.
In his 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David Embury's says "At some bars a drink served under the name of "Millionaire" which consists of lime juice, slow gin, and Apricot Liqueur, with a few dashes of Jamaica rum. Since the sloe gin, which is a liqueur, predominates in this drink, I do not regard it as a true cocktail." Embury is more complimentary of what he calls a "Millionaire Royal", proclaiming it to be "a very satisfactory drink."
The Sloe Gin Martinez is a brilliant reconstruction of the Classic Martinez. It was created by London Barman, Oskar Kinberg while he ran his own speakeasy style bar Oskar's Bar in the basement of the, now defunct, Michelin Star restaurant Dabbous.