Historic Julian Anderson Cocktail Trail

For sixty years, Julian Anderson stood behind the bar at the Montana Club in Helena, Montana. Born to enslaved parents in Virginia around 1860, he came west as a young man and found his calling in the capital city. He served governors, copper kings, Mark Twain, and Teddy Roosevelt — all with the same steady hand. A teetotaler who never tasted his own creations, he published Julian's Recipes in 1919, only the second cocktail book by an African American in the United States. He retired in 1953 after six decades of service and lived to be 102 years old. This trail visits nine stops across downtown Helena — bars, restaurants, and gathering places connected to the city Julian knew. Each site is narrated in Julian's imagined voice, drawn from historical accounts of his life, his words, and the world he moved through. These are not Julian's actual recordings — they are our tribute to a man whose quiet excellence shaped Helena's story in ways that are still felt today. Press play on the site to hear Julian introduce the site. But if you walk the trail and physically visit the sites you'll hear the deeper story, told the way a bartender would tell it. One stop at a time, one drink at a time, the way Julian would have wanted it.