Weird West Texas: The story behind Lubbock's iconic drink, the Chilton

Philadelphia has cheesesteaks. Memphis has barbecue. And Chicago has deep dish pizza. Lubbock: The Chilton.

The simple yet refreshing drink uses an easy three-ingredient recipe that matches the same valued simplicity of West Texas. It's also unique (and for the purpose of this series, we'll say it's weird) in the fact that it's one of the only cocktails in the nation that people can easily connect to its origin place.

Sure, most people know of Joe T. Garcias' famous margaritas in Fort Worth and that the Manhattan and Long Island Iced Tea came from New York City. Some associate the Mint Julep with the Kentucky Derby. But if you're like me, you'd have to search to discover that the White Russian came from Oakland, the Moscow Mule came from Los Angeles and the Sazerac came from New Orleans.

But the Chilton? Anyone familiar with the drink could quickly offer its birth place as Lubbock. And while it might not be as famous as others, it's growing, and if I know anything about West Texans, they're not going to let its founding place get lost.

Before I go any further, let me introduce myself: I'm Brandi D. Addison, the regional agriculture and natural resources reporter for the USA TODAY network in West Texas, and this is the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal's newest series, "Weird West Texas."

Each week, we will explore some of the most odd, eccentric and just plain weird things in our region — from the state's northernmost town of Booker down into the Big Country, westward to the Permian Basin and all the way into the Rolling Plains.

This week's topic focuses on all things Chilton.

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Dr. Chilton

Even after taking additional measures in search for the answer, and finding one source after the other share the same story, it's still pretty murky as to whether the long-told tale holds true.

Local legend says on a warm day, year unknown, at the Lubbock County Club, a guest named Dr. Chilton approached the bartender with a drink request that he'd guide them through step by step. Following suit, the bartender salted the rim of a highball, filled the glass with ice, squeezed the juice of two lemons, poured a standard shot of vodka and topped the drink with soda water before stirring gently and garnishing with a lemon wheel.

And there, the Lubbock staple was born.

In a similar quest for an answer, Texas Monthly heard the same tale, but even after speaking with Lubbock Country Club's employee of longest tenure — 39 years at the time of the Texanist's search in 2017 — the claims remained unsubstantiated.

Cleetta Hatchett, who told Texas Monthly she had started as a bartender in 1978, said the club was serving Chiltons back when she began, and that was the earliest sighting the Texanist could document.

Visit Lubbock shared the same story of the Lubbock Country Club on its Facebook page in 2015, and last summer, United Supermarkets shared it again when debuting the canned Chilton from Tupps Brewery in McKinney. (Unrelated, it's also inspired various flavors deviating from the original cocktail at Flipper's Tavern — including Hippie Juice, which uses elderflower and pear vodka — two sour ales at Two Docs, and even briefly a local club with its namesake.)

Still, no one has been able to fully confirm the truth with someone who was there, or even someone who knew someone that was there.

Samuel "Cousin" Morin, Director of Operations at West Table, says he's spent his days slingin' Chiltons behind the counter for as long as he's been bartending, which is about 13 years. He, too, has heard the same story on repeat but agrees the details could just be hearsay for all we know.

"To be honest with you, I actually love the Chilton because of the fact that it doesn't have a clear answer or a clear origin," Morin said. "I think all the best stories start that way — kind of muddled — because it allows each person to have their own individual take on its origin. I do agree with the Lubbock standard of it starting at the country club; that's the farthest that we can research it back. But the idea of it coming from the country club, I think is really charming."

With the country club's inception in the early 1920s, Morin dates his narrative back to the Prohibition Era, which stretched from 1920 to 1933, because of the ingredients used.

At the time, there weren't a lot of accessible resources, and the Chilton contains all classic ingredients, he points out.

"(For the Chilton), you had to get a clear, neutral-grain alcohol — and vodka was the easiest of those," Morin said. "It was accessible, keeping in mind that Lubbock Country Club started in 1921. So, they didn't really have a whole lot of resources for alcohol."

Now a century later, with thousands of options on the market, Morin says he prefers to prepare his with Come and Drink It vodka, because it's distilled in Amarillo, and the producer has family ties in Lubbock — further engraining itself as a West Texas icon.

Adding in the remaining ingredients — the salt, soda water, lemon and ice — brings a bright, citrusy flavor he says was created specially for West Texans who often found themselves in the scorching sun and ready to just quench their thirst at the end of the day.

"It's meant for sitting on a patio — something that you'd want to drink after you've been out there all day," Morin said. "You know, it's hot outside, and you're dusty from this West Texas wind. And you're just going to want to drink multiple."

"This is literally, by definition, a West Texas drink," he added.

Regardless of the complicated history behind the Chilton, or who Dr. Chilton was, or if Dr. Chilton even existed, we do know that the signature drink had its genesis in Lubbock. And that's just one more reason to appreciate its refreshing blend.

Heard a different tale about this topic? Send it our way — we'd love to hear it! Or if you're curious about one of our region's many oddities, submit your question via email to BAddison@gannett.com with "Weird West Texas" in the subject line or via text at 806.496.4073.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: The story behind Lubbock's iconic drink, the Chilton