Jigger, Beaker and Glass: Drinking Around the World [Hardcover]

Charles H., Jr. Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 2001

A collection of lively liquid masterpieces from around the world. Unusual alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages discovered by the author on every continent. From Mint Juleps to Shanghai Cossack Punch.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It's a book to keep by your reading nook or bedside. One of Baker's articles makes the case "Sip Wine, Don't Drink It." And that goes for this book, too, since few articles are more than a page long. (Oregon Wine Magazine )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Derrydale Press (March 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586670506
• ISBN-13: 978-1586670504
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Game
  • #42 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Bartending

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gentleman's Companion, November 25, 2003

By 

Robert Hess (Lake Forest Park, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jigger, Beaker and Glass: Drinking Around the World (Hardcover)

It should be noted first, that this book is a faithful reprint (all except the title and cover :-) of the classic "The Gentleman's Companion", first published in 1939. That first edition came as a two book set: "Exotic Drink Book", and "Exotic Cookery Book". The former is the book here in question, the latter has been likewise reprinted under the title "Knife, Fork, and Spoon : Eating Around the World".

If you are expecting the same old "wad-o-drinks" type of book here, then you will be quite surprised in what you find. Mr. Baker has a dry wit, as well as a cunning charm about him. And he exercises it well as he relates to his readers the various drinks that he has collected through his travels and adventures. The recipes often consist of more prose then raw ingredients, which makes them both more interesting to browse through but at the same time slightly more difficult to work from.

For a taste of his style, here is just one of the drink recipes from this book:

SANTIAGO NIGHTCAP, from a STAY in SANTIAGO de CUBA,
in the EARLY SPRING of 1930
------This is another favour passed along to this field
representative and wine tester by the late Senor Facuno
Bacardi, it being his primary thought to donate something
to woo sleep and restore the slightly frayed physical
assembly. It is a simple drink, and would also make a
fine picker-upper. . . . Take 1 1/2 jiggers of Gold
Seal Bacardi rum, add 1 pony of orange curaco and the
yolk of 1 egg. Shake hard with cracked ice and strain
into a large saucer champagne glass.

While the formatting of these recipes may make it a bit more difficult to glean direct recipes from them, they do present a provocative and insightfull snapshot of the cocktail world of those days. Few books, before or since, have even approached this wonderfully eclectic performance.

I highly recommend this book for anybody who has an interest in classic cocktails.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jigger, Beaker and Glass: Drinking Around the World, January 13, 2009

By 

Phinney - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jigger, Beaker and Glass: Drinking Around the World (Hardcover)

Charles H. Baker, author of The Gentleman's Companion, was in an enviable position; free to roam the world, with style, before modernity rolled the earth flat for commerce. It's a book with cocktail recipes but one can do a lot with a drink in hand. The recipes are more remembered than ordered (there is an index) & the story linked to each cocktail is as important. This is not to say that the recipes are not great, they are terrific & worth the trouble to make right, per Bakers instructions.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic, but a word of caution, February 26, 2007

By 

Professor Frank (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jigger, Beaker and Glass: Drinking Around the World (Hardcover)

Many of the recipes in this book vary considerably from how the drink of the same name is prepared today. The author often calls for ingredients which can no longer be procured, but that is to be expected. For the serious cocktail enthusiast, this book is a must-have, and this inexpensive reprint means you won't want to kill yourself if you spill grenadine on it.

The previous person to review this book makes a good point, too. This is not simply a formula book of recipes, but THAT is exactly what makes it a great read. Another perfect example of this is "Cocktail Recipes from the Nineteenth Century - The Flowing Bowl", by Spencer (another recent reprint of a rare old cocktail book.)