Customer Reviews

Vintage Cocktails - Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920-1960

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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Tons o' fun for retroheads -- a must-have for the vintage enthusiast to add to his or her home bar. Not only does it contain terrific vintage drink recipes (as you'd probably expect), but fascinating and wittily written stories about the origins of various libations, complete with anecdotes and classic illustrations. This is a great gift book.

This is a very beautiful book, but some of the drinks are much older than the authors think. If they had taken a look at "The Savoy Cocktail Book" (1930), listed in their bibliography, they would have found the "Rob Roy" before World War II. But the recipe even dates back before World War I. You can find it in "The Cocktail Book" 1902. "Between the Sheets" was born during and not after Prohibition. You'll find the recipe also in "The Savoy Cocktail Book". By the way: A "Between the Sheets" is mixed with light rum, not with gin. Tre recipe given in the book actually is a "Loud Speaker". The "Dubonnet Cocktail" was not born during Prohibition but predates it by at least 12 years. "Horse's Neck" started as a non-alcoholic drink - just a ginger ale with a spiral of lemon peel and ice ("Modern American Drinks", 1895). There was no applejack in the original "Stone Fence". You can find a recipe for a "Stone Fence" with whiskey (Bourbon) and sweet cider already 1862 in "The Bartender's Guide" by Jerry Thomas.

I got this book for a murder mystery party set in 1928 Chicago. What a perfect cocktail book. I chose 3 recipes as drinks of the night, and gave the background on each drink. I liked the book so much, I bought another one to give as a prize to the player who solved the murder first!

This book is fun to read, well illustrated and very entertaining. I find this book useful because you can use the book as a menu of drinks for your friends and guests. My guests leaf thru it and we talk about what we'd like to drink at the next party. It is fun to know little bits of history or trivia about the drinks, and hopefully some of the errors will be corrected in a future edition. I also own the Savoy Bartender's guide and several other drink books and I find there is not as much agreement as you would expect on the ingredients in many famous drinks, so I'm not too concerned about variations - you get to try the different recipes and see what you like. I've never seen a bartenders guide with the correct recipe for a singapore sling - the one from Raffle's Hotel where the drink was invented.

Cocktails are like a lost art form. If you've never had a Ramos Fizz, or a whiskey sour you will marvel at the wonderful tastes and fun ways people have invented for drinks.

Before specialty beers and wines that had to breathe, Americans enjoyed "the occasional cocktail." These wonderful libations were a tribute to a people who knew how to take a few moments out to socialize with each other, without a TV on, perhaps in evening dress, or after work. Cocktails took some effort to prepare, and they were to be sipped over conversation. More than just drinks, cocktails were a reflection of the times, good and bad. This book isn't so much a collection of recipes, but a snapshot of those bygone days. And a fascinating read, as well. Some of the recipes conflict with those from other sources, but like discussions about wine vintages, the reader should leave plenty of leeway. Whether you enjoy cocktails or not, "Vintage Cocktails" is a cool look at an era we may never see again.

This is a great book. Exactly as described. One aside, I can't remember if it claimed to be "New" or "Good", but there was a small scuff on the cover. I will admit, I do not remember what the description said. Otherwise, the book is very helpful along with being interesting. I had a hard time finding a book of mixed drinks that fit what I was looking for. It is more than just 500 drinks you may never get to making, but good 'ol classics that give you historical asides and an opportunity to experiment with recipes.

I got this book for a 1950s themed party I was holding. While it focuses more on Prohibition-era drinks, it has a great selection of classics (and ones no one has heard of) and the history behind them. It even has the "true" version of my favorite drink, the Sidecar.

The history and comments in this book are really great as well as the antique illustrations.

If you like trying drinks that you're not likely to find in many bars, or are simply interested in the origin and original recipes for some wonderful but mostly forgotten cocktails, this book is a home run. These recipes are mostly from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, so you won't see much vodka, but rather many gin, bourbon, and whiskey drinks, along with some liqueurs you've probably never heard of.

I've given this book to at least 3 other people, it makes a wonderful gift for someone who enjoys cocktails and experimenting.

This colorful book contains not only fun recipes but dozens of original ads that are not only works of art but speak of the time period. A full-page ad for Seagram's 5 Crown blended whiskey features a crowned "Mr. Smoothness" character gardening. He's stepped on a rake that sends "Mr. Toughness" flying. "Mr. Toughness" bares an uncanny resemblance to Adolph Hitler. The ad reads "Lettuce beet the axis!"- Says the 5 Crowns.

There were some surprises and some disappointments when working through the recipes. I find that a well done "7&7" can be very tasty. I didn't know that it was considered a Highball. Another drink tried used fresh cream and maraschino liqueur. This turned out to be disgusting as the cream curdled on impact. I don't know if this was supposed to happen but it was quickly poured down the sink. After a bit of experimenting with measurements, I found the "Aviation" likened to a Sour and very good.

This is not the end-all and be-all of cocktail books. They list several sources in the bibliography should you thirst for more. I consulted a few of these and found a number of discrepancies. Some drinks in "Vintage Cocktails" used different alcohols; others were older than listed. If you desire accuracy, this could pose a problem.

If you are a cocktail drinker, you will find several new ones to try as well as original recipes for some of your favorites. If you're idea of a mixed drink is a "Lemon Drop Shooter", flip through this delightful book for a change of pace. This also makes a great coffee table book and conversation starter.