Vintage Cocktails (Hardcover)

by Susan Waggoner (Author), Robert Markel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Over 100 authentic, timeless cocktail recipes. This comprehensive, nostalgia-rich guide to the famous cocktails of yesteryear is complete with an entertaining and informative history of each drink.

From the Inside Flap
"Miss Morris, I'm perfectly capable of fixing my own breakfast. As a matter of fact, I had a peanut butter sandwich and two whisky sours."

Tom Ewell as Richard Sherman in THE SEVEN-YEAR ITCH In this delightful volume, a comprehensive roster of sublime drinks evokes a time when the drinking of cocktails was de rigueur-and more was definitely merrier. Colorfully written and rendered, "Vintage Cocktails: Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920-1960" celebrates the glory and glamour of cocktails-their ascension during Prohibition and continued popularity through the pre- and post-World War II era and beyond. Presented are a wealth of classic recipes-from the iconoclastic Martini, to the original Daiquiri (not frozen, please!), and the knock-your-socks-off Zombie-plus amusing anecdotes about their origins. Both recipes and anecdotes provide a colorful backdrop with which to understand today's cocktail craze. The lively text, accompanied by beautiful vintage liquor advertisements, posters, and labels, also includes tips for making the perfect cocktail, useful drink making terms and famous lines from movies of the era. The glamour of the cocktail-both in its past celebrity and newfound, well-deserved popularity-comes to life in this eminently entertaining book. Bottoms up! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158479058X
• ISBN-13: 978-1584790587
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #609,710 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and informative, a delicious mixture., November 21, 1999

By	Inotherwords (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vintage Cocktails: Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920-1960 (Hardcover)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Cocktails - great stuff!, February 28, 2000

By	Angela Capps (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vintage Cocktails: Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920-1960 (Hardcover)

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!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very beautiful book, but ..., September 3, 2000

By	Trachsler, Walter (Zürich Schweiz) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vintage Cocktails: Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920-1960 (Hardcover)

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.