Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them

Cocktails have been around for 200+ years and this book contains some of the mixed drinks that were popular in the US and Europe in the early part of the 20th century. Ted Haigh provides an entertaining history of the cocktail along with background on a good fifty of the hundred vintage cocktail recipes in this, his ode to the mixed drinks of yore. The stories behind the various drinks are insightful and take one back to the early and mid 1900’s, times when cocktails were at a high point in the scheme of western food and business culture. 

Where possible, the author lists multiple variations of more popular drinks and it is fun to taste the subtle differences. He also discusses the very serious matter of ingredients, often suggesting what he considers the most authentic options as well as alternatives. I learned a lot about the history of some of my favorite mixed drinks and I understand better the combinations of ingredients that contribute to the vintage taste that is so much the rage in new style speakeasies popping up all over the country.

There are about 100 recipes and among my favorites are: The Aviation, The Blue Moon, The Brooklyn Cocktail, The Corpse Reviver, Seventh Heaven, The Scofflaw, The French 75, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Cuba Libré, The Gimlet, The Vesper, and Champagne Cocktail. 

Pick this book up and take a trip back to times that were simpler. Experience times when a well mixed cocktail was all you needed to cut loose and enjoy the company of friends and family. These cocktails were the original social lubricant and, thanks to this book, many are experiencing a revival.