Drinking Around the World.
This book is unique and should grace the shelves of any serious mixologist for the same reason that Mrs Beeton’s is in every cook’s library: it makes fascinating reading. Jigger, Beaker, and Glass: Drinking Around the World by Charles Baker is amusing and inspiring.
Author Charles Baker was born on Christmas Day 1895 in Zellwood, Florida. He is best known for his food and drink books and articles, although he did pen one novel which evidently lacked lustre. This present book reflects his love both of mixed drinks and of travel in equal measure.
Jigger, Beaker, and Glass: Drinking Around the World is the cocktail book which Mark Twain would have written had he had a passion for cocktails. This is bar literature, and laced with plenty of exotic recipes and humour. His drinking companions included the likes of Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. Every page reflects a past gone from memory and almost-forgotten cocktails and punches.
The Old Waldorf’s Last
There are remarkable drinks here. It’s true that many ingredients have been lost to time, yet the stories are still fascinating. Pick through the colourful prose and there are still tempting recipes to be found. The Old Waldorf’s Last is a mix of gin, orange curacao and cream, and described as a ‘good ladies’ drink’! The Shanghai Special dates back to 1925. Bengal Lancers’ Punch is from 1926 and is perfect for entertaining a crowd – a large crowd. The Million Dollar Cocktail is from the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and was first shaken in the 1920s.
It’s true that some of these recipes are neither practical nor accessible to the contemporary mixologist, but they provide an absorbing history of cocktails and a glimpse into the life of a true globetrotter and international adventurer.
Jigger, Beaker, and Glass: Drinking Around the World
Author: Charles Baker
Publisher: Lyons Press
Price: £17.99
ISBN-13: 978-1493079995