Of the Prohibition era. Book review.

Churchill, who hated mixed drinks, once remarked that “Americans will always do the right thing, having first tried all the alternatives.” His belief falls down when it comes to mixed drinks for Americans have been mixing cocktails since the Prohibition era (1920-33) and continue merrily doing so to this day. And while Prohibition itself is a shining example of the accuracy of his dictum, mixed drinks survive and prosper.

Indeed, the stupidity of Prohibition was the driver behind many of the mixed drinks profiled in this book (not to mention the foundation of the Mob’s fortune), which I purchased some 25 years ago for Sam Sargent’s outstanding photography. I just rediscovered it in my chaotic, randomly sorted library. That’s the best way to store art books as pleasant surprises crop up daily when a long forgotten favorite surfaces, as in this case.

Why mix drinks? Because when all you have is bathtub gin (made in the Bronx) and yucky sweet rum smuggled in from Cuba, you have to kill the awfulness somehow. Today our ingredients are a tad better and mixed drinks survive and prosper.

Amazingly, a quarter of a century later the book remains available.

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Here’s another example of Sam Sargent’s work – each libation is displayed in a period glass – and like the book Sam appears to still be ticking along:

The TNT!

Unless you are a purist like WSC, I encourage you to buy this book for the great staging and photography – and maybe for some high end mixology!

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