PRETTY GIFT BOOKS: BITTERS: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas & JAZZ AGE COCKTAILS: History, Lore, and Recipes from America's Roaring Twenties

JAZZ AGE COCKTAILS: History, Lore, and Recipes from America's Roaring Twenties
CECELIA TICHI
Washington Mews Books/NYU Press
$19.95 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: How the Prohibition law of 1920 made alcohol, savored in secret, all the more delectable when the cocktail shaker was forced to go “underground”

“Roaring Twenties” America boasted famous firsts: women’s right to vote, jazz music, talking motion pictures, flapper fashions, and wondrous new devices like the safety razor and the electric vacuum cleaner. The privations of the Great War were over, and Wall Street boomed.

The decade opened, nonetheless, with a shock when Prohibition became the law of the land on Friday, January 16, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment banned “intoxicating liquors.” Decades-long campaigns to demonize alcoholic beverages finally became law, and America officially went “dry.”

American ingenuity promptly rose to its newest challenge. The law, riddled with loopholes, let the 1920s write a new chapter in the nation’s saga of spirits. Men and women spoke knowingly of the speakeasy, the bootlegger, rum-running, black ships, blind pigs, gin mills, and gallon stills. Passwords (“Oscar sent me”) gave entrée to night spots and supper clubs where cocktails abounded, and bartenders became alchemists of timely new drinks like the Making Whoopee, the Petting Party, the Dance the Charleston. A new social event—the cocktail party staged in a private home—smashed the gender barrier that had long forbidden “ladies” from entering into the gentlemen-only barrooms and cafés.

From the author of Gilded Age Cocktails, this book takes a delightful new romp through the cocktail creations of the early twentieth century, transporting readers into the glitz and (illicit) glamour of the 1920s. Spirited and richly illustrated, Jazz Age Cocktails dazzles with tales of temptation and temperance, and features charming cocktail recipes from the time to be recreated and enjoyed.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A very interesting social history of the life and times in which the cocktail culture arose. I was most impressed with the beautiful book design and illustrations, starting with the frontispiece and title page:

Handsome, easy to read, and very well presented. I'm always happy when I see this level of attention from a publisher. Of course, this is only the very first thing we'll see and thus might not see this level of attention inside. It does happen.

Not in this book. An example of a recipe spread:

and this is a character illustration spread:

Clearly presented text, charming images, and then there's the content. Author Tichi's erudition really shows in her clear prose (not unexpected from a Vanderbilt University lecturer in US History of the Modern Age) and her research is amply documented. What it isn't is cited in the text itself...not a terrible flaw in a popular history aimed at intelligent and curious laypeople. Had her audience been fellow academics, she has the information in her bibliography so she could have made citations with ease.

The extent of Prohibition was a mere thirteen years from enactment and enforcement to repeal. It changed the US forever. So many things we take for granted now...government licensing of food and drink establishments, police with paramilitary powers, a strong political urge to control peoples' personal lives to "improve" their morals...started or accelerated during Prohibition. Author Tichi's own academic interests are defined by these changes and their cultural concomitants in literature, art, and technology. In her afterword, she shares the personal dimension of her interest in the era. It is a well-written work of social history, focusing on social issues that arose or were centered at that time, and still a lovely object suitable for Yule gifting to your brother or father. They'll enjoy the history. They appreciate the cocktails' charmingly presented methods and presentations.

A hardcover book is very much a gift item in this day and time. We've had a few supply-chain issue years what with the COVID plague. The charm of this affordable book is that it's been out for a year-plus now and is in stock...an order placed will be delivered quite quickly. Not a small consideration.

I recommend this as a good gifting idea on a topic of enduring interest. It's solid value for money. And it's readily available.

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BITTERS: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas
BRAD THOMAS PARSONS with photos by ED ANDERSON
Ten Speed Press
$24.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Gone are the days when a lonely bottle of Angostura bitters held court behind the bar.

A cocktail renaissance has swept across the country, inspiring in bartenders and their thirsty patrons a new fascination with the ingredients, techniques, and traditions that make the American cocktail so special. And few ingredients have as rich a history or serve as fundamental a role in our beverage heritage as bitters.

Author and bitters enthusiast Brad Thomas Parsons traces the history of the world's most storied elixir, from its earliest "snake oil" days to its near evaporation after Prohibition to its ascension as a beloved (and at times obsessed-over) ingredient on the contemporary bar scene. Parsons writes from the front lines of the bitters boom, where he has access to the best and boldest new brands and flavors, the most innovative artisanal producers, and insider knowledge of the bitters-making process.

Whether you're a professional looking to take your game to the next level or just a DIY-type interested in homemade potables, Bitters has a dozen recipes for customized blends–ranging from Apple to Coffee-Pecan to Root Beer bitters–as well as tips on sourcing ingredients and step-by-step instructions fit for amateur and seasoned food crafters alike.

Also featured are more than seventy cocktail recipes that showcase bitters' diversity and versatility: classics like the Manhattan (if you ever get one without bitters, send it back), old-guard favorites like the Martinez, contemporary drinks from Parsons's own repertoire like the Shady Lane, plus one-of-a-kind libations from the country's most pioneering bartenders. Last but not least, there is a full chapter on cooking with bitters, with a dozen recipes for sweet and savory bitters-infused dishes.

Part recipe book, part project guide, part barman's manifesto, Bitters is a celebration of good cocktails made well, and of the once-forgotten but blessedly rediscovered virtues of bitters.

I RECEIVED AN ARC FROM THE PUBLISHER. THANK YOU.

My Review: This is a classic gift book for the Dad who drinks, has all his basic needs met, and still you need to hand him something under the Yule tree. The book won the 2012 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Beverages. It's not as much a history of the concept of "bitters" as it is a practical guide to using bitters in drinks and food, as well as lovely images of what they could look like.

the back cover with its celebrity endorsements

From my point of view this is the kind of gift that serves your need to acknowledge Dad/father-in-law, his need to expand or polish hs repertiore, and both of y'all to get a good drink.

There are several other food recipes, and the page layout...sorry, no samples are available online...has a column on the outside dedicated to ingredient lists with the illustrations and methods lined up on the inner page gutters. It works to make the usability of the recipes, whether for drinks or desserts, fine for use with book-stands. A nice touch, typical of the publisher; and it translates well to Kindle editions.