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.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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.

THE DRAPER TOUCH: The High Life and High Style of Dorothy Draper, beautiful book and wonderful story of a groundbreaking lady

THE DRAPER TOUCH: The High Life and High Style of Dorothy Draper
CARLETON VARNEY
Shannongrove Press (non-affiliate Amazon link)
$100.00 hardcover, available now

Vale Carleton Varney. Little did I know, he died the day my review appeared.

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: A must have for those fascinated with the history of the interior design business as well as the history of New York City, where Draper lived and designed some of her most famous projects such as the Carlyle Hotel–Features personal and archival photographs by fashion and society photographers Edward Steichen, Cecil Beaton and André Kertész whose images were published in the 1920s in Vogue magazine–Insightful texts are based on interviews with Draper's family, former staff of the company and the author's personal memories of Dorothy Draper who was referred to as the 'Duchess of Decorating'–Extensive appendices that include never-before-seen Draper documents

Designer and interior decorator Dorothy Draper's color-filled life story is one of high society, money, gossip, and throughout it all, reinvention. Carleton Varney has owned and directed Dorothy Draper & Company, Inc., for almost 60 years. He worked with Mrs. Draper at the end of her illustrious career, and wrote the only biography of her life, The Draper Touch: The High Life and High Style of Dorothy Draper, in 1988. In the book, Varney sets the scene and defines the milieu that Draper was born into in 1889 and from which she escaped to become one of America's leaders in design—a true visionary entrepreneur.

Thirty-three years later, Shannongrove Press is releasing this deluxe edition of The Draper Touch. With a new foreword by Varney, newly found photographs, recently discovered historical documents from a private collection, and archival ephemera from Draper's family, this beautiful tome reveals Draper's fascinating journey and the real stories behind her ground-breaking work.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Carleton Varney's name is now more recognizable than Mrs. Draper's is. At an earlier time, Mrs. Draper was IT in the world of fashionable design.

What mostly matters in looking at this book isn't familiarity with Mrs. Draper but an openness to learning about the essential skills of design and, frankly, all of life: Decide what you want and go get it. So simple! Except when it comes to doing it. Mrs. Draper was born with every material advantage a person could have. Her doom, in the ancient Celtic sense, was to be a frivolous ornament to a man's life. That might be what Society had in mind, but Mrs. Draper begged to differ, and when circumstances forced her hand she strode forward (a very, very tall person for any era, over six feet!) to meet the world on her own terms.

The design of this book is, unsurprisingly, the reason it exists. It's lush and luxurious. Dorothy Draper lived in a time before color photography was common...she died in 1969 at almost 80...so most of what we see isn't twenty-first century Technicolor Architectural Digest stuff that we're so accustomed to. But to counterbalance that, look at that list of famous early-twentieth-century photographers! These are beautiful images...though there are not a lot of room portraits, so get that out of your expectations early. Instead we have something more intimate, more revealing than the lady's public aesthetic: Portraits, snapshots, items that truly reflect Mrs. Draper herself, not only her work but her world.

You might well have read something of Carleton Varney's work before, being as he's a columnist and an author of long standing. His style is breezily companionable and approachable. He doesn't pull his focus to show Mrs. Draper, or her clients, only in soft lights...but he soft-pedals that drama that no doubt occurred all too often, without ever ignoring it. Big personalities make big enemies, after all, so pretending she was universally loved...well. It's not like Author Varney isn't offering a bouquet of vintage cabbage roses and a box of pâtisserie from Fauchon, he simply does so without dishonest concealment.

I saw this book and was instantly transported to my past. Mama was a Draper devotee, and I read her books...Decorating is Fun! and Entertaining is Fun!, now republished by Shannongrove (non-affiliate Amazon links)...when a teenaged faggot. How much they influenced my mother was very clear, I only had to look around our house to see the myriad Draper touches. I never had a white wall in my home! Although there was entirely too much pink for my taste, thanks to Draper...a color I still abominate.

This read was a delight, a way to re-experience pleasant formative memories, and a very informative look at the life of a rare woman of business, boss of many men, in an era when they were uncommon entities indeed.

Lawrence Durrell's Last Book, and a beauty it is

CAESAR'S VAST GHOST: Aspects of Provence
LAWRENCE DURRELL
Out of Print, available from all imaginable online booksellers

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Before Peter Mayle there was Lawrence Durrell, who for more than 30 years made Provence his home. In this, his last book, he distills the affection and understanding of half a lifetime, describing the rich culture and giving breath to the history that still invests the land. 39 color photos.

My Review: This gorgeously illustrated trip through Mr. Durrell's experiences in Provence over the course of three-quarters of a century (1920s to 1990s) was a delight. I don't habitually read books of the An Italian Education or Toujours Provence ilk. I tend to want to experience a place for myself, or simply not to care about it. This is an excellent book, though, because it's not larded through with carefully thought out "random musings" or cursed with the destination-article breathlessness that I experience in so many place-books.

Durrell's prose is a polarizing factor about the book. One will either enjoy its lyricism:

What are the French really like? ...I found myself thinking back to my own early youth, to the first shock of my encounter--at about twenty years of age--with Paris. It was like a sudden unpremeditated chord on the piano--a chord I had never struck before. The city was full of a subtle sort of oxygen which mounted to the head.

on p27
Or one will be repulsed by its phony-tony-ness (example above again). I was about evenly split in my decisions on his style, but in the end I felt I had so much more pleasure from it than I had wincing pains, that I came down on the plus side.

The lovely object of the book itself is a sheer pleasure to hold. It's an oversized book, though not a huge one; it's a four-color book with many nicely chosen images to illuminate the text. Arcade Publishing bought the book in from Faber and Faber, the UK originators of it, back in 1990-91. Its beautiful four-color endpapers, a riot of color in a drawing by one Oscar Epfs (of whom I had never before heard), are exemplary of something I miss in today's more somber book production: A sense of the object "book" as a desideratum of its own, separate from whatever merits and qualities the text might have.

I don't recommend this to fans of Peter Mayle, but rather to fans of lyrical prose and leisurely impressionistic immersive reads.


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