How to Mix Drinks or the Bon Vivant's Companion: The Bartender's Guide - Hardcover

'We have often wondered why the art of pouring drinks has fallen into decay in Britain, where a request for a gin and tonic is met with the hapless inquiry, 'Ice and lemon?' In the US, bars tend to be staffed by people who know what they are doing. It is all down to Jeremiah Thomas (1830-85), 'the father of American mixology'; and author of How To Mix Drinks, published in 1862. He offers 300 recipes for drinks, including smashes, fixes, fizzes and cocktails, the last being 'a modern invention, generally used on sporting parties'. Many of Thomas's drinks include sugar or an egg. We had heard of a Gin Fizz, but wouldn't have known how to make one: one tsp sugar; three dashes lemon; one wineglass of gin; ice and seltzer water. Stir and serve. Under 'Fancy Drinks', Thomas lists a number of beverages 'rather troublesome to prepare', some of which involve 'sprigs of green balm', syrup, cloves, vanilla, coriander and nutmeg. 'How To Mix Drinks' is reissued by Hesperus at £9.99 less than two undrinkable g&ts at your once-tolerable local.' --Times Literary Supplement