THE FINE ART OF MIXING DRINKS
Garden City, New York: Garden City Books, 1952. Second Edition. Hardcover. Second edition of one of the fundamental "cornerstone" mixology books of post-Prohibition Twentieth-Century. Publishers write: "This is...not just a compilation of recipes, nor a slapdash collection of smart chatter and bitters -- it is delightful, urbane reading for the expert, and precise, detailed guidance for the novice who aspires to prepare drinks which are palatable, not merely potable..." (front flap)
Octavo. Beige, buckram-covered boards with two bottom corners bumped. Toning to pages (cheap paper). Chock full of drinks and accompanying lore for the bon vivant.--- ahhh, Innocence, where didja make off to; we hardly knew ye! Clean copy in a chipped and worn dustjacket. Very Good Minus in Good Only Dustjacket. Item #86912
"Eggs, cream and sugar do not make a drink milder - they only make it taste milder and postpone the effect. The alcoholic content of the drink will sooner or later reach the blood stream and according to the capacity of the individual, will produce the same effect whether it be thirty seconds or thirty minutes after the drink is consumed."
"That is why sweet drinks and creamy drinks are dangerous. They taste harmless, so the drinker has another and another and maybe still another. Later on he experiences he cumulative effect of the entire lot."
"Furthermore, such drinks do not stimulate the appetite; they smother it. One of the most deadly of this kind is the Alexander. It is not a prelude to a meal; it is a meal in itself. And by the same token, probably the most perfect apertif cocktail ever invented is the Martini. It sharpens the taste; it makes the stomach fairly cry out for food; and since its reaction time is practically instantaneous, it gives fair warning to the drinker not to take too many" (rear dustjacket panel).
Price: $225.00