A Post-Prohibition Collection of Pre-Prohibition Drink Recipes Combined with Delightful and Humorous Anecdotes

A.S. Crockett

177 pages
This edition published in 2003
Originally published in 1935

The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book was put together after Prohibition to rekindle the almost lost art of the cocktailian bartender. This art had suffered mightily during the dark days of speakeasys, bathtub gin, and other noxious libations. Albert Stevens Crockett, who was the historian of the Old Waldorf-Astoria hotel, compiled this tome in order to help barmen rediscover the old ways.

And the barmen needed the help. As Crockett recounts, most of the competent drink slingers had either died out or moved to Europe to practice their craft.

When the repeal of the prohibition amendment was accomplished, on December 5, 1933, proprietors of New York hotels and restaurants made the discovery that good bartenders, men who knew anything at all about mixing cocktails, were scare. Most of the old-timers had died off, or forgotten what they had known. Steamships and clubs were raided; barmen were even imported; but it is a good hazard that out of every ten men employed to mix cocktails on that historic day of Repeal, not more than one really knew the rudiments of his trade.

Crockett starts with a brief history of Prohibition, and its effects on the bartending craft. He then offers a few words on the Waldorf-Astoria bar, the origins of the cocktail, and some notes on drinking at the time in the United States and across the pond. He then gives some background on some of the drink recipes he includes in the book.

The Spanish-American War produced distinctive drink nomenclature. The guns of Santiago awakened reverberation in the Waldorf Bar, and shook up what was termed a Santiago Sour--not, however, strictly a cocktail; no more was Hobson's Kiss, reminiscent of an episode that, alas! served to discredit the hero of the Merrimac. Then there was a Schley punch, a Shafter cocktail, and another which took its name from Admiral Dewey, victor at Manila Bay.

On page 35, Crockett gets down to business with a fairly extensive list of cocktail recipes. Some have obscure ingredients (acid phosphate comes to mind), but most recipes are quite mixable and interesting (though there are only so many ways to mix gin and vermouth). Later in the book, we find cobblers, coolers, and cups. We roll through many other types of drinks and end up with sours, smashes, and toddies. There are some non-alcoholic drinks, and Crockett takes us overseas to see what they're drinking in France, Cuba, and Jamaica in 1935. A brief glossary of definitions is provided at the end.

The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book is a treasure trove of information that should be in every serious cocktailian's library. It gives invaluable insight into the state of mixology before and after Prohibition. We see how the recipes have evolved since Jerry's Thomas was throwing Blue Blazers around in the 1860's. We also see how drinks were made before World War II and the subsequent drying out of some recipes as vermouth and other aperitif wines slowly went out of favor. All in all, this is a fascinating read.