02:36 PM
A sip of history
Vintage, vintage, vintage…
This morning I looked at Paul Ricard’s website, "Exposition Universelle des Vins et Spiritueux". Inspired by an antique collection bearing the same name, the site constitutes an on-line encyclopaedia about the world of spirits. And, hidden behind a large selection of old and rare bottles, the site conceals references to a handful of long forgotten books from the past. So what? you might ask, and I wouldn't blame you, I asked myself the same question. What's the use of knowing that some French dude has a pile of dusty old books in a basement? Well, here's the point: by simply clicking on the webpage you can download the pdf versions of these tomes for free.
Dedicated to cocktail recipes, these books were all written between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Five are in French, one in German, and the remaining five are in English. They are all mainly focused on English-American cocktails. Let's take only one example (you can check out the rest in your own time):
William J. Tarling's Café Royal Cocktail Book
Written in 1937 by the head bartender at Picadilly's Café Royal, this work was published by the United Kingdom Bartender’s Guild. Basically, it's a sort of compilation: all the best recipes from London's top bartenders of the time. For years, the limited number of printed copies made this book into a legendary edition, especially seeing as it contains the recipes for some of the earliest vodka and tequila-based cocktails. Now, thanks to the Internet Gods, it’s available to everyone and is completely free! So, if you care to take a sip from cocktail history, just click here.
And keep in mind what George Orwell- who certainly knew how to handle his drink- said : "Who controls the past, controls the future".
- American Bar (1900) - PDF
- Approved Cocktails (1937) - PDF
- Bariana: Recueil de toutes boissons américains et anglaises (1896) - PDF
- Boissons Hygiéniques - PDF
- Café Royal Cocktail Book (1937) - PDF
- Cocktails De Paris - PDF
This morning I looked at Paul Ricard’s website, "Exposition Universelle des Vins et Spiritueux". Inspired by an antique collection bearing the same name, the site constitutes an on-line encyclopaedia about the world of spirits. And, hidden behind a large selection of old and rare bottles, the site conceals references to a handful of long forgotten books from the past. So what? you might ask, and I wouldn't blame you, I asked myself the same question. What's the use of knowing that some French dude has a pile of dusty old books in a basement? Well, here's the point: by simply clicking on the webpage you can download the pdf versions of these tomes for free.
Dedicated to cocktail recipes, these books were all written between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Five are in French, one in German, and the remaining five are in English. They are all mainly focused on English-American cocktails. Let's take only one example (you can check out the rest in your own time):
William J. Tarling's Café Royal Cocktail Book
Written in 1937 by the head bartender at Picadilly's Café Royal, this work was published by the United Kingdom Bartender’s Guild. Basically, it's a sort of compilation: all the best recipes from London's top bartenders of the time. For years, the limited number of printed copies made this book into a legendary edition, especially seeing as it contains the recipes for some of the earliest vodka and tequila-based cocktails. Now, thanks to the Internet Gods, it’s available to everyone and is completely free! So, if you care to take a sip from cocktail history, just click here.
And keep in mind what George Orwell- who certainly knew how to handle his drink- said : "Who controls the past, controls the future".
- American Bar (1900) - PDF
- Approved Cocktails (1937) - PDF
- Bariana: Recueil de toutes boissons américains et anglaises (1896) - PDF
- Boissons Hygiéniques - PDF
- Café Royal Cocktail Book (1937) - PDF
- Cocktails De Paris - PDF
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02:31 PM
Bariana: Recueil de toutes boissons américains et anglaises (1896)
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