Imbibe! Updated and Revised Edition: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar

by David Wondrich

Overview

The newly updated edition of David Wondrich’s definitive guide to classic American cocktails.

Cocktail writer and historian David Wondrich presents the colorful, little-known history of classic American drinks—and the ultimate mixologist's guide—in this engaging homage to Jerry Thomas, father of the American bar.

Wondrich reveals never-before-published details and stories about this larger-than-life nineteenth-century figure, along with definitive recipes for more than 100 punches, cocktails, sours, fizzes, toddies, slings, and other essential drinks, along with detailed historical and mixological notes.
 
The first edition, published in 2007, won a James Beard Award. Now updated with newly discovered recipes and historical information, this new edition includes the origins of the first American drink, the Mint Julep (which Wondrich places before the American Revolution), and those of the Cocktail itself. It also provides more detail about 19th century spirits, many new and colorful anecdotes and details about Thomas's life, and a number of particularly notable, delicious, and influential cocktails not covered in the original edition, rounding out the picture of pre-Prohibition tippling.

This colorful and good-humored volume is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the timeless appeal of a well-made drink-and the uniquely American history behind it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399172618
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/07/2015
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	26,337
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Wondrich is one of the world’s foremost authorities on cocktails and their history, and one of the founders of the current craft cocktail movement. Esquire’s long-time Cocktail Correspondent, he also writes for a host of other magazines on the subject, and when he’s not writing about it, he’s probably lecturing on it—or resting his liver. Dr. Wondrich holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature, is the winner of five Tales of the Cocktail Spirit Awards for his writing and is a partner in Beverage Alcohol Resource, the world’s leading advanced education program in spirits and cocktails. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Read an Excerpt

ROB ROY COCKTAIL
 
2 DASHES ORANGE BITTERS
½ JIGGER [1 ½ OZ] SCOTCH WHISKY
½ JIGGER [1 ½ OZ] ITALIAN VERMOUTH
LEMON PEEL
ICE
 
Stir and strain into cocktail glass.
 
SOURCE: JOHN APPLEGREEN, APPLEGREEN’S BARKEEPER’S GUIDE, 1899.
 
Notes on Ingredients: Although the early recipes all agree that the Rob Roy contains Scotch and vermouth, after that they’re about as harmonious as a Glasgow pub at last call on a Saturday night. Proportions, brand of bitters, garnish, and kind of vermouth are all very much in play. Personally, I find French vermouth and Scotch to be a nasty combination, so I chose a recipe that agrees with me (it also has the advantage of being the very earliest printed for this drink). If the proportions began at fifty-fifty, as was usual with vermouth drinks, before long they had gravitated to two‑to‑one. With an 80‑proof blend, I prefer the latter; with a 90‑proof one, the former. Of the various bitters suggested, I find orange bitters—and particularly Regans’ Orange Bitters No. 6, with its complex bite—to work the best, although Peychaud’s is also pretty good. And while you’re at it, a twist of orange peel is rather nicer than lemon peel here. Dash of absinthe? As long as you’re asking . . .
 
Notes on Execution: Stir. Strain. Twist.
 

CLOVER CLUB COCKTAIL

JUICE ½ LEMON
½ SPOON [1⁄8 OZ] SUGAR
½ PONY [2 TSP] RASPBERRY [THAT IS, SYRUP]
¼ PONY [½ OZ] WHITE OF EGG
1 JIGGER [2 OZ] GIN
 
Shake well. Strain.
 
SOURCE: ALBERT STEVENS CROCKETT, OLD WALDORF BAR DAYS, 1931 (CROCKETT WAS THE WALDORF’S PRESS AGENT, AND WHEN PROHIBITION CLOSED ITS BAR, HE RECEIVED CUSTODY OF ITS HANDWRITTEN BAR BOOK).
 
Notes on Ingredients: Paul E. Lowe, in his 1909 Drinks: How to Mix and Serve, suggests swapping out half the gin for French vermouth; that’s also how Harry MacElhone, who worked at the Plaza in the early 1910s, made his. This is a truly transformative suggestion, turning a serviceable drink into an ambrosial one. MacElhonealso suggests lime juice instead of lemon, which is worth trying; in either case, ½ ounce should do. Beverages De Luxe, a 1911 drink book that prints a Clover Club recipe its authors picked up from the Hotel Belvedere in Baltimore, agrees about the lime and the vermouth and suggests replacing the raspberry syrup with actual raspberries, if in season. This is a fine suggestion, but if adopted, it will require more sugar: say, half a dozen berries and ¼ ounce of superfine sugar, depending on the tartness of the raspberries. If you lightly whip the egg white—here to add froth and body—with a fork, you can divide it; otherwise, use one white for every two or three drinks. Whichever formula you use, float a leaf of mint on top and you’ve got a Clover Leaf.
 
Notes on Execution: If you use fresh raspberries, muddle them with the sugar and the citrus and double-strain the drink—that is, use the Hawthorne strainer in the shaker and put a Julep or tea strainer over the glass to catch the raspberry seeds. Like all drinks using eggs, this one will have to be shaken extra hard.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Revised Edition xiii

Foreword Dale Degroff xvii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 "Professor" Jerry Thomas: Jupiter Olympus of the Bar

Who Reads an American Book?-An American and a Sailor. Too-In Realms of Gold-The Sporting Fraternity-Mixing Excellent Drinks-Epilogue 7

Chapter 2 How To Mix Drinks, Or What Would Jerry Thomas Do?

I How They Used to Do It: The Archaic Age (1783-1830)-The Baroque Age (1830-1885)-The Classic Age (1885-1920) 44

II How to Do It Now: Bar Gear-Sugar-Twists-Cherries and Olives-Eggs-Ice-Glassware 60

III Spirits: Applejack (Also Known as Apple Whiskey)-Arrack-Brandy-Champagne-Cordials and Absinthe-Gin-Rum- Tequila- Vermouths- Vodka- Whiskey 68

IV Quantities 78

A Note on the Recipes 81

Chapter 3 Punches

I A Large Glass of Punch: Brandy Punch (Including Curaçoa Punch, West Indian Punch, Barbadoes Punch, and Tamarind Punch)- Vanilla Punch-Pisco Punch-Cold Whiskey Punch-Hot Whiskey Punch-Gin Punch-The Collins Twins: John and Tom-Claret Punch-Milk Punch-Mountain Punch-Mississippi Punch (Including El Dorado Punch)-St. Charles Punch (Including Enchantress)-Prince of Wales's Punch-National Guard Seventh Regiment Punch-Sixty-Ninth Regiment Punch-Hot Milk Punch-General Burnside's Favorite-Boston Rum Punch-The Herald Punch 85

Chapter 4 The Children of Punch: Collinses, Daisies, Fizzes, Sours, Cobblers, Coolers, and a Glance at the Swizzle

I The Lesser Punches: Fixes and Sours (and a Couple of Bostonian Fancies): Brandy, Gin, Santa Cruz, or Whiskey Fix-Brandy, Gin, Santa Cruz, or Whiskey Sour (Including Egg Sour and New York Sour)-Pisco Sour-Moral Suasion-Knickerbocker (Including the White Lion) 112

II Daisies and Fizzes: The Daisy-Whiskey, Brandy, Gin, or Rum Daisy (Old School)-Gin, Brandy, Rum, or Whiskey Daisy (New School) (Including Tequila Daisy)-Gin, Whiskey, Brandy, or Santa Cruz Rum Fizz (Including Crushed Strawberry Fizz) - Silver Fizz-Morning Glory Fizz (Including Saratoga Brace Up)-New Orleans Fizz, Alias Ramos Gin Fizz 121

III The Cobbler: Sherry Cobbler (Including Hock Cobbler, Claret Cobbler, and Whiskey Cobbler)-Champagne Cobbler 140

IV Three Popular Coolers; The Joe Rickey (and the Gin Rickey) (Including the Gin Buck)-Florodora (Including Imperial Style)-Singapore Gin Sling, Alias Straits Sling 145

V A Glance at the Swizzle: Green Swizzle 154

Chapter 5 A Handful of Egg Drinks

Egg Nogg: Baltimore Egg Nogg-Egg Nogg (Individual) -General Harrison's Egg Nogg-Texian Egg Nogg-Tom & Jerry-Sherry Flip (Including Port Wine Flip) 160

Chapter 6 Toddies, Slings, Juleps, and Such

I Rum, Brandy, Whiskey, or Gin Toddy, Hot: Apple Toddy-Whisky Skin-Blue Blazer 171

II Gin, Brandy, Whiskey, or Rum Sling, Cold: Jersey Sunset 184

III Juleps and Smashes: Joe Redding's Julep-Prescription Julep- Mint Julep-Pineapple Julep-Brandy, Gin, or Whiskey Smash 189

IV Sangaree: Port Wine Sangaree (Including Sherry Sangaree, Madeira Sangaree, Porter Sangaree, Ale Sangaree, Brandy Sangaree, and Gin Sangaree) 201

V Three Yankee Favorites: Hot Spiced (or Buttered) Rum-Stone Fence-Black Strap (Alias the Black Stripe) 204

Chapter 7 The Cocktail, Properly Considered

Dr. Stoughton's Elixir Magnum-What's in a Name?-American Roots: The Where and the When-The Cocktail in New York and Points South and West-The Cocktail Grows Up-Prequel: The Original Cocktail 210

I Plain, Fancy. Improved, and Old-Fashioned: Plain Brandy, Gin, or Whiskey Cocktail-Fancy Brandy, Gin, or Whiskey Cocktail (Including Chicago Cocktail, Alias Saratoga Cocktail)-Improved Brandy, Gin, or Whiskey Cocktail-Sazerac Cocktail-Old-Fashioned Whiskey, Brandy, or Holland Gin Cocktail (Including American Farmer) 229

Chapter 8 Enter Vermouth

I The Originals: Vermouth, Manhattan, and Martini Cocktails: Vermouth Cocktail (Including Fancy Vermouth Cocktail)-Manhattan Cocktail: Formula #1 (Old Standard); Formula #2 (Reverse); Formula #3 (New Standard)-Martini Cocktail: Formula #l (Turf Club); Formula #2 (Martinez Cocktail); Formula US (Fourth Degree)-Dry Martini Cocktail-Gibson Cocktail 251

II Other Vermouth Cocktails: Metropole Cocktail-Rob Roy Cocktail-Star Cocktail-Racquet (Club) Cocktail-Saratoga Cocktail-Bijou Cocktail-Weeper's Joy-Bamboo Cocktail- Princeton Cocktail (Including Zaza Cocktail and Tuxedo Cocktail)-Brooklyn Cocktail-Blue Moon Cocktail-San Martin Cocktail-Presidents Cocktail 268

Chapter 9 Evolved Cocktails, Or What Hath Orgeat Wrought?

I Exotic Blooms: Japanese Cocktail-East India Cocktail-Widow's Kiss-Absinthe Cocktail and Absinthe Frappé 295

II The (Other) Fizz: Champagne Cocktail-Jersey Cocktail (Including Soda Cocktail)-Buck and Breck (Including Russian Cocktail)-Prince of Wales's Cocktail-Morning Glory Cocktail 302

III Miscegenation, or Crustas, Wet Hens, and Cocktail Punches: Brandy, Whiskey, or Gin Crusta-Coffee. Cocktail-Wet Hen-Modern Cocktail-Bronx Cocktail-Jack Rose Cocktail-Clover Club Cocktail-Daiquiri Cocktail-Aviation Cocktail-Ward Eight-Last Word 313

IV The Stinger 331

Chapter 10 Bitters And Syrups

I Bitters: Jerry Thomas's Own Decanter Bitters-Stoughton's Bitters-Boker's Bitters 335

II Syrups: Gum Syrup (True)-Gum Syrup (Bartender's) (Including Rich Simple Syrup)-Pineapple, Raspberry, and Other Fruit and Berry Syrups 338

Bibliographical note 341

Acknowledgments 343

A Few Recollections of the Distant Past 347

Index 349

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"David Wondrich is a such an envy-producing polymath that it drives me to drink. Brilliant historian, beautiful writer, former punk rocker, absinthe-maker, mixological marvel, and perhaps, yes, even WIZARD. Plus he can grow an amazing beard. There are few people in the world I rely on to be so authoritative and so entertaining all at once, and to mix an amazing cocktail at the same time. And those few people are DAVID WONDRICH."
—John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise

"[Jerry] Thomas finally gets his due in Imbibe!....Mr. Wondrich puts the drinks in context, with their ingredients explained, their measurements accurately indicated, and their place in the overall cocktail scheme clearly mapped out. At the same time, Thomas himself appears, for the first time, as a living presence: a devotee of bare-knuckle prize fights, a flashy dresser fond of kid gloves, an art collector, a restless traveler usually carrying a fat wad of bank notes and a gold Parisian watch. A player, in short."
—William Grimes, The New York Times 

"This book will leave you shaken and, I hope, stirred. Wondrich, one of the top spirits writers in the country, delves into the rich and fascinating history of mixology in America."
—USA Today 

"Imbibe brings back the delicious forgotten cocktails created by a pioneering American bon vivant....This book is a model for food history writing....[Wondrich is] always an enjoyable writer, curious, eager, mildly opinionated and with a taste for the amusing."
—The Los Angeles Times 

"Cocktail connoisseurs and history buffs will find this book an essential addition to their reference libraries."
—The San Francisco Chronicle 

"Wondrich offers what amounts to a history of industrial-age America writ in booze, covering everything from punches, fizzes, and sours to toddies, slings, and juleps."
—Saveur, Top Ten Reads 

"How and why America rose to world preeminence in mixology is explained zestfully in Imbibe!." 
—Forbes 

"With Imbibe!, David Wondrich's biography of 19-century mixologist Jerry Thomas, cocktails do the time warp." 
—New York Daily News 

"Wondrich delivers a well-researched chronicle of "Professor" Jerry Thomas's life and times as late 19th-century bartender extraordinaire...a lovely homage to Thomas's indomitable spirits."
—Publishers Weekly

"David Wondrich has drunk his way through two centuries of American cocktails and other mixed drinks.  He emerges to tell us, with clarity and wit, what he encountered, how it was made. and how to make it now.  In his recreations of the drinks of yesteryear, he stops at nothing, even growing his own snakeroot to make Jerry Thomas' Bitters. Thomas was called "the Professor" in his day.  If this title belongs to any living expert on the cocktail, it belongs to Wondrich."
—Lowell Edmunds, author of Martini, Straight Up
 

Editorial Reviews

"This isn't just nostalgia or hipster, artisanal stuff or tongue-in-cheek. David Wondrich is a serious historian that recognized that an American art form had been interrupted in its prime. And it would actually take serious painstaking work to revive it...Because of him, more than because of anybody else, we are in the midst of a national renaissance, something that we by right own as a country."
—Rachel Maddow

"David Wondrich is a such an envy-producing polymath that it drives me to drink. Brilliant historian, beautiful writer, former punk rocker, absinthe-maker, mixological marvel, and perhaps, yes, even WIZARD. Plus he can grow an amazing beard. There are few people in the world I rely on to be so authoritative and so entertaining all at once, and to mix an amazing cocktail at the same time. And those few people are DAVID WONDRICH."
—John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise

"[Jerry] Thomas finally gets his due in Imbibe!....Mr. Wondrich puts the drinks in context, with their ingredients explained, their measurements accurately indicated, and their place in the overall cocktail scheme clearly mapped out. At the same time, Thomas himself appears, for the first time, as a living presence: a devotee of bare-knuckle prize fights, a flashy dresser fond of kid gloves, an art collector, a restless traveler usually carrying a fat wad of bank notes and a gold Parisian watch. A player, in short."
—William Grimes, The New York Times 

"This book will leave you shaken and, I hope, stirred. Wondrich, one of the top spirits writers in the country, delves into the rich and fascinating history of mixology in America."
—USA Today 

"Imbibe brings back the delicious forgotten cocktails created by a pioneering American bon vivant....This book is a model for food history writing....[Wondrich is] always an enjoyable writer, curious, eager, mildly opinionated and with a taste for the amusing."
—The Los Angeles Times 

"Cocktail connoisseurs and history buffs will find this book an essential addition to their reference libraries."
—The San Francisco Chronicle 

"Wondrich offers what amounts to a history of industrial-age America writ in booze, covering everything from punches, fizzes, and sours to toddies, slings, and juleps."
—Saveur, Top Ten Reads 

"How and why America rose to world preeminence in mixology is explained zestfully in Imbibe!." 
—Forbes 

"With Imbibe!, David Wondrich's biography of 19-century mixologist Jerry Thomas, cocktails do the time warp." 
—New York Daily News 

"Wondrich delivers a well-researched chronicle of "Professor" Jerry Thomas's life and times as late 19th-century bartender extraordinaire...a lovely homage to Thomas's indomitable spirits."
—Publishers Weekly

"David Wondrich has drunk his way through two centuries of American cocktails and other mixed drinks.  He emerges to tell us, with clarity and wit, what he encountered, how it was made. and how to make it now.  In his recreations of the drinks of yesteryear, he stops at nothing, even growing his own snakeroot to make Jerry Thomas' Bitters. Thomas was called "the Professor" in his day.  If this title belongs to any living expert on the cocktail, it belongs to Wondrich."
—Lowell Edmunds, author of Martini, Straight Up
 

From the Publisher