One of the earliest guides to bartending was published in 1862 by Jerry
Thomas. This book contains some of the first references to today’s classic
cocktails, such as the Manhattan, Pousse Café’s, Juleps and Collins. This book
is an invaluable reference to any aspiring mixologist.
I am happy to announce that all 130 pages of the 1887 version of the book has
been published online and is freely accessible at The Art of Drink: Jerry
Thomas Book (http://www.theartofdrink.com/book/). Because of copyright laws,
this books copyright have long since expired and the material has become part
of the public domain. Eventually, I intend to submit to the Gutenberg Free
eBook Library.
Anyone who has an interest in the history of bartending and cocktails should
peruse this book. The tools and techniques are interesting and shine some
light on how things were done over 120 years ago. Some of those techniques are
still applicable today. By far, the most interesting part of the book is the
Introduction to Bartending (http://www.theartofdrink.com/book/pg01.php).
There are also a number of interesting stories such as the The Real Georgia
Mint Julep (http://www.theartofdrink.com/book/pg17.php) and the White Plush
(http://www.theartofdrink.com/book/pg66.php).
Currently, the websites navigation only lists specific classes of cocktails
but every page has a number of cocktails. The paper book was 130 pages, but I
have condensed that into 83 pages, trying to group the classes of cokctails on
one page. If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve the online version
of the book, please let me know. An Index is currently being worked on.
I hope everyone enjoys this unique piece of history.
--
Darcy S. O'Neil
The Art of Drink
http://www.theartofdrink.com