Recipes
Drinks from the old books, with and without alcohol. Each one names its source and scales to the size of your party.
Drinks from the old books.
Or start from what you have at home13–24 of 228 recipes
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Always alcohol-freeBianco e Nero, Orgeat and Tamarind Soda from 1936
Almond orgeat syrup and tamarind syrup topped with soda water over one piece of ice: an alcohol-free Italian thirst-quencher a Lugano bartender printed in 1936.
Black Bottom Cooler, Champagne, Cola and Stout from 1927
Champagne, cola and stout in equal thirds, all well iced: the Black Bottom Cooler that Barflies and Cocktails credited to the jazzband impresario Billy Arnold in Paris in 1927.
Always alcohol-freeBoston Cooler, Sarsaparilla and Ginger Ale from 1922
Equal parts sarsaparilla and ginger ale over a lump of ice and a whole lemon peel in a large tumbler, drunk while it fizzes: a soft cooler from a 1922 London bar book.
Brown Derby Cocktail, Whisky, Grapefruit and Honey from 1933
Half whisky, a quarter grapefruit juice and a quarter honey, shaken: the Brown Derby as Hollywood Cocktails printed it in 1933, the same drink the Savoy Cocktail Book had called the De Rigueur.
Daiquirí No. 4, the Floridita’s Frozen Daiquiri with Maraschino, 1939
Gold rum, a teaspoon each of sugar and maraschino and half a lime, whizzed with snow-fine ice and served frappé: the Daiquirí No. 4 of Havana’s Bar La Florida, printed in 1939.
Duca di Bergamo Cocktail, Campari and Cognac from 1935
Lemon, Campari, Campari’s sweet cordial and old cognac, shaken and served with a candied cherry: a Lugano bartender’s cocktail, named for the Duke of Bergamo with his written permission in 1935.
Alcohol-free versionFlorida Cocktail, a Lemon, Orange and Bitters Mocktail from 1922
Lemon and orange juice shaken with a few dashes of bitters and only as much syrup as you want: the sharp Florida Cocktail from the alcohol-free chapter of a 1922 London bar book.
Ginebra Compuesta, Havana’s Mixed Gin with Mint and Curaçao, 1939
Gin with a sprig of mint, a dash of Angostura, a teaspoon each of sugar and curaçao, served unstrained: the ‘mixed gin’ Havana’s Bar La Florida traced to its corner tavern of 1819 and printed in 1939.
H.P.W. Cocktail, Harry Payne Whitney’s Gin and Vermouth
Two parts sweet vermouth to one of gin, shaken with a slice of orange and strained: the H.P.W., made at a New York club for the millionaire Harry Payne Whitney, as a 1922 London bar book told it.
Havana Special, Rum and Pineapple Juice from 1939
Equal parts Cuban rum and pineapple juice with a teaspoon of sugar, shaken well and strained into a cocktail glass: the Havana Special of the city’s Bar La Florida, printed in 1939.
Alcohol-free versionJersey Cocktail, Non-Alcoholic Cider and Bitters from 1922
Non-alcoholic cider stirred with gum syrup and bitters, strained into a wine glass with a cherry and a squeeze of lemon peel: an old-style cocktail without the spirit, from a 1922 London bar book.
Josephine Baker Cocktail, Cognac, Port, Apricot and Egg Yolk, 1939
Cognac, port and apricot brandy shaken with sugar, lemon peel and an egg yolk, strained and dusted with cinnamon: the Josephine Baker of Havana’s Bar La Florida, printed in 1939.
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Absinthe Frappé, Shaken until the Shaker Frosts
A pony of absinthe and a pony of water with a dash of anisette, shaken with fine ice until the shaker frosts, strained and topped with seltzer: the absinthe frappé of 1895.
Absinthium Romanum, Roman Wormwood Wine
Apicius’s Roman vermouth: mild white wine steeped for a day with wormwood, mastic, bay and saffron, unsweetened and bitter by design.
Always alcohol-freeAdynamon, Pliny’s Wine Without Strength
White grape must boiled with half its volume of water until the water is gone: the Roman ‘wine’ given to people who were not allowed wine. Alcohol-free.