Eric Felten's 'How's Your Drink?'

I just read Eric Felten's How's Your Drink? Cocktails, Culture, and the Art of Drinking Well (2007). I liked it, and now I'm thirsty for more. It referenced a lot of old cocktail books that I want to find. It had a lot of cool quotes that I want to remember. And a lot of recipes to try. I thought it a good idea to share some of this stuff, though this is no substitute for actually reading it. There's lots more where this comes from.

Books
Bartender's Guide by Jerry Thomas (1862)
New and Improved Illustrated Bartenders' Manual by Harry Johnson (1882)
American as I Saw It: Or America Revisited by Ethel Alec-Tweedie (1913)
The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930)
Shake 'Em Up by Virginia Elliott (1930)
The Gentleman's Companion: An Exotic Drinking Book by Charles H. Baker, Jr. (1939)
Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion by Crosby Gaige (1941)
Standard Cocktail Guide by Crosby Gaige (1944)
The Roving Bartender by Bill Kelly (1945)
Bartenders Guide by "Trader" Vic Bergeron (1947)
Handbook for Hosts by Esquire (1949)
Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David Embury (1961)
On Drink by Kingsley Amis
The Spirits of America by Eric Burns
The Hour by Bernard DeVoto
Martini Straight Up by Lowell Edmunds
Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh
John Barleycorn by Jack London

Quotes
"In the world of potables, the cocktail represents adventure and experiment. All other forms of drinking are more or less static. Beer drinkers lead a dreary and gaseous life. The cocktail contriver...has the whole world of nature at his command." -Crosby Gaige

The cocktail hour to Bernard DeVoto is "the violet hour, the hour of hush and wonder, when the affectations glow again and valor is reborn."

"My best advice is to make every drink as though it were to be the best you've ever made and you can't do this if you don't measure." -"Trader" Vic Bergeron

Lowell Edmunds describes the martini as a "sacramental drink that unites in spirit even those who have never met."

Drinks
- A Martini with a couple drops of orange bitters as it was drunk in the 1930s
- A Dandy Cocktail involving rye (yay!) and red Dubonnet, which I've never had
- A Florodora, which is gin and framboise with ginger ale and some lime juice
- A Bacardi Special with white rum, gin, lime juice, and real grenadine like this
- A Cantarito involving tequila and grapefruit soda with fresh citrus fruit
- Gin shaken with rosemary
- Whiskey and sparkling wine, and I'd probably add some Drambuie