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Preface
O compile this book of Cocktails has been no easy
task since it has entailed minutely examining over
four thousand recipes, and to keep the book within
reasonable bounds it has been only possible to give a selection
of the most suitable cocktails.
The majority of recipes are the originals of Members
of the United Kingdom Bartenders' Guild, of which I have
the honour to be President, and I can assure my readers that
if they will follow these recipes carefully they will be
able to enjoy many drinks with which they were hitherto
unacquainted.
Careful observation has shown that at the majority of
Cocktail parties there is little variation in the cocktails
offered, and each party is apt to have a monotonous repetition
of Martini, Bronx, Manhattan, and White Lady Cocktails,
all, I grant, very good cocktails indeed, but just as apt to be
dull as continuous dinners at which the same soup, fish, meat
and sweet are served. Therefore I ask my readers to try the
modern cocktails.
No Cocktail Book is considered complete without some
mention of
the history
of
the cocktail, but, unfortunately,
the available records are of a very meagre description.
Most of the history is a matter of conjecture, but there
are a few outstanding facts upon which a fairly solid case can
be built.
It is impossible to trace the origin, but from the earliest