Cocktails Across America: A Postcard View of Cocktail Culture in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s

by Diane Lapis, Anne Peck-Davis

Overview

50 20th century cocktail recipes, illustrated with vintage postcards

Cocktail culture boomed in the United States after Prohibition, starting with the jazz-filled cocktail lounges and elegant supper clubs in New York City and, as rail and automotive travel advanced, flowing all the way to the postwar-era resorts and cabaret night spots of California and beyond. Barkeepers and mixologists across the country were developing new-fangled concoctions like the Red Snapper, the Santa Fe Cooler, and Cooper’s Ranch Punch.  A newly liberated America couldn’t get enough.

The unique cocktail lounges, hotel bars, and other more exotic drinking venues (ice rinks, carousels, and tropical gardens, just to name a few) defined this era of drinking culture and were immortalized in the linen postcards used to advertise them. With over 50 vintage cocktail recipes (including several modern twists), fascinating historical vignettes, and more than 150 pieces of vintage ephemera, you will be transported to an era of unbridled indulgence and distinct glamour.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682681442
Publisher:	Countryman Press, The
Publication date:	05/29/2018
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,146,096
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Diane Lapis has collected postcards for the past thirty years and revels in unveiling the hidden stories behind each image. She loves to travel and visit historic places, especially old bars and cocktail lounges. Diane is an independent researcher and a trustee at the Beacon Historical Society where she researches, writes, and presents topics on local history. Diane and her husband live in Beacon, NY.

Anne Peck-Davis is an avid collector of linen postcards, vintage cocktail books, and mid-century artifacts. Her significant collection of antique postcards has provided her the opportunity to lecture at various interest groups and contribute to regional journals. Living on a fir-lined street in a suburb of New York City, Anne enjoys mixing cocktails for her friends and family earning her the nickname “The Cocktail Queen of Evergreen.”

Table of Contents

Foreword Douglass Miller 9

Introduction 11

East Coast 15

20th Century Cocktail 16

Dempsey Cocktail 19

Red Snapper 22

Aviation Cocktail 24

Cugat Triple C Cocktail 28

Zombie Cocktail 31

Cabaret Cocktail 37

Diamondback Cocktail 40

Du Pont Hotel Cocktail 44

Duquesne Club Whiskey Sour 48

Cavalier Cocktail 51

Palm Beach Special 54

Miami Beach Cocktail 58

Technology and the Revolving Bar: Bars from The 1930s-40s 62

Merry-Go-Round Cocktail 66

South 67

Sazerac 68

Ramos Gin Fizz 71

Vieux Carré Cocktail 74

Mint Julep 78

Scarlett O'Hara Cocktail 82

Big Bands and Swing Music: Trends from the Mid-1930s-40s 86

Get Off the Stand Cocktail 91

Midwest 93

Cohasset Punch 94

Salty Dog 96

The Last Word 100

Mañana Cocktail 103

Rendezvous Cocktail 106

Golden Glow Cocktail 108

Pink Squirrel 111

Technology and the Cocktail Bar: Ice-Skating Shows from The Mid-1930S-50s 114

Thin Ice Cocktail 117

Sonja's Sun Valley Sunrise 118

Southwest 119

Fred Harvey Southwestern Special 120

Santa Fe Cooler 124

Tequila Sunrise 128

Conga Cooler 131

Atomic Cocktail 136

Moscow Mule 138

Trends from The Mid-1930S-50: Tropical Paradise 144

Playtime Punch 150

West Coast 151

Cocoanut Grove Cocktail 152

Brown Derby Cocktail 156

MacArthur Cocktail 160

Del Monte Lodge Cocktail 163

Sir Francis Drake Special 166

Chinatown Cocktail 168

Technology and the Cocktail Bar: Bowling Lane louges from the 1940s-50s 172

Pinsetter Cocktail 176

Offshore, The Territories, and Across The Border 177

Cooper's Ranch Punch 178

Alaska Cocktail 182

Margarita 186

Mary Pickford Cocktail 190

Daiquiri: E. Hemingway Special 194

Jai Alai Special 198

Three-Mile and Twelve-Mile Limit 202

Trends from the Post-War Years: For Tots and Teetotalers 205

The Shirley Temple Cocktail 207

The Roy Rogers Cocktail 207

Acknowledgments 209

Index 215

Editorial Reviews

04/02/2018
In this debut book, Lapis and Peck-Davis share selections from their impressive collection of vintage bar and restaurant postcards, along with recipes for classic cocktails either created or served at those destinations. The diligent duo serve up page after page of lounges and restaurants across the country along with recipes for classic cocktails that are seeing a resurgence in popularity, such as the Ramos Gin Fizz, Moscow Mule, Aviation, and Hemingway’s beloved daiquiri. Surprise entries include in-house ice skating rinks (paired with the Thin Ice Cocktail, made with absinthe), revolving merry-go-round cocktail bars, the rise of bowling culture, and a Las Vegas saloon that included on its postcard images of an actual atomic blast ( and the Atomic Cocktail). Astute imbibers will appreciate the inclusion of classic venues like L.A.’s long-gone Brown Derby, and New Orleans’ legendary Carousel Lounge, which is still serving drinks. This is an impressive work that deserves a spot on the shelf of cocktail aficionados. (May)

Publishers Weekly