Image: Jerry Thomas · Public domain
How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon-Vivant's Companion
- Year
- 1862
- Era
- 19th century
- Origin
- USA · Americas
- Language
- English
- Category
- Drinks/Confectionery
How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon-Vivant's Companion, compiled by celebrated New York bartender Jerry Thomas and first issued in 1862, is generally recognized as the earliest cocktail book published in the United States. Gathering recipes for punches, juleps, cobblers, sours, fizzes, and the then-novel category of the cocktail itself, the volume codified American mixology for the first time and shaped bar practice on both sides of the Atlantic.
Cooking from this book
Blue Blazer
Signature dishThe Blue Blazer is the showpiece of Jerry Thomas's pioneering bar manual, a hot whisky drink set alight and poured in a flaming arc between two silver mugs. More theatre than tipple, it captured the swagger of the nineteenth century American saloon and the showmanship of Thomas himself, often called the father of American mixology. Its inclusion in the first cocktail book published in the United States cemented its legendary status behind the bar.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
