A wonderful look into cocktails from The Gilded Age. The book is filled with recipes and drawings of drinks from different bartenders and people. A great look into a variety of drinks that I can’t wait to try and make myself. Learning about popular drinks from a different age was a fun experience and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about cocktails!

*Thanks Netgalley and NYU Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A lovely cocktail book with a difference, Gilded Age Cocktails had me feeling nostalgic about Gatsby, elegant afternoon cocktails on the terrace, and of course, the epitome of class with a dash of sultry, the perfect martini. There is also a rum punch recipe made with tea that intrigues me, I mean you can't go wrong with tea, and with a large splash of rum and fire for effect.... yes, please!

I loved the layout, the historical snippets and origins of the drinks, and found the illustrations charming and very much in keeping with the overall whimsical vintage feel. The history behind many of the beautiful, tall drinks served at high-end bars isn't something most people take into account, but is fascinating none-the-less.

Pretty, informative, and interesting, this book would make the perfect gift. Now, I'm off to try that rum punch!

Many thanks to Cecelia Tichi, NYU Press and Net Galley for my ARC.

Gilded Age Cocktails a fanciful history of the cocktail influence including the war on alcohol. To stone cold drunk to stone cold sober. Ranging from social contexts from sugar too bitter. From fruity to Nutty. With the life of all creations it revolves around- parties, socialites, clubs and fame. Also alot of strong strong cocktails that could put someone out in a second. Beautiful illustrations involved with the layout. Most of all the funniest thing in the world is how much hard liquor was involved and the time it took and care to make such unique drinks. The funny and creative ideas.

This Arc Was given to me By NetGalley and NYUpress in exchange for an honest review. Publish Date April 27 2021.

Gilded Age Cocktails is an interesting mix of a recipe book and a history book. Throughout the book, you find many recipes featuring gin, bourbon, and whisky. My husband was quite excited about those bourbon and whisky recipes, as we always have a bottle of each in the house. There is also a ton of history added in which was a pleasant surprise. History of places, people, drinks, and more. It is definitely a great book for a history buff, or mixologist, or both if your friends are anything like me.

I have to admit, I was a little bit disappointed with this work. I was expecting essentially the story of cocktails - who came up with the old fashioned? Why those ingredients? Why that name? Etc., etc. However, the vast majority of the book is information on gilded age life with some recipes thrown in. For example, the old fashioned was discussed as being mentioned in a Willa Cather book, and that was basically it. Was that Cather book the first published mention of the drink? Is that how it was named? Who knows. All the Cather novel states is that the characters drank old fashioned whiskey cocktails, and with no further input from the author, I’m none the wiser.

Thanks to NetGalley and NYU Press for the digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not gonna lie, this gorgeous cover was what made me want to read this book at first. I'm happy now that I know the contents are worthy of this beautiful cover.

The book brings a bit of historical context to the times and places of the creation of some of the most famous cocktails of the Gilded Age, like the Manhattan and the Martini. Some like the Sazerac I have already tried, but many other I discovered here and will definitely try some of the recipes.

It has some nice illustrations, but I wish it had some of the proper glasses for the drinks, at least in the glossary at the end to help people who aren't familiar with bar glasses.

My favorite chapters were those where it focused on the specific places and their signature drinks, like New York, New Orleans, Hawaii and some Ivy League schools. Specially in chapter 5, I felt transported to those times and places.

If you like cocktails and history this is a must read for you.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication date April 27, 2021.***

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This book was OK. The history provided was pretty interesting, and I'm looking forward to trying a few of the recipes.

Gilded Age Cocktails has the fantastic premise of using storytelling to teach the readers about the origins of classic cocktails such as Martini, Old Fashioned, Blue Blazer, amongst others. It's a very short book that can be read over the weekend or occasionally, as the chapters are not necessarily connected to each other. It's a great gift for anyone working in the hospitality industry or for whoever loves cocktails.

Even though I enjoyed the book, I wish the chapter division had been different. Each chapter had a name and it would start with a story and the name on the cocktail originated from that story would pop up in the middle of the chapter, between names of many people that I ended up forgetting in the end. I would have enjoyed the book better if each chapter had the name of the cocktail it was talking about - it would have been easier to associate names and stories to them. I did love the part in which the author talked about cities/states/universtities and which cocktails were created there.

Overall, I'd recommend this book for people who already know about the cocktail scene and want to read out of curiosity and because of the storytelling, not for someone who is now starting to discover the beverage world. I'd definitely gift it to my bartender friends, I am positive it'd give them great conversation pieces with their guests.

Gilded Age Cocktails is written by Cecelia Tichi who has written history books about th e gilded age (post-civil war in the US). I have other cocktail books but this is one of the few written by a woman. This book is very well written and has interesting history/background in addition to the cocktail recipes. Some of the recipes are familiar but many are new or modifications that aren't well known. The 'mix' of cocktails - types of liquor - are a nice balance. One suggestion is to have photos of drinks, especially those that are mixed for visual presentation. Drawings and sketches in the text are pretty but a photo would help with preparation. Favorite part was the "Bradley Martin' wedding information, including the 'beverage expenditures' - awesome and interesting American history.

Thank you to NetGalley, NYU Press, and Cecelia Tichi for the ARC of Gilded Age Cocktail in return for my honest review.

This is the perfect book to add to your mixology collection! This book combines extensive history, lore, and of course cocktail recipes that were created in America in the Gilded Age. There are no photos, but the book is full of hand-drawn sketches--normally this would be a disappointment to me, but it was a perfect fit for the theme of this book.

5 ⭐ read for any cocktail enthusiast! This book was a treasure trove of historical background, stories and recipes of drinks created and served in America in the Gilded Age (late 1800s) I really enjoyed both the short stories behind the drinks and also the recipes. I feel like so many times, in books, it's the same old drink with a little twist but how fun to do a themed night with some really cool historical drinks from over 100 years ago! There are heated drinks made with boiling water and it didn't occur to me that was because ice was just starting to be used in drinks so they played around the other way with temperature, especially without our modern day heating, also the story of the origin of the name "cocktail", all really cool and interesting facts to learn about a time that, in terms of liquor, I didn't know very much about. The set up was just how I enjoy a book to flow, chapters with a topic and then stories with the drink they are referring to put right there in the text, perfect! There were no glossy pictures, just hand drawn sketches and although normally that would be a miss for me, in this book, if fit perfectly to the style/theme of the book, I didn't need to see a stylized photo to feel the atmosphere of the book or the drinks. I've already picked out ones to try over the holidays! This will be one I will for sure buy for myself and also give as gifts to friends and I would ++ encourage you to check it out! 🍸🍾 when it publishes on April 27th 2021. Thank-you to NetGalley and NYU Press for letting me have an advanced reader copy, I very much enjoyed a peak at this read!

First let's take a moment and admire that cover, shall we? So simple and elegant, but very powerful. I don't even like martinis and the moment I saw this one I thought, "Sure why not?"

This gem of a book makes me want to through a Gilded Age themed dinner party and serve each and every one of these delicious treats. I can't of course, because of COVID, but some day, right? We can dream at least.

The books is divided into sections that touch on various aspects of life/society of the time, and the many drinks that went along with them. My personal favorite was the section related to signature drinks of the Ivy League schools. You don't have to go to an elite East Coats school to drink like it, as the recipes for each drink discussed is produced here for the reader.

One thing I really loved about this book was the history - big surprise. I thought it was so fascinating how the various drinks came to made, how bartenders' experimented with their craft in order to come up with new drinks to satisfy patrons. Seeing the evolution or creation of so many of the drinks we know and (sometimes) love today - such as the Manhattan - was a fun bit of history to read about.

I really love books like this, that focus on a specific micro history and encourage anyone with similar interests to give this one a read. You might just find a new favorite drink!

This book is a cocktail lovers delight!
The historical background of the beloved cocktail was fascinating AND if that wasn't enough, there are exquisite cocktail recipes in here!!
this book is an absolute must-have for anyone who enjoys a good cocktail and also likes a little trivia with their cocktail!!!

Let me begin by saying, this book combines some of my absolute favorite things, history, lore, and alcohol.

Like any cocktail book worth it’s salt, you’ll find tons of recipes in here, some super easy to make (the ones I will be trying), as well as elaborate ones with ingredients I may not have heard of, something for both the simple and sophisticated palate when it comes to spirits. I love the pace and tone of this book. Plenty of recipes peppered throughout stories of the Gilded Age and context for the world that shaped these concoctions.

Some of these recipes were secret for years, but you’ll find all of them and many stories behind them in this collection. I think prohibition made both the drinks and the stories more interesting, because people had to be super stealth about all of it.

Anyway, if you like cool, quirky microhistories and need some new recipes to add to your mixology collection, check this book out. It’ll be coming to shelves near you on April 21, 2021.

This book was received as an ARC from NYU Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Being a fan of Bar Rescue with Jon Taffer, I have sparked an interest in mixology and the various types of drinks that have developed before the test of time and this book further expanded my knowledge hence the reason I enjoyed it the most. Knowing the history of drinks such as the old fashioned and 12 mile limit, it was insightful to learn of drinks I have never heard of and the fact that during that time these were secret family recipes that were protected during the Prohibition Era and only politicians and the wealthy got the pleasure in consuming these drinks. Cecelia takes it one step further in sharing these recipes and you can make them anytime you want.

We will consider adding this title to our TX Non-Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I love a cocktail and I even love it more when it comes to the history lesson. Gilded age is one of my favorite and getting a story behind most of these cocktails was a delight

I’m a sucker for history and when you throw in some hooch, that makes it even more interesting. What I enjoy most about this book is the history that is included throughout the book along with recipes.

Some are drinks I’m familiar with, like the Hot Toddy, Manhattan, Planters Punch and more. There are a ton that are new to me as well like college cocktails, the Van Wyck, Sam Ward (can’t wait to tell my dentist about his namesake drink), and tons more.

Once the pandemic is over, there is a themed costume party in our future using some of the recipes in this book. It will be a party filled with fun costumes, fun factoids, and lots of fun drinks.

Gilded Age Cocktails is a wonderful mix of history and cocktails. The book takes you through a journey across the United States, stopping in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Florida, Hawaii, and other places to provide a great context to how these cocktails were created. The recipes are generally very simple and easy to make at home.

5/5 Stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and NYU Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.