I don't know if I should say this but I do love my cocktails and I also like learning the history of cocktails. My favorite era happens to be midcentury. I haven't tried all the drinks in this book but I will probably by this end of the year.

I thought this would have more recipes, but I understand that it was a combination and had more history so that is more my fault than the book. Interesting information and some good recipes.

As a cocktail enthusiast and licensed bartender, I really loved this book. This brought a beautiful vintage element to it while diving into amazing delicious recipes. I found myself really appreciating the history behind these different drinks and the stories that brought them to be. I didnt appreciate history as a kid but I definitely do now more as an adult so I really loved reading about these cocktails and testing some recipes out (the ones that had more basic attainable ingredients!)

I enjoyed this book, each chapter gives a brief history of an aspect of midcentury America and then follows up with recipes for several cocktails. I imagine this would be a lovely gift for a person that loves history or a person that loves to drink. It is a short book so very easy to read.


Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book. I received a copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review

I had difficulty downloading this ARC so a physical copy was sent to me instead. In this book, Tichi creates a fascinating mixture of recipes and historical context. Going into this book, I assumed that most of the cocktails included would be ones still common today, or ones that were absolutely disgusting. I can admit that I was incredibly wrong. Of the drinks included, I have so far made 4 and they were all fantastic.

Thank you to Tichi and NYU Press for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Family is moving into a midcentury home and this book grabbed my attention. I've actually tried a couple of the recipes to get me into the new environment and I think it worked.

History and cocktails make a great mix! This is a fun book and will make you long for days of old. I'm not a drinker but I enjoyed flipping through this and reading the stories. If you drink, even more fun, I imagine!

What a cool little cocktail book. This is unlike any cocktail book I’ve seen. Such a unique idea to combine the history of mcm cocktails with the recipes. This book would make such a cute gift for the cocktail aficionado in your life.

This book, just like most mid century things, is just cool. The quotes that start each chapter set the tone. Loved the history and the recipes! This makes the perfect gift for any mid century modern fan in your life!

Midcentury Cocktails
Author: Cecelia Tichi
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Midcentury Cocktails does a great job of covering the history and cocktails of the era and makes for a quick and enjoyable read! This is more of a historical book with some cocktail recipes which I think lends more appeal to those more experienced in mixology and are looking to delve deeper into the history of the drinks they enjoy. I will definitely be checking out the other books from Cecelia.

Thanks to NetGalley, NYU Press, and Cecelia Tichi for a copy of the book. All thoughts in this review are my own.

I very much enjoyed the history covered in this book, with a recipe at each chapter’s end. I thought the topics discussed were interesting and I want to read more of the series.

I love this series; I maintain there is no better pairing than history and cocktails. In this entry, Cecelia Tichi tackles the currently popular midcentury era with unflinching honesty, exploring how the growth of suburbia circumscribed women, taking back some of the freedom they'd gained during World War II. It also reminds children of the Mad Men era that their parents were not the only ones smoking and drinking (ahem). She also shows the growing divides in American society.

And pairs it all with cocktails.

There are plentiful cocktail recipes, although some cocktails do not require a recipe. Still, it's interesting to see variations on some old classics. This is a quick, easy, and enjoyable read and one that I'll return to, not just for the drink recipes, but also the history. #MidcenturyCocktails #NetGalley

"Midcentury Cocktails" is the third in Cecelia Tichi's histocial review of cocktails. This is a history book with recipes, not bartender's guide.

The chapters are short and there are no bridges between chapters, so you can pick and choose, perhaps using the recipe index at the end of hte book. Cocktails then had some pretty silly names. "Rocket Man" and "Apricot Fission" are two that celebrate the atomic era.

Cecelia Tichi writes in a clean, clear style that is missing from many long-form books about cocktails.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.

Thanks to NYU Press and Netgalley for this advance copy!

This was a fun cocktail book with some interesting history paired with classic cocktail recipes. I loved the different aspects of the era that Tichi focused on and how the cocktails at the end of each chapter paired with the history of that particular subject. I also really appreciated that this book spanned a varied number of subjects, including the Green Book, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and bachelor pads. Many of the cocktails are now standard classics but I saw a few in there that were new to me and I can't wait to try.

So I thought this was just a recipe book so unfortunately, my review reflects that

I was not too fond of all the backstories before each section; it felt like fluff to me and I ended up skimming over them toward the end. The recipes however were easy to follow and produced great drinks!

The book seemed like a very interesting proposal and if you're into mixology, it might be even more attractive. Nonetheless, I felt that the book is better seen as a historical portrait of mid-century US with some cocktails in the middle. Not exactly what I was looking for when I picked it up. Still, thank you for the opportunity to read it.

A 3.5-star read.

Credibility/Research: 7, the book feels trustworthy, though it doesn't cite many references beyond publications it quotes from. It certainly comes across as thorough, and I suppose the cocktail recipes themselves came from direct sources, but it would've been nice to have that confirmed for the sake of understanding the 1960s palate for alcohol (which seems to trend toward sweet orange liqueurs as mixers).

Authenticity/Uniqueness: 8, presenting history alongside the boozey beverages consumed during that era is not a wholly unique concept, but this is the first time I've encountered one aimed fully at the midcentury years (not a specialty niche of them, like tiki culture or Madison Ave culture). It also included the lives and cocktails of not just white men, but Black communities and women as well, and pointed out the differences between them.

Writing: 7, it took me a bit of time to get into the writing, which is organized in a way I couldn't decipher (grouped appropriately by subculture, though). There's a bit of tense switching and I didn't care for the method of numbering the ingredients (instead of using bullet points). But the cocktail making methods were clear, and the information was presented seemingly without bias.

Personal Impact: 6, this provided what I was curious about- an idea of what people were drinking in the atomic age, beyond scotch and gimlets. There were a handful of recipes I'll likely try, and I learned a few things about the history of an era that doesn't much call to me. But overall, this is unlikely to stay with me for any particular reason.

Intrigue: 5, I kept reading to finish it, but also forgot I was reading it several times. It's a good thing this is a short book! I expect part of the disconnect is that each chapter is fairly self-contained, so the through-line to keep interest is the cocktails themselves, and unlike tiki-era cocktails (a few of which appear here), most of these historic recipes sound arbitrary and for the aim of getting tipsy rather than a gastronomic enjoyment.

Logic/Informativeness: 8, there's clearly a lot of information about major events, players, subcultures, and ambitions of the years from the end of WWII to 1970 in America. Some was known, some was new to me, but it was more information than filler.

Enjoyment: 7, a lot of the book just didn't capture my attention, but it is also a pretty niche concept and executed well. My biggest takeaway is both wondering whether many people in the country actually lived the life purported by advertising and tell-alls that are our primary sources (the author does point out the blue collar folks at the time drank beer more than cocktails). Also wondering how anyone actually had a job or a social life or a liver, with the expectation of drinking that much (surely there must've been an age bracket which soundly ignored the pressure to drink every night and all weekend to stave off anxiety?)

Overall this is a pleasure to read for anyone with an interest in post war atomic age cocktails. This is one of the most interesting times in history and it’s great to see the care and effort that was put into this work. Told in a storytelling memoir style, you’re fed more of a story than just getting the biography and recipe for a cocktail…but the drink recipes are present and accounted for. Some moments are a bit dry but most everything included is “value add” and contributes well to the story.

I’d recommend this to anyone with an interest in nuclear age America and I can guarantee readers WILL learn something new with each and every chapter.

As other readers have pointed out, I was expecting this book to be something different. I was expecting a fun book of cocktail recipes with colourful pictures and a little blurb about the history of each.

Midcentury was a boozy time. In Midcentury Cocktails, Cecelia Tichi captures the post-war spirit of expansion and hope, mixes it with the proper alcoholic ingredients, and shakes well. From new roadways that linked the suburbs to the city to the daily commute via train, from the residents of the Barbizon Hotel to the men in grey flannel suits, from Peyton Place and Valley of the Dolls to Frank Sinatra taking it nice and easy. America was on the move and it was getting there with glass in hand. Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of the a cultural landscape of the 1950s and early 1960s and ends with a swirl of cocktail recipes, that taken all together, could fill any home bar for the next decade. From Pink Ladies to White Russians, this book is a tasty treat. Thank you NetGalley, Cecelia Tichi, and New York University Press for the chance to read Midcentury Cocktails in exchange for an unbiased review.