This book is certainly a thorough memory of the mid-century with cocktails that finish off each section. The cocktail recipes coordinate well with the chapter themes and give a sense of the time as told through drinks. This was a quick read full of interesting information!

I adore this incredibly unique cocktail book with its Jetsons retro vibes. This one has it all: history, fun facts, background information, and last but not least – incredible recipes for killer cocktails. This one will have you wanting to put on your gray flannel suit, grab your new favorite Truman Capote classic, crank up the tunes, smoke a cigarette, and take a drive in a Studebaker along Route 66. Honorable mentions and shoutouts go to: Mexican Coffee with Rum and Nutmeg, the classic Scotch and Soda, the Gin Martini, the Irish Fix, the Clover Club Cocktail, the Cuba Libre, the Pink Lady, the Acapulco, the El Presidente, the Jamaica Elegance, the Zombie Highball, the Tonga Punch, the Blue Hawaiian (specialty of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu), the Applejack Manhattan, White Angel Cocktail, the Gin Sour – Country Club Style, the Rocket Man Cocktail, the Apricot Fission, and last but never least: the Negroni. I know – that is way more honorable mentions than I usually give, but EVERYTHING in this book looks incredible.

Not quite what I expected, but still a fun read. I had assumed this book would be heavier on the cocktails and lighter on the history, but the opposite was true. The writing for the historical portions was well done. There were a few cute illustrations tossed amongst the pages. The cocktails were mostly well-known drinks, but with solid-looking recipes. I would recommend that the numbered list for cocktail ingredients be changed to a bulleted list, as sometimes it was visually confusing to see something along the lines of "3. 1/2 ounces [liqour type here]".

Midcentury Cocktails has all the usual suspects, plus a great deal of the history that goes with them. I immediately felt compelled to try a few and the recipes seem perhaps not earth-shattering (after all, these are classic cocktails!) but they are well-written and easy to execute.

I particularly enjoyed the pairing as I read this while also reading the 1950s exposé on working women, The Best of Everything. This is definitely the best of the cocktails those ladies were drinking (and drinking, and drinking).

Definitely worth picking up if you enjoy retro cocktails and learning about them!

This is not my first book by the author and I enjoyed it a lot! The writing style and tone are easy to read, and the topics are interesting. It’s a quick and easy read

Title is super misleading. However, if you're in a bookstore, you could easily browse through it and realize it. Though I think the description of the book could be a bit more specific about this. Sometimes dry, but it's a mostly interesting look at the 1950's and for anyone interested in that time, this will be a 5/5! A bonus of a cocktail recipes thrown in.

Thank you NetGalley, Cecelia Tichi and the publisher for this ARC of Midcentury Cocktails. This is not an actual cocktail recipe book, but a history book of the era. There are many interesting stories and some cocktail recipes at the end of each chapter, such as Manhattan, Martini and Old Fashioned. If you love history and drinking, this is the book for you.

I was expecting a book of cocktails with drinks recipes as the main and history and stories their anecdotal accompaniment. The reverse was true but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of this book. A libationary trip into America's booming mid-century when culture, travel and advertising affected what and how the nation was drinking. Get out your cocktail shakers, this book deserves to be enjoyed with a chilled retro cocktail or two. Thanks for the free digital copy and the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. Recommend.

This book feels mistitled. I felt misled going into it. This book is not about mid century cocktails it is about mid century American history with some cocktail recipes added as footnotes to each chapter.

I was expecting a book of cocktails with colourful pictures of retro accents and drinks highlighted with interesting stories about where these cocktails got their names from. I expected fun anecdotes about famous people drinking cocktails as highlights to the pictures and recipes.

Instead those anecdotes were hidden under mounds of unrelated history, there were no pictures, and the recipes were dry lists of ingredients with "mix well" as instructions. The first chapter is about cars and roadtripping 🤷🏻‍♀️.

I felt hoodwinked. The entire book was like reading through an extremely boring food blog for a special mac 'n' cheese recipe, only to find the instructions for a box of Kraft Dinner at the end.

Another hit for Cecelia Tichi! "Mid-century Cocktails" is the third of her 'Cocktails' series, and is a worthy addition to the previous two. It gives off a cool, laid-back Mad Men vibe, as you read about post-WWII society. The late 40s to the early 60s are often looked back with a great deal of nostalgia. This book is the epitome of that, providing a peek into society back then while also giving recipes for all the cool drinks of the time. I personally wouldn't mind trying some of the whiskey drinks...they sound positively delicious. This is a fast, fun read...perfect for a lazy Sunday with a pitcher of margaritas or the perfectly made martini.

A fascinating look at American history in the 1950's, through the lens of what was everyone drinking. And, as we see here, people were drinking a lot!

The book acts as an excellent history compendium to the show Mad Men, detailing how nothing about the booze or attitudes was made up. We get a lot of New York here, but Tichi manages to cover the whole country, quoting primary sources like Jack Kerouac and John Steinbeck.

The end of each chapter includes recipes for the cocktails described, but this is far beyond a cookbook. Tichi looks examines and describes the sheen of glamor that covered the era - and gets a little into the major issues that were being covered.

I really enjoyed the snippets of American history woven in with the recipes.
There were some cocktails I’ve never heard of that I’m looking forward to trying.

*This book was received as an Advanced Reader's Copy from NetGalley.

When you think of cocktails, what do you think of? Fruity tiki drinks, someone in a business suit sipping a Manhatten or a bourbon on the rocks? Or maybe a martini, shaken, not stirred?

For Midcentury Cocktails, the history behind various uses of alcohol and its place in literature or other media is explored. From understanding the origin of tiki to thinking about air travel in the mid-century, various area of history are covered in this book.

That being said, it's all very rushed and sporadic. I had a hard time keeping up with the book's jumps and leaps from topic to topic, with a lot of information being covered very quickly. Samely, alcohol's involvement itself was either apparent, or you wondered just how loosely based the subject was in some sections. At the end of each chapter was a cocktail, and while quite a few repeated themselves throughout the book, it was interesting to see the various forms they could take.

A nice quick read, although if you really want to go in-depth on alcohol's history, you might have to search out a more holistic read.

Review by M. Reynard 2022

Note: I received this book as an ARC from NYU Press.

As an avid lover of ‘classic’ cocktails as well as American history, this book was right up my alley.

In this book the author dives into the history of cocktails during midcentury America (post WWII to 1960). Among the backdrop of a booming nation, cocktail culture explodes onto the scene. No longer are we relegated to whisky neat, but now we have *gasp* ingredients! And lots of them.

Tichi also delves into issues revolving race and the looming Cold War, and how these issues manifest in the popular libations and their accessibility.

This was a fun read filled with anecdotes and recipes that I will have to try out as soon as possible.


The primary audience would be: Cocktail lovers, history enthusiasts, and bartenders.

Thank you Netgalley for giving arc of 'Midcentury Cocktails'.
It is my first vintage cocktail book.
Loved the stories and description behind these drinks.

What a great time , mixing together libations , and anecdotal history done right! I’m really impressed with Tichi’s craftiness, wit, and ability to combine these two subjects artfully. WELL DONE!
Starting out, I almost can feel like I’ve been transported back in time traveling On theRoad , with Kerouac , The Grapes of Wrath , Steinbeck exploring martini’s , beer, and coffee mixed with nutmeg and rum—YES, along with whiskey, applejack, and of course scotch and soda. Enter in Barbizonia , fashion NYC , Vogue/Mademoiselle discovering classics like Manhattans, Martini’s, Old Fashion’s. The illustrations in this book are also superb.
Travel on in time as Tichi also touches upon the difficulties within America including growing racial tension as well as the Cold War.
Finding a way to combine history and cocktails come together brilliantly as well as delightful recipes and illustrations. This book is enchanting, informational, delightful and just downright FUN! Bravo!

A trip down memory lane for the classy drinker interested in learning the origins of their favourite drinks. Includes recipes and some pictures.

As my family and friends are well aware, I'm pretty obsessed with vintage cookbooks so when I saw this title, I was immediately interested, honestly more for the history and lore presented in the book than the drinks. But those who grab this for the recipes won't be disappointed.

I thought this was a seriously fascinating look at the Atomic Age in alcohol form. Truly intriguing.