Jazz Age Cocktails by Cecelia Tichi delves deeply into the history of cocktails (and includes recipes so you can try them too!)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jazz Age Cocktails: History, Love, and Recipes from America’s Roaring Twenties by Cecelia Tichi delves deeply into the history of cocktails. The book was published by New York University Press and is 168 pages, which includes some illustrations. I read the ebook version, which is 165 pages. This is decidedly more of a history book than a cookbook, but there are recipes for various cocktails included at the end of nearly every chapter.

The Eighteenth Amendment banned “intoxicating liquors” in America as of mid-January, 1920. The United States was officially a “dry” country for thirteen years. At least on paper. But there were tons of loopholes. In 1928, the New York Telegram published a list of 37 places where Americans could obtain and/or imbibe alcoholic beverages, including at restaurants, drug stores, malt shops, fruit stands, and laundries. That seems like a lot of places that had alcohol in a “dry” nation.

Something I never really thought about before was how gender barriers that had previously forbade “ladies” from attending gentlemen-only bars and cafes were broken during the era of the speakeasy and elaborate cocktail parties staged in private homes. I learned so much by reading this book and I’m very excited to try my hand at some of the 78 cocktail recipes that are included.

I received an advanced ebook copy of this book for review via NetGalley, but all opinions contained herein are my own. Jazz Age Cocktails: History, Love, and Recipes from America’s Roaring Twenties was published on November 16, 2021.

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