Product Description

Remember sipping a Mai Tai, perhaps with a lei around your neck while lounging to a Burt Bacharach song at a seventies shindig? Or dousing your thirst with a Tequila Sunrise after a turn on the disco floor boogying to Barry Manilow's Copacabana? Like Proust's madeleine, there are certain drinks that can take you back to a perfect time of pure pleasure. Cocktails A Go-Go sends you on that trip, with more than one hundred recipes for favorite drinks from the past along with the stories behind their invention, and nostalgic visuals that evoke the era. With the recent revival of cocktail culture at home gatherings, bars, and restaurants, drinkers have developed an ever-expanding and more demanding palate. Cocktails A Go-Go rediscovers a slew of long-lost concoctions to quench the unending thirst for the hot new drink. While several books have tapped into this craze, none offers this combination of historical information, practical real drink recipes, and kitschy images. Filled with fun TV and film stills, posters, and vintage advertisements, the book hits the Generation X nostalgia nerve that is rooted in a past of tiki-mania, pu pu platters, disco music, and lounge lizards. It also serves as an entertaining sourcebook, with tips throughout for planning theme cocktail parties complete with music, food, and decor suggestions. This fun and affordable gift book is as essential as a cocktail shaker or a 10-speed blender.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1229061 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-19
• Released on: 2003-03-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Mixology experts Waggoner and Markel offer this follow-up to their Vintage Cocktails: Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920-1960. Complete with 1960s designs and photos, this witty, modish book is sure to catch the attention of would-be drink stylists. After listing the bartending basics (types of glasses, mixes, and condiments), the authors break out the blender with recipes for Frozen Daiquiri (which "got a big boost... when John Fitzgerald Kennedy became president") and the Grasshopper. A chapter entitled "Lounge Lizards" offers a photo of Liberace and postcard illustration of The Tropicana. Here, "no-frills drinks are the hallmark of lounge culture"-and highballs rule, whether it's a Seven and Seven, Bourbon and Branch (water) or Vodka and Tonic. On the West Coast, surfing reigned, and refreshing drinks included the Harvey Wallbanger and Sangria. With the '60s came a blast of color, and the authors don't ignore those fun technicolor drinks, such as the Creamsicle and the Cosmopolitan.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
SUSAN WAGGONER is the author of several books, including I Do! I Do, The Old-Time Blue Ribbon Gardener's Handbook, Nightclub Nights, and Vintage Cocktails (which covered drinks from 1920 to 1960 and has more than 50,000 copies in print).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
BLEND - O - RAMA

     Rudy Vallee? Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians? Purveyors of yesterday's music they may have been, but also unsung heroes in any bartender's hall of fame. Their visionary efforts led to a revolution in the art of mixology, giving us some of our favorite contemporary classics.
     It all began long ago, in a dressing room far, far away. In the early 1930s, Waring was a well-known producer and entrepreneur. A former Penn State engineering student, he was also a lover of gadgets, innovations and inventions. One night after a radio broadcast from New York's Venderbilt Theater, an inventor named Fred Osius talked his way backstage and gained access to Waring's dressing room. Osius believed Waring was the perfect source for funding for his newest idea, a contraption that would emulsify food. Intrigued by the idea, Waring not only provided funding but was responsible for several improvements in the design itself. The ultimate result was a prototype of what would become the Waring Blendor®, which burst upon an unwitting public in 1938.
     It's one thing to lead a horse to water, another to make it drink, and in this case the horse was the public. No one seemed quite as enamored of the gadget as Waring himself was, and the least enamored of all were the Pennsylvanians themselves. On tour, Waring had a special traveling trunk made for his beloved bulender. He believed the invention would revolutionize the art of gastronomy and, eager to put his theory to work, chased after members of his company with tumblers full of pulverized food. From green beans to cranberries to sauerkraut, nothing was safe from the whirling blades of the blender.



          "At first we considered the whole affair a harmless foible – the sort of squirrelly
     therapy one expects a man of certain genius to contrive for his own amusement."
               – Ferne Buckner
               Member of The Pennsylvains

     Revolt was in the air. Members of The Pennsylvanians let it be known that it they were presented with one more concoction of buttermilk and borscht puree, and they'd leave the tour. In a last ditch effort to put his project across, Waring changed strategies. A non-drinker himself, Waring knew that his musicians enjoyed their cocktails. Why not put his invention to work behind the bar? According to Ferne Buckner, who was with the Pennsylvanians at the time, the first drink ever concocted in the blender was a frozen daiquiri. The cocktail, which took 10 or 15 minutes to prepare by hand, was whirred to icy perfection in a matter of minutes. Pennsylvanians who had so recently threatened to flee now lined up for samples.
     Having discovered the sales hook needed to engage the public's attention, Waring now stepped up his sales efforts. Wherever the Pennsylvanians played, Waring took his machine to the leading department store and put on an demonstration for the buyers. He also put on demonstrations for friends. Upon learning that Rudy Vallee was a frozen daiquiri fanatic, Waring invited Vallee to stop by his dressing room for a chat. Vallee was on a tight schedule, about to catch a return trip to Hollywood, and when Waring offered to make him a drink Vallee insisted that he didn't have time. Over the singer's objections, Waring began dumping the contents of Vallee's favorite – a strawberry daiquiri – into the blender, and in one minute presented him with a perfect cocktail. After a single sip, Vallee told Waring he wanted to be his agent, and Waring allowed him to return to Hollywood with the gadget. Whether Waring actually expected Vallee to follow through with his plan unknown, but within a few weeks Vallee called Waring to inform him that sales were brisk.
     Vallee, Waring learned, had an almost perfect sales technique. After finishing his performance for the evening, Vallee would wander into a bar and order a frozen daiquiri. When the bartenders frowned over the effort it took to make the drink, Vallee would innocently aske, "Don't you have a Waring mixer?" To the inevitable response of "What's a Waring mixer?" Vallee would produce the blender, plug it in behind the bar, and within minutes mix a pitcher of frozen daiquiris. Before he left the establishment, he'd invariably have written an order for one or more of the appliances. By the end of 1938, over 35,000 blenders had been sold.
     Just as Waring's machine was gaining a solid foothold, World War II intervened. The scarcity of materials needed for the war effort called a halt to mass production, and Waring sold his license to a parent manufacturing company. Although the blender continued to be used in scientific venues such as hospitals and research labs, it ceased to be the going concern it once had. The blender's real era of popularity did not even begin until well after World War II, when a number of happy factors converged to make it one of the most popular appliances in history.
     The American kitchen before 1950 was largely an appliance wasteland. Aside from the toaster, the counter was more or less bare. But after the war, when suburbs began to boom all over the country, more couples found themselves in possession of more counter space and more money to spend filling that counter space than ever before. Happily, the war effort left us with a lot of first class engineers, many of whom found jobs inventing coffee makers, electric mixers, and all sorts of other plug-in delights. It was only a matter of time until someone figured out that the blender, once a piece of "professional" equipment, could be manufactured for home use. Soon people were blending away, and a whole new generation of drinks became popular. Frozen drinks for mom and dad as they lounged on their newly-flagstoned patio, malts and milkshakes for the kids to eat with the burgers dad was grilling – could anything be more perfectly designed for the new, efficient, fully-equipped American hearth? The blender had come into it's own at last.


FROZEN DAIQUIRI
Daiquiris have been around since the turn of the century, but they got a big boost in
popularity in the 1960s when John Fitzgerald Kennedy became President. After the sedate and stodgy Eisenhower era, the Kennedy White House glowed with youth and glamor, and when word got out that the daiquiri was the President's cocktail of choice, the daiquiri became the "in" drink of the era.
               1 ½ ounces light rum
               Juice of 1½ limes (approximately 1½ ounces)
               1 teaspoon sugar
               1 cup cracked ice
               Garnish (optional): thin slice of lime
     Combine ingredients in blender and whir just until smooth. While this recipe can be multiplied to make several drinks at once, don't make more than will be served immediately, as the delight of a frozen daiquiri is its soft, fresh slushiness.     
     Variation: To make a traditional daiquiri, place lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add other ingredients, shake briefly, and strain into a cocktail glass. A traditional daiquiri needs no garnish, but a thin slice of lime or a twist of lemon may be used.

FROZEN STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI
               1 ½ ounces light rum
               Juice of 1 lime juice (approximately 1 ounce)
               1 teaspoon sugar
               6 large strawberries (these can be fresh or frozen)
               ½ cup cracked ice
               Garnish: large strawberry
     Make as Frozen Daiquiri, above.

FROZEN BANANA DAIQUIRI
1 ½ ounces light rum
               1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
               1 tablespoon milk or cream
               1/3 banana, broken into chunks
               ½ cup cracked ice
     Make as Frozen Daiquiri, above.

BRANDY ALEXANDER
     More than 40 years after it was made, Edward Blake's The Days of Wine and Roses remains a as gripping a picture of alcoholism as was ever crafted. Anyone who has seen the film may well remember that lovely Lee Remick's character didn't begin her descent with raw gin or even the proverbial martini but with the Brandy Alexander – a good reason never to have more than one of this seductive little sipper.
     1 ounce brandy
     1 ounce cr...

Customer Reviews

Fun A Go-Go
This is a book you'll want to buy at least two of -- one to have on hand whenever you tend bar and one (or more) to give as a present to a cocktail-loving friend. It's especially fun for people who remember the era covered, but it's also intriguing for the post-Disco Era generations, a great way for them -- literally -- to get a taste of everything they missed.

Pour Me Another!
Like a lot of people, I enjoy a good cocktail. We all have our favorites, and oftentimes become stuck in a rut with the same old standby at every cocktail party and social event. Wanting to become a bit more educated and try some new "beverages" I picked up this book.

Containing 100 different recipes for cocktails, the book also includes background information on how the drink was invented, and also tips to improve your next get-together. The recipes included in this book contain classics from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, so don't expect to find the latest craze here. However, these are classics...you should be able to find most in any bar at any time.

Ever wonder how to make a Bahama Mama? How about a Brandy Alexander? This book contains these recipes plus many more! My favorites include: Grasshopper, Planter's Punch, Peppermint Patty, and B-52 Shooter.

Enjoy!

I'll drink to that!
It's great to have all these drink recipes in one handy reference book, but it's also a lot of fun to page through this book. I loved all the pictures and the nostalgic trivia.