1883 The Bar-Tenders' Guide or How to Mix all kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks (1976 edition)

PEEFAOE.

Ik an agM of the world, and in ail couDtries, men bave in** dulgcd in "so cial drinks." They bave al- ways possess- ed themselvea of some popu- lar beverage apart from wntcr and those of tba breakfast and tea table. •^Tiether it is judicious that m a n k i n d shoold con-

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tiniie to indulge in sucli tbingSj or wbether it wonld be wiser to abstain from ail cnjoyments of tbat character, it is not onr province to décidé. We leavetbat question to the moral philosopher. "We simply contend Ûiata relish for "social drinks" is uniyersal; that thoae drluks esist in greater variety in the United States than in any other country in tb® world; and that ho, therefore, who proposes to impart to these drink not only the most palatable but the most wholesome characieriatics oi , which fhey may be made susceptibJe, is a genuine public benefactor. That is oxactly our object in introducing this littlevolume to the public. "We do not propose to persuade anyman to drink, for instance, a punch, or a julep, or a cocktail, who bas never happened to make the aa^uaint- ance of those refreshingarticles under circumstances calculated to induco more intimate relations; but we do proposeto instruct those whose "iu- timate relations" in question render thom Bomewbat fastidious, in the daintiest fashions thoreunto pertsining. We verywellremember soeing one day in London, in the rear of the