1914 Beverages de luxe

jyjixed Drinks and

A. E. UL'PPERMANN of J. 11 '. l\'uppcinian New York Cili/

Their Ingredients

subject of mixed

drinks,

considering

the

In

upon

it may not be out of place to dwell

briefly

upon

reasons

for

the

as

well

history, as

their

and

continued

popularity.

their

existence

their

Since time immemorial, men have sought to

lend

through

seasoning,

that

an added relish to food

is, through the addition of flavorings of a si)icy, aromatic, or piquant, nature. It was natural, therefore, that the same meth- ods should have been applied in the matter of beverages, as is witnessed by the highlx'-llavored jninches and other brews of our forefathers. A distinction siiould be drawn, howex'er, between those mixed drinks whicii are devised purely as thirst (luenciiers and which should be classified under the heading of beverages, and those which are commonly known as appetizers. Among the former are included such drinks as shandy-gaff and the various toddies, rickeys, punches, cobblers, juleps, etc. To some of these beverages it has been sought to communicate a food value, aside from that of the stimulant, as in the case of sherry-flip, egg-nogg, milk-punch, etc., foods having been introduced because of their value as such, rather than because of any flavor which tiiey might impart. But there is another class of mixed drinks not less impor- tant nor less ijojnilar than the thirst-quenchers or beverages just named. This class is popularly known under the name of appetizers, in which are comprised all of the cocktails and other mixed drinks that are designed particularly to increase the de- sire for food, that is, to promote the appetite and stimulate the activity of the digestive organs. In medicine, the therapeutic value of simple or aromatic bitters has long been recognized. The introduction of a bitter element, highly aromatic in its nature, was due to this widely accepted principle among medical men as well as the laity as to the value of aromatic bitters administered in its most delight- ful form, viz., the cocktail. The bitters act upon the saliva glands as well as upon the secretions of the stomach, stimulating both to a greater degree