1929 The Bon Vivant's Companion or How to Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas

THE BON VIVANT'S COMPANION

The Whole Containing

OVER 600 VALUABLE RECIPES.

By CHRISTIAN SCHULTZ

Professor of Chemistry, Apothecary and Manufacturer of Wines,Liquors, Cordials, etc., etc., from Berne,Switzerland. This erudite work first appeared early in 1862, and quickly went through half a dozen large printings. So raptur ously was it acclaimed, and so phenomenal its success, that scores of imitations soon appeared,and the book-stalls of the nation groaned beneath the weight of volumes purporting to give directions for the concocting of all sorts of delectable beverages. But through all this excess of publishing Pro fessor Thomas's work remained steadfastly first in the hearts of his countrymen,and was everywhere accepted as the pro duction of a Great Master.Even to this day the real adept at manipulating a cocktail shaker and other such symbols of civilization, one who approaches the act of compounding a drink in the proper humbleness of spirit,regards it somewhat as the Modernist regards the Scriptures; as perhaps a trifle out-moded by later discoveries, yet still worthy of all respect and reverence as the foundation of his creed and practice. The last edition of the opus was published in 1887,and was something to weep over, for Professor Thomas's bursts of lyric writing had been subjected to the censorious scissors and the ravening blue pencil, and the title of the work had been changed from the roisteringly significant Bon Vivant's Companion to the vulgar and prosaic Bartenders' Guide, or How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks. Worse, the elegant preface had been replaced by uninspiring Hints to Bartenders! In this form the book lacked spirit and dis tinction; it was little more than a dull account of instructions xxii