1936 Shaking in the 60's by Eddie Clarke

will go a small cube of sugar, slightly moistened with angostura, then a slice of orange will be added, so that with the champagne on ice all that is left to be done when the guests arrive is to open up the bottles, fill the glasses and add a dash of brandy. (The same process can be adopted with cups, punches and noggs—these may all be well mixed up in advance, but leave the ice out until the last possible few minutes,then add a good sized block and stir it up. The usual practice is to serve "cups"from glass jugs but punches and noggs look much better and more attractive from "ye olde punche bowle". One thing to watch with the cups and punches which contain slices of fruit is to cut the portions of fruit in fairly large slices so that they can be retained in the original container and not poured into the guests' glasses with the drink.). Now Madame Experience is ready to throw open the door and let her guests arrive—directly the formal greetings are over, a tray of mixed drinks is presented— the choice of which one is left to them, and provided the drink is good and satisfies them, they will seldom change. The problem of what to drink is therefore settled for the rest of the evening. Now watch the cocktail magic as its mellowing effect makes even the stuffiest unbend. Mark how their tongues will wag and how for a short while at least they will become human. The first couple ofrounds of cocktails must be tiptop, not with the intention of getting rid of her guests early, but with the thought in mind that the first drink is always the best, and it is the first step to getting the party going. Her experienced eye will be watching the waitresses making sure they are quickly off the mark to each new arrival, and that glasses are fairly constantly charged, between intermissions of a few mouthfuls ofcanapes. The mention of liquid contents reminds us that she

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