Jigger, Beaker, and Glass: Drinking Around the World

It should be noted first, that this book is a faithful reprint (all except the title and cover :-) of the classic "The Gentleman's Companion", first published in 1939. That first edition came as a two book set: "Exotic Drink Book", and "Exotic Cookery Book". The former is the book here in question, the latter has been likewise reprinted under the title "Knife, Fork, and Spoon : Eating Around the World".If you are expecting the same old "wad-o-drinks" type of book here, then you will be quite surprised in what you find. Mr. Baker has a dry wit, as well as a cunning charm about him. And he exercises it well as he relates to his readers the various drinks that he has collected through his travels and adventures. The recipes often consist of more prose then raw ingredients, which makes them both more interesting to browse through but at the same time slightly more difficult to work from.For a taste of his style, here is just one of the drink recipes from this book:SANTIAGO NIGHTCAP, from a STAY in SANTIAGO de CUBA,in the EARLY SPRING of 1930------This is another favour passed along to this fieldrepresentative and wine tester by the late Senor FacunoBacardi, it being his primary thought to donate somethingto woo sleep and restore the slightly frayed physicalassembly. It is a simple drink, and would also make afine picker-upper. . . . Take 1 1/2 jiggers of GoldSeal Bacardi rum, add 1 pony of orange curaco and theyolk of 1 egg. Shake hard with cracked ice and straininto a large saucer champagne glass.While the formatting of these recipes may make it a bit more difficult to glean direct recipes from them, they do present a provocative and insightfull snapshot of the cocktail world of those days. Few books, before or since, have even approached this wonderfully eclectic performance.I highly recommend this book for anybody who has an interest in classic cocktails.

I have had the original publication and companion guide "Around the World With Knife, Fork and Spoon" for many years and so enjoy Mr. Baker's storytelling. It is part of a two volume set called "The Gentleman's Companion". In it you will learn the origin of many cocktails and hear about the characters of bygone days. These are adventurers, writers and newsmen from around the globe in the locales in which they tipped their glasses. This book feels good in the hand and they used the original typeface which helps to transport you to another time. Good reading and with recipes! And Yes, big, tough men drank fruity drinks and discussed their virtues throughout the night!

The great stories about bars, bartenders, and people and situations that Baker encountered as he explored the world collecting cocktail recipes in the 30s, makes this an intriguing and memorable read. Other excellent cocktail books may have better organized the recipes for the sake of reference, but if you're like me you cull only the drinks that interest you from even the best organized books and compile them in your own organized notebook.Jigger, Beaker and Glass has plenty of recipes to recommend, but what Baker imparts through his stories is that a great cocktail, served in the company of fellow travelers and aficionados, mixed by a savvy bartender, in some exotic faraway bar, often makes for a memorable evening.

I've been watching for an affordable copy of this volume for several years since, I had an experienced bartender mix me an obscure drink from it. So obscure that I didn't find listed in the index- and haven't encountered it so far, about half way through reading.However, I'm enjoying every page and won't be disappointed if he'd misled me and it's not there. The bartender gave me the recipe.I've already used Baker's recipe for Athol Brose for a Scottish Christmas party. That one was delicious and is now tucked up my sleeve for the next opportunity to introduce others to it.The book is a conceit, but a fascinating window on another era.

This book is my favorite of all cocktail books. The writing is so good, in fact, that I was not surprised in the least to learn that it's author was very close with and had traveled the world beside Ernest Hemingway. Pure gold!

This book is a pure joy. How Baker went about experimenting with and investigating drinks is a model for libationers everywhere. In fact, it is a model for how to approach any subject, with verve and determination and an open mind. He got quite sauced a few times over the years, but it did not affect his wonderful comments nor warp his recipes. It's a real treasure--though I like the original title better, despite its subtle unpolitically correct nuance. Hence 4 starts instead of the 5 I would have given if I had reviewed the original book.

"Reprint". ... of a book, which I have a set of the originals. Bought this for a nephew who is just heading down the world of food and drink.

this is worth buying for the description of the "sahara glowing heart" alone. amazing reference for 1920s and 1930s cocktails.

great reference book