Throughout American history, women have helped propel what we know as classic cocktails--the Martini, the Manhattan, the Old-Fashioned, and more--into popular culture. But, often excluded from private clubs, women exercised this influence from the home, in their cocktail parlors. In The Cocktail Parlor, Dr. Nicola Nice, sociologist and spirits entrepreneur, gives women their long-overdue spotlight in cocktail history and shows how they still impact cocktail culture today.
Journeying through the decades, this book profiles a diverse array of influential hostesses. With each historic era comes iconic recipes, featuring a total of 40 main cocktails and more than 100 variations that readers can make at home. Whether its happy hour punch a la Martha Washington or a Harlem Renaissance-inspired Green Skirt, readers will find that many of the ingredients and drinks they're familiar with today wouldn't be here without the hostesses who served them first.
Industry Reviews
The Cocktail Parlor is a literature review of women-authored books in which there are mixed drink recipes, and an analysis of what those drinks reveal about the changing role of women in society. [Along the way, ] Dr. Nice cites so many fascinating authors that I kept one browser window open to search for more information about them and another to add their books to my reading list. Rarely has a drink book so enthralled me yet left me thirsty for more.--Camper English, author of Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails
The Cocktail Parlor is an absolute must-buy for every cocktail enthusiast, from the curious novice to the seasoned hostess. Come for the recipes, stay for the essential women's history. As delightful and restoring as a freshly mixed spritz.--Mallory O'Meara, James Beard Award-winning author of Girly Drinks
At last, a celebration of women's roles in the invention and evolution of the cocktail! In The Cocktail Parlor, Nicola Nice looks beyond the male-dominated cocktail cannon to find the women who were there all along, brewing cordials and filling punch bowls. She uncovers a treasure trove of inventive and witty cocktail writing and recipes, by women whose names deserve to be much better known. The Cocktail Parlor is an essential contribution to the history of mixology, and a lively and entertaining conversation-starter.--Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist
Bring on the women in alcohol books! To introduce a subject ignored for far too long, Nicola Nice's The Cocktail Parlor expertly weaves together three main elements to illuminate women's fundamental-yet-overlooked impact on the evolution of the cocktail: the accomplishments of the key players, the historical context in which they worked, and the recipes they helped popularize. Nicola's research provides joyous aha moments for anyone interested in beverages and/or women's herstory, and her writing connects people, places, and perspectives in ways that clearly show how intricately women and the beverages they make, serve, and enjoy both shape and are shaped by the sociological ecosystem they inhabit. Nicola's sharp observations and skilled ability to unearth little-known facts help readers better understand the cocktail as it truly is: a drink that's ever so much more than just a drink.--Tara Nurin, author of A Woman's Place Is in the Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs
Cheers to Dr. Nicola Nice for correcting the historic record on women and cocktail making! The Cocktail Parlor takes readers on a spirited journey from the 1800s to today, revealing women's integral roles in the creation and acceptance of cocktails through every drinking and hostessing era, with delicious recipes that both professionals and novices will enjoy.--Jeanette Hurt, author of Drink Like a Woman and Wisconsin Cocktails
While the true story of the cocktail has never been limited to sepia-toned reels of burly, mustachioed men who were part-barman, part-showman, its history--largely written by such men--was. Now, through her book, The Cocktail Parlor, Dr. Nice insightfully chronicles history's most influential hostesses, firmly placing these extraordinary women in their rightful position at the forefront of the dawn of the cocktail tradition.--Frank Caiafa, author of The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book
