Post #667225 by AceExplorer on Wed, Feb 13, 2013 9:53 AM

I would add that one of the pleasures of the old classics is that they generally do not incorporate (or suffer from) the "flavored" spirits we see so often used today. There is a certain elegance and pleasure I associate with using a "straight" spirit and then enjoying the various effects of the "old-timey" syrups and flavorings. The interaction and the "edges" of the flavors are delivered differently into the mixture.

Are the old classics good? Mostly yes. Can people make good "new" drinks today? Absolutely yes. The "new" drinks today have a whole different suite of ingredients from which to choose. Times are different, and tastes evolve with the times. But that evolution is not always better. Fortunately there is a well-established bastion of folks like us TC'ers who care to remember and enjoy and thereby preserve the known mixology home-runs of the past.

I seems to me that a few of the comments about various recipe books mentioned in this thread are loaded with some broad generalizations which I personally wouldn't make. I think it is a difficult stretch to simply declare one author or book as "better" than another when the recipes come from completely different time periods, select from completely different palates of ingredients, and are in some cases of completely different levels of complexity. One in particular often stays in the realm of 8-to-15 or so ingredients versus the others tendency to stay in the realm of 4-to-8 or so ingredients. These differences are what drive many of us to begin collecting and experimenting with various books and the various "genres" or "styles" or "time periods" of the mixology contained in each.