A treasure trove of vintage cocktail books, most of which you can download:

http://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/

You now all owe me a drink

That is Super cool, Thanks!

If i ever make it back to San Diego i'll definitely buy you a drink. Nice arriano.

Wow -- the vintage cover artwork on those books is amazing!

Thanks for the info, a drink is a must. let us know when you are coming to L.A.

There's a ton to look at! I saw a lot of ye olde cocktails that were 3 oz or under - there was a topic somewhere recently where we wondered how a drink recipe would only yield 2.5 oz and if that was supposed to be a shot, etc. I guess these days, in comparison, our cocktails are gallon jugs.

I agree - lways interesting to see vintage recipes as well as trying to work out vintage measurements.

I got sucked into a discussion yesterday about the size of a lime, and if limes were the same size in different countries then as now, and if the juice of a lime was always about 1oz or more or less and by how much. (The argument being that 1950s Cuban Limes were probably much smaller than a modern lime, which really affects how to make an authentic daiquiri.)

On 2015-12-15 07:14, Scaramouch wrote:
I got sucked into a discussion yesterday about the size of a lime, and if limes were the same size in different countries then as now, and if the juice of a lime was always about 1oz or more or less...

It doesn't take long to learn that limes at different times of the year, and from different parts of the country and world, and from different varieties, vary quite a bit in the amount of juice. So I never really followed the "juice of one lime" or "juice of a half lime" and instead use around one ounce per lime. Sometimes this is just right, and at other times it's too much or too little. That's part of the mystery of what we do with vintage cocktails. On the other hand, global palates (taste preferences) may have changed over the decades, and more lime-forward cocktails (or more booze-forward cocktails) may have been more the norm back then.

Definitely interesting!

On 2015-12-15 07:44, AceExplorer wrote:

On 2015-12-15 07:14, Scaramouch wrote:
I got sucked into a discussion yesterday about the size of a lime, and if limes were the same size in different countries then as now, and if the juice of a lime was always about 1oz or more or less...

It doesn't take long to learn that limes at different times of the year, and from different parts of the country and world, and from different varieties, vary quite a bit in the amount of juice. So I never really followed the "juice of one lime" or "juice of a half lime" and instead use around one ounce per lime. Sometimes this is just right, and at other times it's too much or too little. That's part of the mystery of what we do with vintage cocktails. On the other hand, global palates (taste preferences) may have changed over the decades, and more lime-forward cocktails (or more booze-forward cocktails) may have been more the norm back then.

Definitely interesting!

Something to watch for... A lot of old recipes call for lemons when they are actually calling for limes. This has to do with how the words "limón verde" get improperly translated. Verde = Green, a "limón verde" is a lime, yet check out the daiquiri recipes on page 27 of the Floridita book:
http://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/1939-Floridita-Cock-tails#26

[ Edited by: Hakalugi 2015-12-15 08:35 ]

Good clarification, Haka!

By far one of the best gifts the Internet has to offer! Thanks!!!

Nifty, thanks arriano.

Ari, mucho mahaloz. Absolutely awesome! I’m a big fan of “vintage cocktails as well as Tiki drinks.

interesting that the Blood and Sand from the Exclusive Cocktails From The Usher Hotel in 1936 is a rum drink and not scotch (and has MILK!) - i know the Savoy book from 1930 has scotch - going to have to try this one tonight

On 2015-12-29 07:03, stevekh wrote:
interesting that the Blood and Sand from the Exclusive Cocktails From The Usher Hotel in 1936 is a rum drink and not scotch (and has MILK!) - i know the Savoy book from 1930 has scotch - going to have to try this one tonight

Stevekh, Here’s another version -i don’t have a clue where I got it but it’s a good drink.
Happy mixing
Blood and Sand Cocktail

1/4 part OJ
1/4 part Cherry Brandy
1/4 part Italian Vermouth (sweet)
1/4 part Scotch Whiskey

Slice of orange
Stir well with ice,strain and garnish with orange slice.

On the Blood and Sand, which sounds tasty, I did a quick web search and found more about the origin of the drink. The name is stated to have been derived from a Valentino movie, with blood orange juice in the drink linking it further to the film. My Google search result page showed the recipe from Wikipedia along with a nice photo of the drink. I pasted a screen shot below.

I admire drinks with simple recipes, they're quick and easy when you get an itch to try something without a ton of effort. I'm going to play around with this a bit. Maybe I can find some blood oranges to squeeze, although the store-bought fruit is often not tree-ripened enough. I'll try it with regular OJ first, and will swap out rum and scotch as well to see how those go.

Could this be the "original classic" recipe per Wikipedia? I didn't dig further, maybe someone else can ad more info.

¡Toro Toro!

The blood orange season is short in California. I use Blood Orange Liqueur when I’m out of blood oranges and It makes a particularly good Blood and Sand.
Happy mixing!

THANK YOU so much for sharing the link to this interesting & valuable collection.
Some of these books are incredible and beautiful.

I should have stated that this isn't my collection, I simply stumbled upon it while searching the other day. And I thought there would be people here who would like them.

Note that whoever is running this site is uploading more scanned books regularly.

[ Edited by: arriano 2016-01-04 09:29 ]

I agree with Capt. R.H. Falernum - many of the graphics are superb!

Some of the books date back to the late 1800's. Really interesting material.