The Bon Vivant's Companion or How To Mix Drinks

[evo-lution]

Bear with me on this, i'm sure you'll find some interest in it.

I have some curiousities with regards to the copy of the 'The Bon Vivant's Companion or How To Mix Drinks' I now own.

I recently received the above book as a birthday gift from my girlfriend, and wondered if anyone could help shed light on some of the content in this book. It arrived with 20+ 'newspaper' cuttings, stuck on various pages in the book, as well as various 'ticks' and words written in pencil. I am trying to ascertain/understand where the cuttings are from and hope that someone will be able to help me.

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First off, there is a piece of paper on the inside cover of the book, which bears the following crest above a coat of arms. Underneath this picture is the name 'ROBERT ALEXANDER MONTGOMERY'. ('Garde Bien' translates as 'Watch Well').

Secondly, I believe my copy is a reprint from 1934, judging by what it says on the 9th page :-

Copyright 1927, 1928

by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCE THIS BOOK

OR PARTS THEREOF IN ANY FORM

FIRST AND SECOND PRINTINGS

BEFORE PUBLICATION

PUBLISHED OCTOBER, 1928

THIRD PRINTING NOVEMBER, 1928

FOURTH PRINTING DECEMBER, 1928

FIFTH PRINTING MARCH, 1929

SIXTH PRINTING JANUARY, 1930

SEVENTH PRINTING JANUARY, 1934

Am I right in thinking it's from 1934?

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Anyways, to the 'newspaper' cuttings :-

The first cutting appears on page 18 of the recipe section, and is stuck on recipe number 30 (Regent's Punch):-

"Original Regents Punch.

Mix four ounces of sugar, the thin peel of one lemon and one orange, one bottle of dry champagne, one half bottle of brandy, one half gill of rum, one gill of arrack, one half gill of pineapple syrup, one wine glass of Maraschino. Now pour one quart of boiling water over two teaspoonfuls of green tea; let it stand for five minutes, then strain and mix with the other ingredients. Ice thoroughly before serving."

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The second cutting appears on page 31, under the picture for 'Theodore Stewart's Barroom in John Street' :-

"A Royal Punch

The following recipe, sent in by a Massachusetts Trailer, is described as having been originated by a man who was attached to the household of Napoleon. It is described as "Punch Royale" and is truly regal, not only in its proportions but also in its magnificent array of ingredients. Here is the recipe:

Punch Royale

6 bottles white wine

1 pint rum

2 bottles Cognac

1 bottle Kirschwasser

1 bottle Curacao

1 pint strong green tea

Mix carefully and well in a demi-john. Let stand for twenty-four hours. One-third of this mixture is poured into a five-gallon punch bowl, then add fruits and water in the following amounts:

1 bottle raspberry juice

4 bottles seltzer water

The grated skins of six lemons (no juice)

6 pounds of white sugar

1 large pineapple cut in cubes

1 dozen oranges cut in cubes

1 bottle maraschino cherries

Ice thoroughly and serve"

There are then a further 13 cuttings on recipe pages 64/65/66. All of these cuttings bear recipes for drinks of the 'Pousse-Cafe' style, with names such as Pousse Cafe, Blanche Cocktail, Princess Cocktail, Knickerbein, Rainbow Plus, Smile Cocktail, Three Trees and A Maiden's Kiss as well as having little 'tit-bits' and 'quotes'.

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The next cutting appears on page 103, above the 'Negus' section.

"Port Wine Negus

Pour half a bottle of port wine into a jug; rub ten lumps of sugar on the rind of a lemon and strain it, adding sugar and lemon juice to the port, with a little nutmeg. Add to this a quart of boiling water, cover the jug and serve quickly while hot."

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The next cutting is on page 107 under the picture of 'Scoudrels Plying an Innocent Maiden with Liquor in 1870'. This also sit's in between recipe 201 (Mulled Wine - in verse). The verse in the book reads as :-

FIRST, my dear madam, you must take

Nine eggs, which carefully you'll break-

Into a bowl you'll drop the white,

The yolks into another by it.

Let Betsy beat the whites with switch,

Till they appear quite frothed and rich -

Another hand the yolks must beat

With sugar, which will make them sweet;

Three or four spoonfuls maybe'll do,

Though some, perhaps, would take but two.

Into a skillet next you'll pour

A bottle of good wine, or more -

Put half a pint of water, too,

Or may it prove too strong for you;

And while the eggs (by two) are beating,

The wine and water may be heating;

But when it comes to boiling heat,

The yolks and whites together beat

With half a pint of water more -

Mixing them well, then gently pour

Into the skillet with all the wine,

And stir it briskly all the time.

Then pour it off into a pitcher;

Grate nutmeg in to make it richer.

Then drink it hot, for he's a fool,

Who lets such precious liquor cool.

The newspaper cuttings verse is as follows :-

"An Old Formula for An Old-Fashioned Drink.

The following recipe for mulled wine was written by Leo Engel, American bartender at the old Criterion, in London:

To make good mulled wine, just allow me to say-

Nine eggs you must break and then do not delay.

But into a bowl let the whites all be dropped,

Whilst all of the yolks in another are popped.

With a switch let the whites be beaten about

Until like the froth of the sea they come out;

To the yolks then attend, and beat them also,

And at them three spoonfuls of sugar just throw.

Now into a skillet its quite time to pour

Of some recognised brand a bottle or more;

And if of your head you may have any fear,

Add one pint of water and mind it is clear.

The water and wine must be kept on the fire

Till they reach the boiling heat you require;

Then the yolks and the whites please beat as before.

A half pint of water o'er them gently pour.

Mix all well together until they combine

And then turn them into the skillet of wine;

Stir about briskly and pour in a pitcher

And grated nutmeg, 'twill make it much richer,

Drink it off hot, and i'll bet any odds

You'll own it's a drink that is fit for the gods."

Where did the rhyme in the book come from? Is Leo's rhyme the original or a 'variation'?

On the back of that cutting, there is a question from a reader, ("From time to time you refer to pure spirit. Just what is meant by "spirit"? Do you mean pure grain alcohol or is it some other distilled product, aged or new?") along with the answer from the newspaper.

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The next cutting appears on page 150 next to recipe 284 (Gum Syrup), and is another question from a reader.

"Gum Syrup

Q. - Will you please tell me just what is meant by "gum syrup"?

A. - The simplest "gum syrup" is the plain sugar product, which is the base of all fruit syrups. It is made by boiling sugar in a small quantity of water - about three cups to two pounds of sugar. Boil slowly about ten minutes, then let cool and bottle."

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The last two cuttings can be found under recipe 290 (Tincture of Allspice), and have been numbered 290-a (Falernum) and 290-b (Orgeat).

"Falernum

One pound sugar

One pint water

Boil above to a light syrup and let cool.

Add six ounces lime juice (can be bought in bottles).

Four ounces alcohol.

Four ounces water.

Add about ten drops of almond extract.

Orgeat

Blanch and pound three quarters of a pound of sweet almonds, in one tablespoonful of water. Stir in by degrees two pints of water and three pints of milk. Strain the mixture through a cloth. Dissolve half a pound of sugar in one pint of water. Boil and skim well, then add mix with the almond water. Add two tablespoonfuls of orange flower water and half a pint of old brandy."

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And that is all the cuttings. If anyone has any idea which publication they are from and/or when they were printed, you'd be putting my mind at ease! I appreciate any info you may or may not have...

Many thanks for taking the time to read this,

Kind regards,

Adam

Edited January 30, 2007 by evo-lution (log)

[eje]

Adam,

I don't have any particular insight into where those articles might have come from; but, this is really interesting stuff.

I particularly enjoyed the poems.

Thanks for typing it up!

[evo-lution]

I sent an e-mail to Wondrich/Haigh/DeGroff/Hess to see if they could shine any light and got the following sent back to me from 'Splificator':-

Dear Adam--

I'm not sure if all of the clips are from the same source, but at least one (the one that mentions "Trailers") appears to be from G. Selmer Fougner's "Along the Wine Trail" colum, which ran in the New York Sun in the 1930s.

Best,

Dave

Edited January 30, 2007 by evo-lution (log)

[evo-lution]

The following are the 14 separate 'Pousse-Cafe' cuttings found in the book.  These were all found stuck on the 'Fancy Drinks' section on pages 64/65/66.

I've done my utmost to keep all spelling/puncuation/etc. as they are in the cuttings :-

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"The Pousse Cafe is and always was intended as an after-dinner luxury for people who liked cordials. It may be served in a one ounce cordial glass or in a long beer glass"

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"French cordials are the best to use. All above have a distinct flavor and are good. Never Port wine. Red Parfait d'Amour and red raspberry sirup cannot be used together. If no Parfait d'Amour on hand then use red raspberry syrup for heaviest cordial.

"Never use Creme de Menthe as its peppermint flavor dominates every other liquor in any bar. You cannot taste anything but peppermint even if but one drop is used."

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Pousse Cafe

Creme Cocoa

1/4 glass of Benedictine

1/4 glass of Anisette

1/2 glass of Martell Brandy

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Blanche Cocktail

One-third Cointreau

One-third Anisette

One-third white Curacao

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Knickerbein

Use sherry-wine glass

One-third raspberry cordial

One yolk of an egg

Cover egg with Benedictine

One-third glass Kummel

Six drops of Angostura Bitters

Prepare this drink as you would when making a Pousse Cafe so that the colors will keep separate

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"(The reference is to the drink known as the "Knickerbein" discussed some time ago in this column. It is made in the manner of a pousse-cafe, with Benedictine, Maraschino, Kummel and brandy poured in carefully, so as not to allow the ingredients to mix. The egg yolk must be slipped in with a spoon held in a steady hand. - Ed.)"

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"cafes and bars in Berlin. There a 'Knickebein,' served in a small, bowl-shaped glass, is simply rose liqueur poured over the intact yolk of an egg"

Under this cutting, someone has written in pencil, "Mild Pick me-up," with an arrow pointing to it.

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Rainbow Plus

1/8 Glass of grenadine

1/8 Glass of Anisette M.B.

1/8 Glass of Perfect Love

1/8 Glass of Green Menthe

1/8 Glass of Curacao

1/8 Glass of Yellow Chartreuse

1/8 Glass of Green Chartreuse

1/8 Glass of Jamaica Rum

Burn upon serving

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Princess Cocktail

Three-fourths apricot brandy, one fourth sweet cream.

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"The so-called French pousse-cafe is made of six equal parts os maraschino, raspberry, sirup, vanilla, curacao, chartreuse and brandy. The New Orleans variety is made with one-quarter each of brandy, maraschino, curacao and Jamaica rum. And there is a 'Parisian' one made with one-third each of maraschino, kirsch and chartreuse."

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"little drink of French brandy - a little rest - then a sip of Danzig Goldwasser - next of Green Chartreuse - rest again, and then the Yellow Chartreuse.

"Take it easy now - each cordial is grand - now a sip of orange curacao, then Blue Crme Yvette, then of White Maraschino and last comes Perfect love or Red Parfait d'Amour."

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Smile Cocktail

One-third Creme de Cassis

One-third Swedish punch

One-third Cointreau.

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"'Three Trees,' writes a Trailer. Here it is, but it is not a cocktail. It is similar to a Pousse Cafe.

1-3 Green Creme de Menthe

1-3 White Creme de Menthe

1-3 Ruby Creme de Menthe

Do not let the ingredients mix."

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A Maidens Kiss

1-5 of Maraschino in a sherry glass.

1-5 of Creme de Roses

1-5 of Curacao (white)

1-5 of Chartreuse (yellow)

1-5 of Benedictine, each separate.

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And that's all the cuttings i've found so far!

S'laters,

Adam

Edited January 30, 2007 by evo-lution (log)