Classic Bartenders Guides: A Checklist

This list is a work in progress and is updated regularly—or, at least semi-regularly. Okay. Let's call it ocassionally. Within the top-level groups, guides are listed chronologically.

For works that are out of copyright and available free online, I've linked to what I consider the best online version (generally Google Books.) For those that are still under copyright, I've linked to Amazon, where you'll have to shell out a few bucks to secure a copy.

The Essentials

Jerry Thomas, How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon Vivant's Companion (1862). The seminal American bartenders guide and a classic of spirits history.

Harry Johnson, The New and Improved Illustrated Bartenders' Manual; or, How to Mix Drinks of the Present Style (1888). Johnson was a professional bartender from New York. 43 Rules and Regulations for tending bar, list of utensils, and recipes for close to 200 drinks.

William Schmidt, The Flowing Bowl: When And What to Drink (1892). By "The Only William," a German immigrant who became the most famous bartender in New York City.

George J. Kappeler, Modern American Drinks: How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks (1895). [Note: link is to 1900 reprint] No nonsense recipes, but an essential compendium of the American cocktail canon at the close of the 19th century.

Tom Bullock, The Ideal Bartender (1917). Written by the head barman at the St. Louis Country Club, it is the first known cocktail recipe book from an African-American author.

Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930).American Harry Craddock left the U. S. during Prohibition and became famous running the American Bar at London's Savoy Hotel.

Stanley Clisby Arthur, Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em (1937). A seminal book on the drink recipes of old New Orleans. Arthur was the kind of writer who never let facts get in the way of a good story, so you have to take many of his historical assertions with a grain of salt (for instance, his discussion of the history of the cocktail and the Sazerac), but there are a lot of good New Orleans recipes nonetheless.

Baker, Charles, The Gentleman's Companion: Being an Exotic Drinking Book Or, Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask (1939). Two Volumes. A very eccentric but delightful book chronicling libations Baker discovered during his frequent travels around the world.

David Embury, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948). By trade, Embury was a lawyer, not a bartender, but he remains one of the most distinctive and authoritative voices on the philosophy of mixing drinks.

The Rest of the Pack

Charles Tovey, British & Foreign Spirits: Their History, Manufacture, Properties, Etc. (1864) Mostly contains material on spirits, their history and manufacture. Useful chapter on punch.

William Terrington, Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks: A Collection of Recipes for "Cups" and Other Compounded Drinks (1869). British guide covering wine, liqueurs, bitter drinks, etc. plus large collection of "cups" (mixed drink) recipes.

E. Ricket and C. Thomas, The Gentleman's Table Guide. Being Practical Recipes for Wine Cups, American Drinks, Punches, Cordials, Summer & Winter Beverages (1871). British drink guide with generous section on American cocktails, too.

Tim Daly, Daly's Bartenders' Encyclopedia: A Complete Catalog of the Latest and Most Popular Drinks (1903). From a Massachusetts bartender.

Louis Muckensturm, Louis' Mixed Drinks, with Hints for the Care & Serving of Wines (1906). Opens with long section on wines then a generous selection of cocktails and mixed cordials.

A. Lyman Phillips, A Bachelors Cupboard: Containing Crumbs Culled from the Cupboards of the Great Unwedded (1906). Includes a chapter called "A Dissertation on Drinks" with many cocktail recipes, including an early formula for Chatham Artillery Punch.

Jacques Straub, Straub's Manual of Mixed Drinks (1913). 675 drinks from the Swiss-born wine steward of Chicago's Blackstone Hotel & former manager of Louisville's Pendennis Club. Mostly just ingredients with minimal instructions.

Robert of the Embassy Club, Cocktails: How to Mix Them (1922).

Historical Curiosities & Disreputable Characters

A. W. Chase, Dr. Chase's Recipes; or, Information for Everybody: An Invaluable Collection of About Eight Hundred Practical Recipes (1866). for merchants, grocers, saloon keepers, druggists, tanners and just about everyone else. A book that kept getting revised and reprinted. This 1866 edition is the 41st edition. Includes a "Saloon Department" with some interesting entries on beer, wines, syrups, etc.

Leo Engel, American & Other Drinks. Upwards of Two Hundred of the Most Approved Recipes for Making the Principal Beverages Used in the United States and Elsewhere (1878) Engel was a British man who spent a lengthy sojourn in the United States before returning to England to share the recipes for "American cooling drinks." The text is largely plagiarized from Jerry Thomas's How to Mix Drinks.

Fleischman, Joseph, The Art of Blending and Compounding: Liquor and Wines (1885). Published in New York in 1885. Not a cocktail book but rather a guide for wholesalers buying & blending various spirits. Interesting snapshot of the liquor trade in 1885, especially adulteration.