Contraband Cocktails

Americans weren’t supposed to drink during Prohibition—but that’s exactly when “cocktail culture” came roaring to life. The Bloody Mary, sleek cocktail shakers, craft mixology, and hundreds of other essentials of modern drinking owe their origins to the Dry Years.
 
In Contraband Cocktails, Paul Dickson leads us on a fascinating tour of those years—from the “Man in the Green Hat” making secret deliveries to Capitol Hill, to The Great Gatsby’s Daisy pouring Tom a mint julep at the Plaza, to inside the smoky nightclubs of the Jazz Age—Dickson serves up an intoxicating tale of how and what Americans drank during Prohibition.
 
Chock-full of scandalous history, cultural curiosities, and dozens of recipes by everyone from Ernest Hemingway to Franklin D. Roosevelt—along with a glossary of terms that will surprise the most seasoned bartender—Paul Dickson’s Contraband Cocktails is the perfect companion to any reader’s Cocktail Hour.

Paul Dickson is the author of more than sixty-five books and hundreds of articles on the American language, baseball, and twentieth-century history. His previous book for Melville House was Drunk: The Drinker’s Dictionary, which was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest-ever collection of synonyms. He lives in Maryland, with his wife, Nancy.