Shake 'Em Up!: A Practical Handbook of Polite Drinking

by Virginia Elliott, Phil D. Stong, Herb Roth (Illustrator)

As the authors say: Shake 'Em Up is "for People Who Fling Parties, People Who Go to Parties . . . People Who Don’t Really Drink but Feel That a Cocktail or Two Enlivens Conversation—in short, for the American People," and that’s as true today as it was upon the book's original publication, "in the twelfth year of Volstead, 1930."

Virginia Elliott and Phil D. Stong created a handbook for polite—if not entirely legal—drinking during the height of Prohibition, but the advice remains sound, the voice charming, and the cocktails strong.

Whether you’re looking for the proper way to mix a Brandy Punch, what you ought to serve alongside a Bijou Cocktail, or a dependable hangover cure, Shake 'Em Up has you covered. Need advice on how to catch up with your already-inebriated guests, or guidance on what to do when said guests end up a little too inebriated? Here, too, Shake Em Up will point you in the right direction. Looking for a step-by-step guide to making bathtub gin? Well, sadly, that page has been censored by the United States District Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

An essential addition to the library of any cocktailians, entertainers, nostalgics, or those who just like to relax with a cold beverage, Shake 'Em Up delivers all the joy of a Jazz-Age cocktail party, without the fear of temperance officers knocking down your door.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cocktails

120 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1930

Reviews

[LadyFivestar · Rating 5 out of 5]

5stars

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Shake 'Em Up" is a book of cocktail recipes, party-giving tips, and hangover remedies, first published in the United States in 1930 -- when Prohibition was still the law of the land. The authors even advise on what mixture of herbal extracts will give your bathtub gin the most authentic flavor, which got them in trouble with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Truth be told, a lot of this book consists of recipes for cocktails and canapes that probably won't appeal to a modern palate, which is why I'm only giving it 3 stars. The recipe for a "dry" martini would be considered outrageously "wet" these days (two parts gin to one part vermouth), and the appetizers are mostly variations on "slice white bread, butter it, and put something salty-fatty-savory on top."

Still, there's enough historical interest and insouciant 1930s wit to make this slim book worthwhile. For instance, to introduce their section on drinks for cocktail novices, the authors write "Tender young things, who have just been taken off stick candy, prefer complicated pink and creamy drinks which satisfy their beastly appetite for sweets and at the same time offer an agreeable sense of sinfulness. If you have any creme de menthe or creme de cocoa about the house, make them up some kind of a mess of it and push them under the piano to suck on it."

Civil disobedience has rarely been so cheerful or such good fun.

[Erich · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light-hearted book about Prohibition cocktail recipes, hors d'oeuvres, and entertaining. I'd really like to know how large a wine glass was back then, as several recipes called for multiple glasses of gin or rye or whatever...

[Tasha]

Delightfully olde-timey!

[Ollie Z Book Minx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though there's a heavy dose of gin (non-alcoholic, of course) I need to own this and try all the recipes!