The Art of the Cocktail: From the Legendary Bartender of the Ritz Hotel

«The Art of the Cocktail» is much more than just a recipe book. You are holding a unique guide, a reissue of a fashionable accessory published in 1936. Highly valued in the high society of that era, it numbered only a thousand copies and existed solely in English, written for a select few clients from various countries. In it, you will find surprisingly simple yet exquisite drinks. And, above all, it is a testament to a lost world, a world of aesthetes of the interwar period.

Its author, Frank Meyer, has passed into legend. He was a famous bartender, and among the wealthy, he was known worldwide. His fine mustache, precise movements, and laughing gaze were at least as famous as his impeccable measurements. A product of the Austrian proletariat, he moved to London in the early 20th century and then went to New York, where Charles Mahony, managing cocktails at the prestigious Hoffman House hotel, taught him the art of mixing drinks. This social lift elevated Frank Meyer to Place Vendôme.

Thanks to the «Ritz», he became friends with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jean Cocteau, and the son of U.S. President Kermit Roosevelt.