Straight Up or On the Rocks : The Story of the American Cocktail

The cocktail is as old as the nation that invented it, yet until this entertaining and authoritative account, its story had never been fully told. William Grimes traces the evolution of American drink from the anything-goes concoctions of the Colonial era to the frozen margarita, spiking his meticulously researched narrative with arresting details, odd facts, and colorful figures.

The book includes about one hundred recipes--half of them new for this edition--for both classics and innovations.

“Grimes ... has written a perceptivem informative and sometimes amusing account of the shifts and swings in American drinking fashions.” —The New York Times

“The story of the cocktail itself is long overdue. In Straight Up Or on The Rocks, William Grimes--does an expert job--mixing classic-drink recipes with wonderful accounts that will leave cocktail connoisseurs happy.” —Paul Engleman, Playboy magazine

“Grimes' sophisticated writing combines with his thorough scholarship to mirror the mixology he documents.” —Booklist

“[Grimes's] enthusiasm for the subject is absolutely intoxicating.” —Teresa Weaver, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“A short, engrossing history of the concoction in all its variety.” —Katherine Powers, The Boston Sunday Globe