Midcentury Cocktails : History, Lore, and Recipes from America's Atomic Age / Cecelia Tichi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tichi, Cecelia, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cocktails--United States.

Cocktails.

Drinking of alcoholic beverages in literature.

Popular culture--United States--History--20th century.

Popular culture.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : 25 b/w illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : New York University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

A delightful history of cocktails from the era of new interstate highways, sprouting suburbs, and atomic engineeringAmerica at midcentury was a nation on the move, taking to wings and wheels along the new interstate highways and in passenger jets that soared to thirty thousand feet. Anxieties rippled, but this new Atomic Age promised cheap power and future wonders, while the hallmark of the era was the pleasure of an evening imbibing cocktails in mixed company, a middle-class idea of sophisticated leisure. This new age, stretching from the post-World War II baby boom years through the presidency of General Dwight Eisenhower into the increasingly volatile mid-1960s, promised affordable homes for those who had never dreamed of owning property and an array of gleaming appliances to fill them. For many, this was America at its best--innovation, style, and the freedom to enjoy oneself--and the spirit of this time is reflected in the whimsical cocktails that rose to prominence: tiki drinks, Moscow mules, Sea Breezes, Pina Coladas, Pink Squirrels, and Sloe Gin Fizzes.Of course, not everyone was invited to the party. Though the drinks were getting sweeter, the racial divide was getting more bitter--Black Americans in search of a drink, entertainment, or a hotel room had to depend on the Green Book for advice on places where they would be welcome and safe. And the Cold War and Space Race proceeded ominously throughout this period, as technological advances alternately thrilled and terrified.The third installment in Cecelia Tichi's tour of the cocktails enjoyed in various historical eras, Midcentury Cocktails brings a time of limitless possibilities to life though the cocktails created, named, and consumed.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. On the Road(s)

2. Barbizonia

3. Gray Flannel Suits

4. The Bar Car

5. Le weekend

6. Pulitzers versus Potboilers

7. Bunnies and Playboys

8. Jet Set

9. Tiki Time

10. Bachelor Pads

11. Breakfasting at Tiffany's

12. Islands in the Stream

13. Green Booking

14. Atoms for Peace

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Aug 2022)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-4798-1669-8

OCLC:

1338838175