WWI COCKTAILS & THE EUROPEAN INVASION

       World War I (1914–1918) and its aftermath brought a wave of internationalism, foreign liquors, and some decidedly French flavor combinations to the glass. Drinks from spots like Harry’s Bar in Paris were enjoyed by servicemen and brought home to influence American cocktail creation. Recipes named after artillery (the French 75, page 60) or airplanes (the Aviation, page 65) illustrate how bars were social spaces for conversing about the day’s news.

These were the years leading up to Prohibition, and the Anti-Saloon League was loudly trumpeting the evils of alcohol. Despite their caterwauling, “mixed and fancy drinks” continued to flourish, thanks to creative bartenders and thirsty, well-heeled Americans who were willing to dig through their coin purses for 15 to 25 cents for a Martini at the Waldorf.

To encourage lunch-time drinking, bars around the country offered free noon-hour meals, from gumbo in New Orleans to roast beef sandwiches in Chicago, a tradition that sadly disappeared, only to be replaced by late-day snackery—today’s “happy hour.”