Ted saucier's bottoms up [with illustrations by twelve of america's most distinguished artists] (Martino Fine Books)

2011 Reprint of 1951 Illustrated First Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. For almost 4 decades, Saucier was the publicist for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

His 1951 cocktail classic book, Bottoms Up includes over 200 drinks, fully indexed, plus twelve risqué [for the period] illustrations aby twelve different artists. A typical review of a cocktail follows the actual recipe:THE LAST WORD: Damrak Gin / Green Chartreuse / Luxardo Maraschino / Lime / Sugar"This cocktail was introduced around here about thirty years ago żeby Frank Fogarty, who was very well known in vaudeville.

He was called the 'Dublin Minstrel,' and was a very fine monologue artist." So wrote Ted Saucier in 1951 when introducing this drink in Bottoms Up. Saucier credits the drink to the Detroit Athletic Club, and if the bartender's recollection is correct, that would place the Last Word as a Prohibition-era cocktail.

If that's the case, then the Last Word is one of the finest cocktails to come out of that bleak period in American history. Four ingredients, two of them fairly exotic, working in equal parts to create perfect harmony.