The French 75 - (Iconic New Orleans Cocktails) by John Maxwell Hamilton (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The latest in LSU Press's Iconic New Orleans Cocktails series, The French 75 tells the stories of the many lives of this protean cocktail. John Maxwell Hamilton begins his search for the French 75 in Europe, traveling to some of the many locations where it may have originated-yet always recognizing that some version of the French 75 was invented multiple times in multiple places. A century or so after its probable creation, this cocktail arrived at Arnaud's Restaurant and became as entrenched in New Orleans as the famed second line. Hamilton not only explores the kaleidoscopic variety of the French 75 over the years and across continents but also includes several now-iconic recipes for the cocktail"--

Book Synopsis

In The French 75, John Maxwell Hamilton tracks down the many lives of this protean cocktail. The drink, named by French propagandists during World War I, was said to pack a punch as powerful as that nation's celebrated 75 mm cannon. At the end of the century, the French 75 surfaced at Arnaud's Restaurant and became as entrenched in New Orleans as the famed second line. Hamilton explores the kaleidoscopic variety of the French 75 over the years and across continents.

Review Quotes

"A delightfully written, thoroughly researched yarn that doesn't take itself too seriously. It will have you breaking out the spirits and barware to compare historic versions of this exalted cocktail in short order."--Brian Robinson, proprietor and chief educator, The Wormwood Society

"The French 75 is a staple for events at the National WWI Museum and Memorial, and in homes and bars across the globe. John Maxwell Hamilton does a great job in tracing the origins of the cocktail, in its many variations, and mixing it with the history of the Great War. The book is a fascinating blend of history and cocktail culture, and it is sure to appeal to anyone who loves both."--Matthew C. Naylor, president and CEO, National WWI Museum and Memorial

"What can be said about a relatively obscure cocktail like the French 75? As it happens, quite a lot, and brilliantly so! John Maxwell Hamilton brought to bear his considerable research chops and writing skills and has given the cocktail world a book that is erudite, scholarly, and vastly entertaining."--Wayne Curtis, spirits writer and author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails

About the Author

John Maxwell Hamilton, a former journalist and government official, is the Hopkins P. Breazeale LSU Foundation Professor of Journalism in the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU and a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. He has authored or edited many books, including Journalism's Roving Eye and Manipulating the Masses, both of which won the Goldsmith Book Prize.