Writer
The Cocktail Parlor: How women
brought the cocktail home
by Nicola Nice (Author), Robert Simonson (Foreword)
Throughout American history, women have helped propel what we know as classic cocktails―the Martini, the Manhattan, the Old-Fashioned, and more―into popular culture. But, often excluded from private clubs, women exercised this influence from the home, in their cocktail parlors. In The Cocktail Parlor, Dr. Nicola Nice, sociologist and spirits entrepreneur, gives women their long-overdue spotlight in cocktail history and shows how they still impact cocktail culture today.
Journeying through the decades, this book profiles a diverse array of influential hostesses. With each historic era comes iconic recipes, featuring a total of 40 main cocktails and more than 100 variations that readers can make at home. Whether its happy hour punch a la Martha Washington or a Harlem Renaissance–inspired Green Skirt, readers will find that many of the ingredients and drinks they’re familiar with today wouldn’t be here without the hostesses who served them first.
Countryman Press | 208 pages | ISBN: 978-1-68268-871-7 | 2024
Praise for The Cocktail Parlor…
“The simple, yet profound, truth that Dr. Nice has uncovered in her survey of hospitality guides and cookbooks penned by women—the truth expressed in these pages—is that homemakers had as much to do with the spread of cocktail culture as the saloon keepers did.”
Robert Simonson, author of The Old-Fashioned, 3-Ingredient Cocktails, A Proper Drink and The Encyclopedia of Cocktails
“At last, a celebration of women's roles in the invention and evolution of the cocktail! The Cocktail Parlor is an essential contribution to the history of mixology, and a lively and entertaining conversation-starter.”
Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist
“Dr. Nice's groundbreaking work is as elegant as it is informative. Mixography - the art of writing about mixed drinks - has never received a proper history. When it does, I have no doubt that The Cocktail Parlor will serve as one of its cornerstones.”
Dr. David Wondrich, Editor in Chief, The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails
“The Cocktail Parlor is an absolute must buy for every cocktail enthusiast, from the curious novice to the seasoned hostess. Come for the recipes, stay for the essential women's history. As delightful and restoring as a freshly mixed spritz.”
Mallory O'Meara, author of GIRLY DRINKS
“Dr. Nice insightfully chronicles history’s most influential hostesses, firmly placing these extraordinary women in their rightful position at the forefront of the dawn of the cocktail tradition.”
Frank Caiafa, author of The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book
“What’s profound about this book is the realization of how quietly women of the last century influence the way we imbibe today... Nicola looked beyond the male dominated cocktail books of history and found a treasure chest of information.”
Sother Teague, author of I'm Just Here for the Drinks
“Nice excavates the stories of the women behind the Mint Julep, the Bee’s Knees, and many other cordials, punches, and possets that still shape cocktail culture today. As I read through Nice’s quaffable feminist history, I’ll be making the Suffragette, a cocktail so potent that “one makes a man willing to listen; two convince him that it has some merit; three make him a missionary; and four make him go home and wash the dishes.””
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“For the woman in your life who loves making cocktails, the author focuses on hostesses who shaped cocktail history. It’s a fascinating book with drink recipes of course.”
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“For much of drinks history, cocktail manuals were written by men for other men working behind the bar and serving mainly men in front of it. Yet many of our most famous cocktails were perfected at home by women in their cocktail parlors. Here Nicola Nice, a sociologist and spirits entrepreneur, profiles some of those influential hostesses and the cocktails they popularized.”
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“Bring on the women in cocktail books!... Nicola’s research provides joyous a-ha moments for anyone interested in beverages and/or women’s herstory.”
Tara Nurin, author of A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse
“Dr. Nicola Nice shines a spotlight on an incredibly important yet often overlooked part of drinks history and culture: female home bartenders. Thanks to The Cocktail Parlor the voices of these women and their significant contributions will no longer be forgotten.”
Noah Rothbaum, author of The Art of American Whiskey, The Business of Spirits, and Whiskey Bible
“Gift this book to every woman you know. Because this book is about more than just cocktail history: it’s about women’s history, just told through the lens of the cocktail glass.”
Kara Newman, author of Shake, Stir, Sip and Nightcap
“Historians are just starting to discover that women were equals in the development of drink culture, brewing and distilling. Nicola Nice has filled in the gaps in the history of women’s integral involvement in cocktail making... And it is a great read”
Anistatia Miller, drinks historian and co-author of Spirituous Journey: A History of Drink, Vols. 1 and 2
“Dr. Nice cites so many fascinating authors that I kept one browser window open to search for more information about them and another to add their books to my reading list. Rarely has a drink book so enthralled me yet left me thirsty for more.”
Camper English, author of Doctors and Distillers
“Leave it to Dr. Nicola Nice to beautifully highlight women's influence on cocktail history as she makes her own impact on cocktail culture for generations to come.”
Jules Aron, author of The Low Proof Happy Hour
“Cheers to Dr. Nicola Nice for correcting the historic record on women and cocktail making! The Cocktail Parlor takes readers on a spirited journey from the 1800s to today, revealing women’s integral roles in the creation and acceptance of cocktails through every drinking and hostessing era, with delicious recipes that both professionals and novices will enjoy.”
Jeanette Hurt, author of Drink Like a Woman and Wisconsin Cocktails
“Focusing on different hostesses in each chapter, like the “Apartment Hostess” or the “City Hostess” and correlating them to a category of drinks, the book is an exciting read. It’s a joy to revisit classic cocktails through a different lens.”
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“There have been many books written about cocktail history, but this one by Dr. Nicola Nice, tells it from the little-known perspective of women. Beginning in the 1800s, women created shrubs, punches, and cocktails while entertaining at home. All this made their way into the gentlemen’s clubs and bars, giving no credit to their origins til now.”
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“The weaving of these largely untold tales with our knowledge of cocktails today is deftly done by Nice. And the tales themselves are snapshots into the domestic worlds of these women who were quietly but diligently building the foundations of the cocktail. Thanks to Nice and her rousing book, these women are quiet no more. I’ll raise a wine cup to that.”
Club Oenologique, - Top Summer Reads For Food and Drink Lovers
“Dr. Nicola Nice, sociologist and founder of Pomp & Whimsy, which produces gin and gin liqueur, digs into women’s influence on cocktail history, combing through old recipe and housekeeping books for punches, cordials, juleps, and cobblers. While it’s not primarily a recipe book, you may find drinks here that you haven’t tried, especially from the earlier decades the book covers.”
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