Old Man Drinks is Full of Barstool Wisdom (and Drinks)

“Lose those girly cocktails and start drinking like a real man–a real old man!” begins the back-flap introduction to Old Man Drinks, a great little book full of recipes, advice and barstool wisdom.

This was on my Amazon wishlist last year and when I found it in my stocking, it did not disappoint. The Little Tome That Could will help put hair on your chest and learn you young whipper-snappers a thing or two about drinking in it’s glory days. The book’s author, Robert Schnakenberg, is actually quite the young whipper-snapper himself (my age) in comparison to the subject matter, but that doesn’t stop him from infiltrating classic saloons and pub and interviewing genuine old school drinkaholics–cantankerous but otherwise gentle old-timers brimming with intergenerational wisdom… and passing it on to him… and us.

The book covers everything from Boilermakers and Sidecars to Rusty Nails and Satan’s Whiskers. The first drink that caught my eye upon flipping through the pages was a Bronx Cocktail… I lived in the Bronx almost my entire life and never had nor heard of it. Essentially a gin martini with orange juice and a little Sweet Vermouth, it was a pre-prohibition breakfast favorite of President Taft. Nice to learn a bit of history as I sipped my own.

You’ve heard of a coffee table book, this is a bar book. Like Kramer’s coffee table book that turns into a coffee table, my copy of Old Man Drinks has doubled as a coaster on my bar many nights. It’s a fine hardcover that has soaked up it’s share of spills and splashes and I highly recommend it.

Old Man Drinks is available at Amazon.