The Deans of Drink

Book excerpt: Did you know that 2013 is the 80th anniversary of Harry Johnson's death in 1933? Did you know that 2013 is the 50th anniversary of Harry Craddock's death in 1963? Well, now you do. To properly celebrate the lives and the body of work that the two Harrys left as their legacy, cocktail detectives Miler and Brown present the amazing lives and turbulent lives that surround bar legends Harry John and Harry Craddock. Seen in a whole new light, the authors present the never-before-disclosed stories of of both men and some of the people that affected their lives and shared their experiences. Tribute and recipes created in their honour by some of the world's finest mixologists plus walking tours of Craddock's and Johnson's New York and London haunts complete this anniversary experience. Why a book about Johnson and Craddock? Why are these guys so important? Both of these gentlemen lived and worked in uncertain times. Their personal and professional existences were sculpted by extreme, world-changing events and the public attitudes that arose because of them. Johnson wrote, in 1888, the expanded edition of his Bartenders' Manual the first cocktail book that documented both a Martini and a Marguerite recipe. His volume was also the first to provide a detailed plan for opening, staffing, and operating a bar, one that is as viable today as it was over 125 years ago. His career was shaped and flourished just as state liquor laws and suffragettes pushed the USA toward temperance and prohibition. His personal life was marked by Americans' anti-German prejudices during the First World War. Yet he provided the industry with all the wisdom he gained from decades of experience dedicating himself to "running a good place." Craddock turned London on its cocktail ears when he took his post as head bartender in 1923 at the Savoy Hotel's American Bar. Compiler of the famed Savoy Cocktail Book, Craddock chronicled what was served to royalty, film stars, theatrical and literary greats, politicians, and captains of industry at this A-lister establishment. As one of the founders of the United Kingdom Bartenders Guild, forerunner to the International Bartenders Association, Craddock helped establish standards for service and drinks-making that elevated the profession. With The Deans of Drink: The Amazing Lives & Turbulent Times of Bar Legends Harry Johnson & Harry Craddock as Seen in a New Light, Miller and Brown set the record straight, quashing a number of long-held myths about these men and contributing another body of knowledge to the deeply fascinating history of the bartending profession-the men and women who oiled the wheels of politics, society, and civilization in general.