What'll You Have?

I am reading a great book called What'll You Have? originally written by Julien J Proskauer. What'll You Have? is a bartender's guide written in 1933, just after Prohibition was repealed.

In addition to long forgotten drinks like the Sidecar, the Hong kong Punch and, my personal favorite, the Scandal Maker (two parts Whisky, two parts Gin and 2 parts Bacardi) the book also has an extensive section on wine.

It is interesting to see what has changed and what has remained the same over the last 80 years. For instance the "modern" wines listed by the author are: Port, Sherry, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Madeira, Rhine, Moselle, Tokay, and Marsala. Clearly, some of those wine types have fallen out of fashion. He also lists the average alcohol content for "light wines" (basically, anything not Port or Sherry) as about 7%.

On the other hand, when he lists some of the "varieties" (his term) of Bordeaux he includes, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Palmer Margaux, Chateau Haut Brion, Chateau Brune Cantenac (not sure if that is a misspelling or there has been a name change), Chateau Pontent-Canet, and Chateau Lafite.

He also correctly predicts that wine will become one of the leading industries of California. Virginia gets a mention as well for its production of the Virginia Seedling and Scuppernong (a type of Muscadine) grapes.

Its a fascinating book for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of alcohol in the United States.