A blog dedicated to the culture of hospitality, as told through the lens of women’s history. Exploring hosting etiquette through the ages, forgotten books and their authors, and the odd bit of cocktail inspiration. From the desk of sociologist, writer, and entrepreneur
DR NICOLA NICE
The Perfect Cocktail
My husband and I have a special cocktail, a martini-style drink made with equal parts gin and two types of vermouth. However, we recently discovered that our so-called perfect cocktail is not “ours” after all, but is an iconic drink from the turn of the last century that was symbolic of women’s growing sense of public empowerment.
THE COCKTAIL PARLOR
How women brought the cocktail home
Meet the hostesses who have shaped cocktail history, and learn how to make the drinks they loved.
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.