Under the Table: A Dorothy Parker Cocktail Guide, was announced May 31 during Book Expo America, at the landmark Algonquin Hotel. It will be published Nov. 5 and is available now for pre-order. As a member of the Algonquin Round Table in the 1920s, Mrs. Parker was a hotel regular along with friends such as Robert Benchley, Heywood Broun, George S. Kaufman, and Alexander Woollcott. The book will be published by Lyons Press, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.
Few writers have earned Dorothy Parker’s reputation for drinking as much or as hard, and fewer still have achieved her notorious skill at wisecracking wit. Fitzpatrick gives an intoxicating new look at the doyenne of the ripping riposte through the lens she most preferred: the bottom of a glass. A bar book for Parker enthusiasts and literary tipplers alike, Under the Table offers a unique take on Mrs. Parker, the legendary Algonquin Round Table, and the Jazz Age, by profiling and celebrating the drinks that she, her bitter friends, and sweetest enemies enjoyed and discussed. Each entry of this delicious compendium offers a fascinating and lively background of a period cocktail, its ingredients, and the characters associated with it. Each entry includes a complete recipe with detailed instructions, topped off with excerpts from Mrs. Parker’s poems, stories, and other writings, allowing readers to enjoy her world from the speakeasies of New York City to the watering holes of Hollywood.
Alongside such classic drinks as the Rob Roy and the Side Car, Fitzpatrick presents recipes and the stories behind them for such 1920s favorites as the Aviation, Cablegram, Florodora, French 75, Horse’s Neck, Millionaire, and the Three Mile. Under the Table also features a special selection of 21st-century speakeasy-style recipes from top mixologists from across the country.
The foreword is by Allen Katz, Co-Founder, Vice-President – Product Development and Brand Ambassador of the New York Distilling Company, makers of Dorothy Parker American Gin. Katz is renowned for his public and professional seminars on topics of America’s food and cocktail heritage. He serves on the Board of Directors for the New Orleans Culinary & Culture Preservation Society and The Manhattan Cocktail Classic.
The Brooklyn Book Festival is the largest free literary event in New York City, presenting an array of national and international literary stars and emerging authors. One of America’s premier book festivals, this hip, smart diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages to enjoy authors and the festival’s lively literary marketplace. The festival is Sunday, Sept. 22, from 10AM-6PM, Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza,
209 Joralemon Street. It is free and open to the public.
Fitzpatrick will be sharing Booth # 158 with Jamie Brenner, author of The Gin Lovers (St. Martin’s).