Rice Bartender’s Guide, 1979

I frequently write about things that have been buried deep in the archives and somehow bubbled their way up. There is, however, another category of amazing items: the stuff that just came in the door.

When I walked in to the Woodson this morning I was immediately met by one of my colleagues who was holding this small gem in her outstretched hands:

Rice Bartenders Guide 1979 045

It was an RPC/Sid Rich class, non-credit of course, and apparently based on a similar class at Harvard:

Rice Bartenders Guide 1979 2  046

The whole thing is interesting, although many of the cocktails sound hideously sweet. I was particularly intrigued by the February 4th topics, which include “Businessman Drinks.” Since Mr. Rice History Corner is by anyone’s definition a businessman I wondered if there might be something for him that I hadn’t already thought of. No such luck–these are basically right on target, although I can’t imagine him drinking a gimlet (or a brandy alexander for that matter):

Rice Bartenders Guide 1979 3   047

And many thanks to the gang who put this course together:

Rice Bartenders Guide 1979 4   048

Bonus: Hope springs eternal.

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6 Responses to Rice Bartender’s Guide, 1979

  1. Igor says:

    Is it possible to obtain a PDF copy of this guide?

  2. Gloria Meckel Tarpley '81 says:

    I’m happy to report that not only did I take the class for one hour of credit, but I still have the booklet in my kitchen! It was great fun, all the way through to the Bar Exam at the end…

  3. effegee says:

    I’m not so sure … I think that’s a turnbuckle instead of a spring. 🙂

  4. Dan McCormack '82 says:

    I still have my copy, too! It was a very well-attended course, with classes in Chem Lec. (In addition to the mixology for some rather sweet cocktails, we also learned the button configuration of the post-mix gun and the virtues of the “beer-clean glass.”)

  5. degb00 says:

    Ironically, I was a Rice bartender in 1979. I worked in Willy’s Pub, serving beer, wine, and bad pizza. I don’t remember this college course, but it’s not the kind of thing I would have looked at back then.

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