The South American Gentleman’s Companion by Charles H. Baker, Jr.

(1951) This interesting book chronicles the author’s travels and the drinks he encountered along the way. Baker was certainly a product of his time and his book is clearly a product of his privilege. That said, he was an epicure and bon vivant who was genuinely full of wonderment and joy. The Cocktail Kingdom reprint features an introduction by the great St John Frizell. This is a sequel to Baker’s original book (in two volumes), The Gentleman’s Companion (1939).