Required Reading

Don't you wish that right this minute you were sitting in the Bar Hemingway in the Ritz Hotel in Paris, sipping a Ritz 75 or a Side Car or a Millionnaire chatting with the beautiful people? Even if you're never heard of the Bar Hemingway, surely the idea of a champagne cocktail garnished with a pink rose strikes your fancy.

Some of the romance associated with fancy drinks in plush bars can be re-created using The Cocktails of the Ritz Paris (Simon and Schuster; $19.95) by Colin Peter Field.

The Bar Hemingway has several times been called the Best Bar in the World, notably by Forbes magazine. It was founded at the Ritz in 1921, and renamed after the war for its most famous patron, Ernest Hemingway. It re-opened in grand style in 1994.

Mr. Field is the head bartender, and a "cocktail genealogist," who presents the stories of classic and famous cocktails, scrupulously attributing possible concoctors. He also includes cocktails invented at the Ritz, cocktails to go with cigars, and advice on mixing, inventing and serving all kinds of alcoholic mixed drinks. It's written in a more erudite and witty manner than most cocktail books, and includes light-hearted color drawings.

Recipe

This cocktail was named and invented for a very pretty Polish cabaret dancer who worked in Paris in 1991, not far from the Ritz Paris.

Kashenka

4-5 strawberries

2 teaspoons of white castor sugar

Polish vodka

Remove the leaves and put strawberries into a large Old Fashioned glass. Add the sugar and apply enough pressure on the fruit so as to slightly bleed them without crushing them. Add largely cracked ice all the way to the top.

Pour in Polish vodka and stir gently. Garnish with a red rose petal.

Cocktails of Ritz Paris