Saucier, Ted

(1894–1970), is the author of Bottoms Up (1951), a volume of cocktail recipes. Punctuated by risqué pinups executed by prominent graphic artists, Bottoms Up included the earliest prescription for the Last Word, a cocktail concocted before Prohibition at the Detroit Athletic Club and still popular. In 1930, the Waldorf Astoria hotel appointed Saucier public relations director. The Canadian-born bon vivant made himself the hotel’s embodiment and became ubiquitous in society pages. Obliging columnists incorporated his feuilletons touting the hotel’s events; Weekend at the Waldorf, one of the top-grossing films of 1945. In 1950, he founded his own agency with his former employers as clients.

Saucier’s book, which received a second, augmented edition in 1962, is a favorite source for historically inclined modern mixologists, as it frequently lists the sources for its recipes, including many famous bars and celebrities of the day.

See also Last Word, Waldorf-Astoria.

“Behind the Scenes in Hollywood.” Tipton (IN) Daily Tribune, November 7, 1944, 2.

“Louella G. Parsons Hollywood.” Albany (NY) Times-Union, March 11, 1950.

“New York’s Top PAed Hotels.” Billboard, September 4, 1943, 17.

Saucier, Ted. Bottoms Up. New York: Greystone, 1951

Van Raalte, Joseph. “Bo Broadway.” Binghamton (NY) Press, July 14, 1930.

By: Doug Stailey