Saucier, Ted

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 and 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