Vermeire, Robert (1891–1976), was a Belgian bartender who made a name for himself in London during World War I and is best remembered for his seminal book, Cocktails: How to Mix Them (1922), which introduced some of the earliest recipes for classics such as the Sidecar and the Singapore Sling.
Vermeire was born in Knokke, Belgium on May 10, 1891, the son of noted local hoteliers. Sent to London when World War I broke out, he soon became a bartender at the Royal Automobile Club. Before the war’s end, Vermeire moved to the Criterion, one of the oldest American bars in the city, where manager Luigi Naintré handpicked him in 1920 for his new venture, the Embassy Club, a member’s-only dancing club. See Criterion. “Kings and princes dine and dance there; so do statesmen and great painter and singers; so do the prettiest actresses,” said a 1930 article in the Evening News. While at the Embassy, Vermeire wrote Cocktails: How to Mix Them, one of the first European mass-market cocktail books. It went on to sell over 150,000 copies and was translated into French and, according to the author, Japanese.
In 1923, he opened Robert’s, in his Belgian hometown. Bar, restaurant, and hotel, it became a sensation and even attracted clients from London. The 1929 crash put an end to the party, and Vermeire filed for bankruptcy. It wasn’t until 1938 that he got back on his feet and took over the bar of the Albert Ier, one of Brussels’s most luxurious hotels. World War II arguably ended his career: both his sons collaborated with the Germans, and the huge fines that followed the end of the war put his family under considerable financial strain. Although he continued to work until 1958, Vermeire did not regain any form of financial stability—a sad end to an otherwise illustrious career.
cocktail recipes.Gorissen, Agnès. “Le Castel a créé le Zoute.” http://archives.lesoir.be/le-castel-a-cree-le-zoute-sa-disparition-en-brise-l-ame_t-19890923-Z02041.html (accessed February 4, 2016).
“A King of London Clubs.” Evening News, reprinted in the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, June 9, 1930, 8.
By: François Monti
The only known portrait of the elusive Robert Vermeire is this quick 1922 pencil sketch from a London magazine.
Wondrich Collection.
The only known portrait of the elusive Robert Vermeire is this quick 1922 pencil sketch from a London magazine. Source: Wondrich Collection.