This poster is a reprint of a famous chart outlining everything needed to mix the perfect drink for any time of day. Collins C. Diboll Jr., a prominent New Orleans architect and businessman, designed the chart in 1931, during Prohibition. Diboll graduated from the Tulane School of Architecture in 1926, where he was remembered as a jovial and energetic young man. One biographical sketch described “his love of good food, good friends, and good times,” and his verve certainly was not discouraged by the 18th Amendment. Diboll gave reprints of the charts to his friends over the years and would even frame them under glass trays on which drinks were to be served. 

Drawing from his architecture studies, the chart resembles a blueprint, with lines radiating out from the center of a circle in equidistant sections, each of which details the proper ingredients, mixing techniques, glassware, and time of day to make and enjoy a particular drink. If you were in the mood for an Old Fashioned, for example, you’d consult the section titled “Allons au Diable” (an idiom meaning “for the hell of it”). There, a recipe, accompanied by pictures, calls for “[one cube] sugar, [four dashes] bitters, 1 oz whiskey ~ rye or bourbon, 1 lump ice, orange peel and cherry; Serve very cold.” You could then consult the outer edges of the chart for toasts and witticisms about wine and cocktails: “He who drinks a glass a day, will live to die some other way.” A banner bordering the chart depicts people at parties, chefs in kitchens, and various other scenes of enjoyment culture. In the background are well-known emporiums of fine tipple: the Absinthe House Bar, Café de L’Opéra (the French Opera House), the Sazerac Bar, and Henry Ramos’s Imperial Saloon. So the next time the inspiration for a fine cocktail strikes, simply consult Diboll’s chart to find the perfect drink for any occasion.