Life, 1927-12-01 · page 22 of 80
Life — December 1, 1927 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It uses an Orientalist fantasy scenario—a sultan whispering to a woman in his palace—as exotic framing for a cocktail recipe. The "secret" being dramatically revealed is simply instructions for mixing a vermouth-based drink with grape juice, water, sugar, and orange. The joke relies on early 20th-century stereotypes about harems and "exotic" Middle Eastern settings as inherently sensual and mysterious. By contrast, the actual "secret" is mundane: a beverage recipe. The ad promotes **Martini & Rossi non-alcoholic vermouth**, emphasizing it's Italian, and offers to mail recipes to interested consumers. The humor derives from the disconnect between the melodramatic setup and the ordinary culinary payoff—treating a cocktail recipe with exaggerated intrigue.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
, Find Out The Sultan's Secret HERE was sudden silence in the palace. The Sultan was whispering to his favorite. She started. Her hands trembled. Her cheeks blazed. Her eyes almost jumped out of her head. For he said: “Take one cup of Welch’s Grape Juice. Six tablespoons of Martini & Rossi non- alcoholic Vermouth (Italian or Extra Dry). Half a cup of water. Two table- spoons of sugar, the juice of one large orange. Dissolve the sugar in water. Cut three thin slices of the orange for the garnishing of the glasses. The rest ih Y} Sh of the oran; the water and strain into Add the Ver- Juice. Mix it but do Pur it on the ice for abou: hour to get very cold. Pour out » the glasses that have been gar- 1 with the orange slices. More th can be added, according to This is a cocktail of snap and cing flavor.” On request we mail “Happy Days Ver- mouth Recipes” written by someone with more secrets than the Sultan him- self, A high-class grocer ot delicatessen will do the rest. W. A. Taylor & Co., 94 Pine St, New York City, sole im: porters. MARTINI & ROSSI \ermouth comicbooks.com