During prohibition, Charles Baker traveled the world in search of exotic alcoholic beverages in addition to interesting people with whom he could share them. The Gentleman's Companion: The Exotic Drinking Book is the summation of Baker's drinking experiences abroad. Baker accents his tales of high adventure with recipes for cocktails and other alcoholic beverages that were considered unusual specimens in the 1920s and 30s.

Baker, a captivating storyteller, wrote about food and drink for a number of well-known magazines. In this travelogue he relates how notorious figures, including Hemmingway and Faulkner, numbered among his drinking companions.

At once a drinking guidebook and haughty memoir, The Gentleman's Companion, initially published in 1939, provides a one-of-a-kind glimpse into the bombastic and glamorous world of travel in the mid-twentieth century.