Book picks similar to
A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World by Robert Simonson
non-fiction
food-and-drink
history
drinks
Beachbum Berry's Potions of the Caribbean: 500 Years of Tropical Drinks and the People Behind Them
Jeff Beachbum Berry - 2013
Even more delicious are the stories of the people who created, or served, or simply drank these drinks. As a hybrid of street-smart gumshoe, anthropologist and mixologist (The Los Angeles Times), Jeff "Beachbum" Berry is uniquely qualified to tell this epic story-with-recipes, lavishly illustrated with vintage graphics and rare historical photos.
The Canon Cocktail Book: Recipes from the Award-Winning Bar
Jamie Boudreau - 2016
Named Best Bar in America by Esquire, Canon received Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards for World's Best Drinks Selection (2013) and World's Best Spirits Selection (2015), and Drinks International included it on their prestigious World's 50 Best Bars list. In his debut, legendary bartender and Canon founder Jamie Boudreau offers 100 cocktail recipes ranging from riffs on the classics, like the Cobbler’s Dream and Corpse Reviver, to their lineup of original house drinks, such as the Truffled Old Fashioned and the Banksy Sour. In addition to tips, recipes, and formulas for top-notch cocktails, syrups, and infusions, Boudreau breaks down the fundamentals and challenges of opening and running a bar—from business plans to menu creation. The Canon Cocktail Book is poised to be an essential drinks manual for both the at-home cocktail enthusiast and bar industry professional.
Drinking Distilled: A User's Manual
Jeffrey Morgenthaler - 2018
Novices will learn how to order a drink, how to drink with the boss, how to drink at the airport, and more. Twelve perfect starter recipes--ranging from a Dry Gin Martini to a Batched Old-Fashioned (perfect for the flask)--plus thirty original illustrations round out this distillation for new enthusiasts.
Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl
David Wondrich - 2010
Replete with historical anecdotes, expert observations, notes on technique and ingredients, and of course world-class recipes, Punch will take readers on a celebratory journey into the punch bowl that starts with some very lonely British sailors and swells to include a cast of lords and ladies, admirals, kings, presidents, poets, pirates, novelists, spies, and other colorful characters. It is a tale only David Wondrich can tell-and it is sure to delight, amuse, and inspire the mixologist and party-planner in everyone.
Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas
Brad Thomas Parsons - 2011
A cocktail renaissance has swept across the country, inspiring in bartenders and their thirsty patrons a new fascination with the ingredients, techniques, and traditions that make the American cocktail so special. And few ingredients have as rich a history or serve as fundamental a role in our beverage heritage as bitters.Author and bitters enthusiast Brad Thomas Parsons traces the history of the world's most storied elixir, from its earliest "snake oil" days to its near evaporation after Prohibition to its ascension as a beloved (and at times obsessed-over) ingredient on the contemporary bar scene. Parsons writes from the front lines of the bitters boom, where he has access to the best and boldest new brands and flavors, the most innovative artisanal producers, and insider knowledge of the bitters-making process.Whether you're a professional looking to take your game to the next level or just a DIY-type interested in homemade potables, Bitters has a dozen recipes for customized blends--ranging from Apple to Coffee-Pecan to Root Beer bitters--as well as tips on sourcing ingredients and step-by-step instructions fit for amateur and seasoned food crafters alike.Also featured are more than seventy cocktail recipes that showcase bitters' diversity and versatility: classics like the Manhattan (if you ever get one without bitters, send it back), old-guard favorites like the Martinez, contemporary drinks from Parsons's own repertoire like the Shady Lane, plus one-of-a-kind libations from the country's most pioneering bartenders. Last but not least, there is a full chapter on cooking with bitters, with a dozen recipes for sweet and savory bitters-infused dishes.Part recipe book, part project guide, part barman's manifesto, Bitters is a celebration of good cocktails made well, and of the once-forgotten but blessedly rediscovered virtues of bitters.
The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks
David A. Embury - 1948
New introductions by Audrey Saunders and Robert Hess
The Savoy Cocktail Book
Harry Craddock - 1930
During the 1920s and 1930s, Prohibition-dodging Americans visiting London for tea-dances and cocktails made the bar at the Savoy their home. Here they were entertained by legendary American barman Harry Craddock, inventor of the White Lady and popularizer of the Dry Martini. Originally published in 1930, the Savoy Cocktail Book features 750 of Harry's most popular recipes. It is a fascinating record of the cocktails that set London alight at the time—and which are just as popular today. Taking you from Slings to Smashes, Fizzes to Flips, and featuring art deco illustrations, this book is the perfect gift for any budding mixologist or fan of 1930s-style decadence and sophistication.
Craft Cocktails at Home
Kevin Liu - 2013
Think of It as Your PhD in Drinking.In Craft Cocktails at Home, you’ll embark upon a one-of-a-kind journey as you learn how to make some of the world’s most innovative, unique, and delicious cocktails.Taste scientists, engineers, and talented bartenders with decades of experience all contributed their expertise to create this must-have guide for novices and professionals alike.Ever wondered what makes water taste good? Curious about what really happens during the barrel-aging process? Interested in which “molecular” ingredients have the best texture?These questions and more, answered inside.With 250 pages and 65 recipes
Regarding Cocktails
Sasha Petraske - 2016
Ingredients, measurements, and preparations are beautifully illustrated so that readers can make professional cocktails at home. Sasha's advice for keeping the home bar, as well as his musings, are collected here to inspire a new generation of bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts.
Meehan's Bartender Manual
Jim Meehan - 2017
Meehan's Bartender Manual is acclaimed mixologist Jim Meehan's magnum opus--and the first book to explain the ins and outs of the modern bar industry. This groundbreaking work chronicles Meehan's storied career in the bar business through practical, enlightening chapters that mix history with professional insight. Meehan's deep dive covers the essential topics, including the history of cocktails and bartending, service, hospitality, menu development, bar design, spirits production, drink mixing technique, and the tools you'll need to create a well-stocked bar--all brought to life in over 150 black- and-white illustrations by artist Gianmarco Magnani. The book also includes recipes for 100 cocktail classics--including Meehan originals--plus insights as to why he makes them the way he does, offering unprecedented access to a top bartender's creative process. Organized by spirit base, the recipes contain detailed annotations and are accompanied by fine art photographer Doron Gild's breathtaking, full-color photos. Thoughtful contributions from more than 50 colleagues around the world who've greatly contributed to global cocktail culture further contextualize Meehan's philosophy. Timeless black-and-white portraits of these industry experts round out this comprehensive tome. This densely informative, yet approachable manual is presented in an iconic package--featuring a textured cover with debossed type, rounded corners, and nearly 500 pages--making it an instant classic to be enjoyed now, and for years to come. Whether you're a professional looking to take your career to the next level or an enthusiastic amateur interested in better understanding concepts like mise en place and the mechanics of drink making, Meehan's Bartender Manual is the definitive modern guide.
Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum Cocktail to the Zombie {80 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories behind Them}
Ted Haigh - 2004
This book does not repeat the timeworn cocktails of old. Instead historian, expert, and drink aficionado Dr. Cocktailhas hand-picked a superb collection of 80 drinks rarely made today, and all of them deserve revival. Some are from the nineteenth century, some from the Prohibition era, and some from just after World War II, just as the golden age of the cocktail was waning. All are retrieved from extremely uncommon sources. In fact, some of these drinks were found carefully penned into old cocktail manuals or on scraps of paper and may never have been published. They are true treasures, indeed.Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails pays homage to the great bartenders of the past and the grand beverages they created, the recipes for which were almost lost to history. Fully illustrated, it is filled with golden-age style, narrated with humorous and colorful anecdotes, chock-full of fascinating cocktail history, and brimming with delicious concoctions. If you have half the fun looking at this book and trying these recipes as the author did putting them together, a great party is about to ensue.
Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits
Jason Wilson - 2010
(By the way, the short answer is no.) A unique blend of travelogue, spirits history, and recipe collection, Boozehound explores the origins of what we drink and the often surprising reasons behind our choices. In lieu of odorless, colorless, tasteless spirits, Wilson champions Old World liquors with hard-to-define flavors—a bitter and complex Italian amari, or the ancient, aromatic herbs of Chartreuse, as well as distinctive New World offerings like lively Peruvian pisco. With an eye for adventure, Wilson seeks out visceral experiences at the source of production—visiting fields of spiky agave in Jalisco, entering the heavily and reverently-guarded Jägermeister herb room in Wolfenbüttel, and journeying to the French Alps to determine if mustachioed men in berets really handpick blossoms to make elderflower liqueur. In addition, Boozehound offers more than fifty drink recipes, from three riffs on the Manhattan to cocktail-geek favorites like the Aviation and the Last Word. These recipes are presented alongside a host of opinionated essays that cherish the rare, uncover the obscure, dethrone the overrated, and unravel the mysteries of taste, trends, and terroir. Through his far-flung, intrepid traveling and tasting, Wilson shows us that perhaps nothing else as entwined with the history of human culture is quite as much fun as booze.From the Hardcover edition.
Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined
Jason Kosmas - 2010
In those days, hard beverage options were usually made with homemade hooch and flavorings of dubious origin and quality. Thankfully, a cocktail renaissance has emerged in many of today’s bars, where inventive drinks showcase both the artistry and craft of bartending. At their moody and atmospheric West Village bar-restaurant Employees Only, master mixologists Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric can regale you with colorful tales of cocktail origins—or just pour you a mean drink. In Speakeasy, Kosmas and Zaric take their inspiration from traditional favorites, then use the finest spirits, the freshest ingredients, and a good measure of reverence for their craft to elevate the mixed drink to artisanal status. More than 80 imaginative libations that riff on the classics are showcased in this one-of-a-kind collection. Recipes emphasize fresh fruits and herbs, homemade syrups and infusions, and a careful balancing of flavors, with a mind toward seasonality. A Ginger Smash is offered in four different versions: kumquat, pineapple, pear, or cranberry, depending on the time of year. The Millionaire becomes the Billionaire with the addition of homemade grenadine and 107-proof bourbon. And the South Side becomes the West Side by replacing the gin with sun-kissed Meyer lemon–infused vodka. With the specter of Prohibition firmly in the past, Speakeasy shares recipes for the choicest potent potables, reimagining the finest drinks of yesterday for today’s thirsty imbibers.
The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual: Secret Recipes and Barroom Tales from Two Belfast Boys Who Conquered the Cocktail World
Sean Muldoon - 2015
Now, the critically acclaimed bar has its first cocktail book, The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual, which, along with its inventive recipes, also details founder Sean Muldoon and bar manager Jack McGarry’s inspiring rags-to-riches story that began in Ireland and has brought them to the top of the cocktail world. Like the bar’s décor, Dead Rabbit’s award-winning drinks are a nod to the “Gangs of New York” era. They range from fizzes to cobblers to toddies, each with its own historical inspiration. There are also recipes for communal punches as well as an entire chapter on absinthe. Along with the recipes and their photos, this stylish and handsome book includes photographs from the bar itself so readers are able to take a peek into the classic world of Dead Rabbit.
The 12-Bottle Bar: A Dozen Bottles. Hundreds of Cocktails. the Only Guide You Need for an Amazing Home Bar
David Solmonson - 2014