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Cocktail Books: The Topic


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Regarding the shelf life of citrus juices, here's an insightful article by Harold McGee, in which he writes:

Food technologists define shelf life not by how long it takes for food to become inedible, but how long it takes for a trained sensory panel to detect a “just noticeable difference”

Just wanted to share that article because he puts the blabber I wrote above into more eloquent words.

I blog about science and cooking: www.sciencefare.org

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  • 4 months later...

No takers for Tony Conigliaro's Cocktail Lab?

Meanwhile, I have serious envy when seeing Greg Boehm's cocktail book library. This was 4 years ago so I am sure it has expanded since then. Just amazing.

http://ohgosh.tv/episode/s01e02-mud-puddle-books/

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No takers for Tony Conigliaro's Cocktail Lab?

Meanwhile, I have serious envy when seeing Greg Boehm's cocktail book library. This was 4 years ago so I am sure it has expanded since then. Just amazing.

http://ohgosh.tv/episode/s01e02-mud-puddle-books/

I haven't read it, but I've heard it called one of the best contemporary cocktail books by people who have.

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”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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  • 9 months later...

So of course I ended up buying Tony Conigliaro's book (which, by the way, just won a James Beard award in the Beverage category), together with a bunch of other cocktail books.

 

Recently I got Beachbum Berry's Potions of the Caribbean, and this little book about absinthe cocktails from my favorite used book store in Hillcrest.

 

14096849165_e60fecb830_z.jpg

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Many (not all) of the important books discussed here are often written >10 years ago and are really important to understand how the cocktail world has evolved over the last several years covering also a lot about the history of many cocktail classics (and similar to cooking it is important to to first have to learn the classics before you really can start experimenting with more complex creations). But what would you consider critical/important books covering the most recent developments: PDT, Drink & Tell,.... ?

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The Gaz Regan's annual manual / best new cocktails series has been a decent snapshot of cocktail developments over the past 3 years.

Edit: the "best new cocktails" releases for 2012-13 and the inaugural 2011 annual manual, specifically; the subsequent annual manuals are great, but more focused on the craft of bartending than recipes.

Edited by J_Ozzy (log)
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  • 2 weeks later...

Just picked up Embury. How refreshing to read something so opinionated! (Though I have to imagine the state of Scotch whisky in 1948 must have SUCKED, as he claimed to have not been wild about it)

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Just picked up Embury. How refreshing to read something so opinionated! (Though I have to imagine the state of Scotch whisky in 1948 must have SUCKED, as he claimed to have not been wild about it)

I love his book and his attitude.  He doesn't pull any punches, but manages keep a bit of a sense of humor about it all.  Even when I don't agree with his opinions, he makes me laugh.  I love when he does the "Well this drinks sucks, but if you really must try it, here's the recipe."  I didn't get the impression that he didn't like Scotch so much as he didn't think it should be used in cocktails.

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Mike

"The mixing of whiskey, bitters, and sugar represents a turning point, as decisive for American drinking habits as the discovery of three-point perspective was for Renaissance painting." -- William Grimes

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The Gaz Regan's annual manual / best new cocktails series has been a decent snapshot of cocktail developments over the past 3 years.

Edit: the "best new cocktails" releases for 2012-13 and the inaugural 2011 annual manual, specifically; the subsequent annual manuals are great, but more focused on the craft of bartending than recipes.

 

Where does one acquire this series?

 

I love his book and his attitude.  He doesn't pull any punches, but manages keep a bit of a sense of humor about it all.  Even when I don't agree with his opinions, he makes me laugh.  I love when he does the "Well this drinks sucks, but if you really must try it, here's the recipe."  I didn't get the impression that he didn't like Scotch so much as he didn't think it should be used in cocktails.

 

Agreed, I'm about halfway through now - great stuff. I don't have a huge desire to try a lot of the cocktails listed, but his theory is on point, and of course, as you say, his humor and attitude really makes it. Re: Scotch, though, if Ralfy is to be believed, the calibre for Scotch has improved, as in the past, the stills were often operated by workers who had snuck their own angel's share.

 

 

PS. I discovered today that....

 

Death and Company is releasing a book in October!!!!!!!

 

Having finally got into the place last Sunday (and surpassing all the hype I'd heard), this is probably the most exciting new book I can think of. (Of course, browsing their rather detailed menu online, part of their secrets is having really weird shit behind the bar. Poppy-seed syrup? OK...)

 

 

 

Also, does anyone know anything about Morgenthaler's book coming out? It claims to be much more about techniques and theory rather than recipes, which really sounds up my alley.

Edited by Hassouni (log)
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Where does one acquire this series?

 

Bookstores near you, though a lot of it ends up on his site.

DrunkLab.tumblr.com

”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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  • 2 weeks later...

Morgenthaler's book, titled, with proper definitiveness, The Bar Book, is available tomorrow

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DrunkLab.tumblr.com

”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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Morgenthaler's book, titled, with proper definitiveness, The Bar Book, is available tomorrow

 

I'm appreciating this book so far. A lot of it will seem basic to people here (choose citrus for freshness!), but just as much is too often overlooked, and it's good to have all this information on technique in one place.

DrunkLab.tumblr.com

”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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So far it's a good overview, written with Morgenthaler's customary clarity. My only real complaint is that I wish the book would go into serving and managing guests--how to help indecisive people with their orders, how to deal with rowdy or (too) drunk patrons, the fine points of serving (handing a glass with one's palm facing the guest, announcing the drink, etc). 

 

I do wonder what a book on technique by Don Lee would look like, though. (It would probably include a recipe for pot-infused mezcal.) 

DrunkLab.tumblr.com

”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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