Cocktail Books: The Topic

[Rafa]

Yeah, Luca is unbelievable. 

[Rafa]

Very much enjoying the new Dead Rabbit cocktail book. DR is still ahead of the game in a lot of ways—their use of tinctures, their incorporation of seasonal and savory herbs outside the California "salad in a glass" context, the rich flavorsome balance of their drinks. That said, if you think the tone of the Death & Co book skewed self-congratulatory (and I do)... ooh boy. Sean Muldoon didn't name his company The Best Bar In The World LLC for nothing.

[Rafa]

Finished The Dead Rabbit's book last night. It's good. You won't find any of the sections on tecnique, ingredients, running a bar, principles of crafting cocktails, &c that you'll find in more general interest cocktail tomes like the Death & Co or PDT books. What you'll get instead is recipes, and lots of them, all of them original, all of them elaborate and stylistically distinct from much else of what's going on in US bars. Jack McGarry's rococo style is right up my alley, and if you don't mind searching out specialized ingredients (eaux de vie, maidenfern) or making your own (so many tinctures) there's a lot of great drinks to make here. The only other substantial content in the book is an extensive self-mythologizing biography of the principals, which is... probably less interesting, to the general reader.

[ananth]

I haven't heard of this book but I understand why : it just came out yesterday !
Thank you for the feedback, I'll look into it shortly.

[BillBuitenhuys]

Just received Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari.

It contains reviews (scores for aromatic level/bitterness/sweetness, descriptions, and recommended usages) for 500 bitters, plus 50 amari, a handful of recipes for homemade bitters and recipes for bitter/amari-based cocktails, savory dishes, and desserts, bitters history, and ingredients. I've only just skimmed through it but so far it's been both an enjoyable read and informative. He definitely doesn't hold back when he doesn't like something! Kudos for such an encompassing snapshot of the world of bitterness as it is today.

[Rafa]

I've been reading Cienfuegos' book, the inaptly named but otherwise appealing Cuban Cocktails. Not, as the name implies, a historical overview or summary of Cuban drinks, it actually reminds me quite a bit of the Death & Co book--an informative, lively selection of house recipes spiced up with history, bar lore, and great photographs, with sections on technique and ingredients aimed at novices and old hands alike. If you're worried that you're just in for a book of Daiquiri variations, worry not: there are lengthy chapters on stirred drinks, hot drinks, and complex punches along with the Daq variations and other sours.

 

I do have some nits to pick: for a drinks manual with "Cuban" in the title, the book does tend to default to St. Lucian and Guyanese rums for most of the recipes, with Spanish-style rum nearly excluded; some of the fine points of their history are either questionable or flat wrong; most egregiously, in what I can only assume is a typo, their recipe for the standard Daiquiri No. 1 specifies Maraschino liqueur rather than simple syrup or sugar, with no explanation accounting for the change (in a section venerating the "holy trinity" of rum, lime, and citrus, no less).

 

Still, the drinks themselves are delicious and intriguing, the presentation presentable, the called-for ingredients accessible, as opposed to the obscurities you'll find in books by Death & Co, PDT, or Dead Rabbit. Recommended.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Rafa (log)

[J_Ozzy]

Just finished the Experimental Cocktail Club book.

It weaves the back story of the various ECC establishments with a selection of drinks (gorgeously photographed) that have graced their menus. I particularly liked that they included a section towards the end highlighting drinks from friends and former staff who have gone off on their own paths; I thought it was a nice touch. Also of note is the Classics section, which presents established drinks alongside their in-house variations, explaining the tweaks and substitutions and providing some insight into their process.

 

I think this book slots in quite well as high-intermediate material.

One page near the back covers some quick pointers on technique.

Just under half of the drinks include some sort of homemade syrup (beyond simple, honey, orgeat or falernum), infusion, or tincture.

Homemade ingredients are described either as they are introduced in a drink, or in the longer recipe section at the end. 

Most of the homemade ingredients show up in more than one drink, and the longest has a lead time of 72 hours, keeping the investment of effort reasonable.

 

As learning material, I'd recommend it to someone who's solid on Morgenthaler's Bar Book, but might be overwhelmed if they jumped right into The Dead Rabbit or Death&Co.

I think its stands up well as a cocktail bar book in it's own way, since it's a multi-venue story rather than the history of a single space.

Edited November 8, 2015 by J_Ozzy (log)

[J_Ozzy]

Looking forward to the year ahead, I see a few interesting titles coming down the pipe:

Two Italian-focused narratives:

Spritz: Italy's Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes

Aperitivo: The Cocktail Culture of Italy

And 3 bartender-backed tomes:

Lift Your Spirits A Celebratory History of Cocktail Culture in New Orleans (Chris McMillian)

Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki (Martin Cate)

The Canon Cocktail Book: Recipes from the Award-Winning Bar (Jamie Boudreau)

I'm particularly looking forward to the Canon book , since I haven't been able to find a copy of The Pacific Northwest Gentlemen's Companion. 
 

Edited January 7, 2016 by J_Ozzy (log)

[Craig E]

There are dozens of browsable vintage cocktail books at this EUVS Vintage Cocktail Books Library I just found out about. Not necessarily a great trove of useful recipes, but charming to look through and useful for historical sleuthing.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Bookmarked.

[J_Ozzy]

Just noticed that Regarding Cocktails (Sasha Petraske) is getting a late October release.

Definitely going on my required reading list.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

On ‎6‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 9:46 AM, J_Ozzy said:

Just noticed that Regarding Cocktails (Sasha Petraske) is getting a late October release.

Definitely going on my required reading list.

 

That one is on my list, and I just ordered Robert Simonson's A Proper Drink about the cocktail renaissance.

[FrogPrincesse]

...and I already finished it! It is a quick & easy read. I was familiar with most of the material already, but I learned a few fun facts. eGullet is mentioned a few times, including its possible role in the spread of the Last Word's popularity across the US.

[Craig E]

On 6/12/2016 at 11:46 AM, J_Ozzy said:

Just noticed that Regarding Cocktails (Sasha Petraske) is getting a late October release.

Definitely going on my required reading list.

 

A little more info on the Petraske book. 

[FrogPrincesse]

Has anybody read Amaro by Brad Parsons (who previously wrote the Bitters books)? The topic has potential, but I am not interested in just another collection of recipes.

[FrogPrincesse]

My local bookstore had a copy of it, so I was able to resist for about a second and a half... It is a collection of recipes for the most part, but there are some interesting stories interspersed. 

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
Typo (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Uh oh.  Looks good.  I've had it on my Amazon wish list for a while. Thanks for the pix.

[lesliec]

1 hour ago, FrogPrincesse said:

My local bookstore had a copy of it, so I was able to resist for about a second and a half... It is a collection of recipes for the most part, but there are some interesting stories interspersed. 

 

Recipes as in 'how to make amari'?  Much depends on your answer!

[FrogPrincesse]

7 minutes ago, lesliec said:

 

Recipes as in 'how to make amari'?  Much depends on your answer!

 

Page 87 - 220 are cocktail recipes (with plenty of full-page pictures). Pages 223 - 233 have a small section on making your own amaro, with four recipes. 

[lesliec]

OK, for four recipes I may be able to resist.  Thanks for saving me money!

[tanstaafl2]

Well, at the rate old amaro's are being revived and new ones seem to get produced that is going to be out of date sometime yesterday!

 

Does look interesting though.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On ‎10‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 9:00 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

...and I already finished it! It is a quick & easy read. I was familiar with most of the material already, but I learned a few fun facts. eGullet is mentioned a few times, including its possible role in the spread of the Last Word's popularity across the US.

 

I brought home a copy tonight.  Looking forward to perusing it.

 

[J_Ozzy]

Prime reading season for me right now (Canon, Regarding Cocktails, and Tippling Bros all arrived in my mailbox in the same week). Canon arrived first, so that's what I've managed to tackle so far.

 

The Canon Cocktail Book: Recipes from the Award-Winning Bar (Jamie Boudreau & James O. Fraioli)

I very much enjoyed this book. It reminds me, in spirit, of a modern Harry Johnson's Bartenders' Manual, but weighted to more heavily to the drinks (to be fair, that original was a treatise for bars, restaurants and hotels, fully half its length an operator's manual).

It covers a lot of ground: tips on planning, opening and running a cocktail bar; core cocktail theory; high-end equipment and substitutes; carbonated, aged, and bottled cocktails; shrubs, infusions and tinctures; flavored foams, Fernet cookies and Chartreuse ice cream.

The drinks are nicely photographed, often alongside their vintage spirit or liqueur bottles. Drink descriptions helpfully explain less common ingredients, and (in the case of riffs) provide insight into the creative process behind them. The drinks are organized in broad categories, and stylistically run the gamut from elegant tweaks (Chrysanthemum #2) to playfully themed (The Elvis Ziggurat) to full mad scientist (Movie Night Float).

Refreshingly, outside of the "Over the Top" section, there are very few recipes that require much more preparation than an infused syrup. There is a mix of standard, advanced and exotic (brain rum!) prepared ingredients, including the always-appreciated house Picon substitute, Amer Boudreau. Some of the exotic preparations call for specialized equipment, but conventional workarounds are provided for the truly adventurous.

Outside of the drink recipes, the book provides a quality, high-level introduction on many craft cocktail topics. It doesn't delve nearly as deeply as some of the more specialized books (i.e. fundamental technique in Morgenthaler's Bar Book, or advanced wizardry as presented in Liquid Intelligence or The Cocktail Lab). It is instead an accessible, competent generalist, and an engaging read.
 

[J_Ozzy]

Regarding Cocktails (Sasha Petraske with Georgette Moger-Petraske)

I never met Sasha Petraske, but knew of him by reputation and, much later, visits to his establishments.

(I hope he would forgive me the false familiarity of referring to him by his first name, but “Sasha” in cocktail circles is indelibly his).

I knew he was important to the cocktail bartending revival, but I never fully understood the degree of impact he had on the scene (both directly and through the people he fostered) in those critical early years. As recounted by those who knew and worked with him, Regarding Cocktails collects a series of guides, recipes and essays which serve as testament to his character and influence.

The sections authored by Sasha include instructions for setting up a home bar and successfully running a cocktail party; theory on garnishes; the Milk & Honey comp policy; a tantalizing intro to 'Cocktails For Your Cat'; and bookended, fittingly, by Milk & Honey's closing menu.

The recipes section, for me, really drove it home. 70+ elegant, dialed-in, formative classics and modern classics incubated through his beverage programs. Many of my favourite modern drinks (a number of whose origin I hadn't realized) saw first light under his tutelage. Each recipe is accompanied by graphical representation of the drink makeup, and accompanied by the story of its genesis (or perfection, in the case of classics) as told by people involved.

The guides section includes contributions from Wonderich and Alperin, among others, and covers a wide range of topics, providing a personal perspective on the man and (mostly) genuinely useful information.

Throughout the book, Moger-Petraske provides essays, anecdotes and quotes that bind the narrative together. I can't imagine the challenges tackling such a project, but I'm thankful that she did.

I am left with a deeper sense of appreciation for the man, his establishments and his extended bartending family. And a little (selfish) sadness that I'll never get to meet him.

[quiet1]

I've skimmed this thread (there is a lot of it) and it seems like a lot of books have been coming out so I figured I'd be best just asking - what is a good recipe book for a geek type new to cocktails? My friend is a bit of a foodie and now getting into cocktails also and I want to get him some supplies as a Christmas gift. I have Morganthaler's book on my list to look at in a store because it seems his style of geekery in the subject, but I thought some kind of reasonable reference recipe book would be helpful to have too. (I swear I had one bookmarked that I'd seen recommended, but now I can't find it.)

 

Bonus points if the book has enough recipes for syrups and things that can be used to experiment with making my friend's son (11 and also a bit of a foodie) fun non-alcoholic drinks too.

 

(I thought about the Canon book but that seems far too involved and I'd really just be giving it to him so I could borrow it.  )