Cocktail Books, Bartending Books, Spirit Books

Written by renowned bartender and cocktail blogger Jeffrey Morgenthaler, The Bar Book is the only technique-driven cocktail handbook out there. This indispensable guide breaks down bartending into essential techniques, and then applies them to building the best drinks. More than 60 recipes illustrate the concepts explored in the text, ranging from juicing, garnishing, carbonating, stirring, and shaking to choosing the correct ice for proper chilling and dilution of a drink. With how-to photography to provide inspiration and guidance, this book breaks new ground for the home cocktail enthusiast.

Distilled Stories: California Artisans Behind The Spirits is a book about the spirit makers; distillers tell their personal stories about their journey to the still. Some came from generations of distilling families from the old country and others left high tech or corporate careers to pursue a new venture into the world of distilled spirits. Each backstory is different and engaging. Gritty, funny and informative. The one common denominator is the hard work, tenacity and sacrifice each distiller makes as he/she navigates their own path to the still. The style of each Distilled Story is also different, just like each hand-crafted distilled spirit is different. No two gins or whiskies are alike. There was no attempt to create a template for the distillers to follow to tell their backstories. They were given complete “literary freedom.” The result is their own words, unfiltered. This is a book about the distillers and distilleries that have in very recent years emerged on the California landscape. New post prohibition laws are finally acquiescing to the distillery and giving their blessings to tasting rooms and sales. Cocktails are becoming fashionable once again. As such, distilled spirits are all the rage and cocktail bars feature hand-crafted spirits for their specialty drinks.

Beautifully illustrated, beautifully designed, and beautifully crafted—just like its namesake—this is the ultimate bar book by NYC’s most meticulous bartender.

To say that PDT is a unique bar is an understatement. It recalls the era of hidden Prohibition speakeasies: to gain access, you walk into a raucous hot dog stand, step into a phone booth, and get permission to enter the serene cocktail lounge. Now, Jim Meehan, PDT’s innovative operator and mixmaster, is revolutionizing bar books, too, offering all 304 cocktail recipes available at PDT plus behind-the-scenes secrets. From his bar design, tools, and equipment to his techniques, food, and spirits, it’s all here, stunningly illustrated by Chris Gall.

Cocktails are bigger than ever, and this is the first real cookbook for them, covering the entire breadth of this rich subject. The Craft of the Cocktail provides much more than merely the same old recipes: it delves into history, personalities, and anecdotes; it shows you how to set up a bar, master important techniques, and use tools correctly; and it delivers unique concoctions, many featuring Dale DeGroff’s signature use of fresh juices, as well as all the classics.

Debonair, a great raconteur, and an unparalleled authority, Dale DeGroff is the epitome of Perfect Bartender, universally acknowledged as the world’s premier mixologist. From Entertainment Weekly and USA Today to the Culinary Institute of America and the nation’s best restaurants, whenever anybody wants information or training on the bar, they turn to Dale for recipes, for history, for anecdotes, for fun—for cocktail-party conversation as well as for cocktails.

Cocktail writer and historian David Wondrich presents the colorful, little-known history of classic American drinks—and the ultimate mixologist’s guide—in this engaging homage to Jerry Thomas, father of the American bar.

Wondrich reveals never-before-published details and stories about this larger-than-life nineteenth-century figure, along with definitive recipes for more than 100 punches, cocktails, sours, fizzes, toddies, slings, and other essential drinks, along with detailed historical and mixological notes.

The first edition, published in 2007, won a James Beard Award. Now updated with newly discovered recipes and historical information, this new edition includes the origins of the first American drink, the Mint Julep (which Wondrich places before the American Revolution), and those of the Cocktail itself. It also provides more detail about 19th century spirits, many new and colorful anecdotes and details about Thomas’s life, and a number of particularly notable, delicious, and influential cocktails not covered in the original edition, rounding out the picture of pre-Prohibition tippling.

This colorful and good-humored volume is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the timeless appeal of a well-made drink-and the uniquely American history behind it.

An Authoritative, historically informed tribute to the punch bowl, by the James Beard Award-winning author of Imbibe!.

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.

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. 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.

Since its opening in 2006, Death & Co has been a must-visit destination for serious drinkers and cocktail enthusiasts, and the winner of every major industry award—including America’s Best Cocktail Bar and Best Cocktail Menu at the Tales of the Cocktail convention. Boasting a supremely talented and creative bar staff—the best in the industry—Death & Co is also the birthplace of some of the modern era’s most iconic drinks, such as the Oaxaca Old-Fashioned, Naked and Famous, and the Conference.

Destined to become a definitive reference on craft cocktails, Death & Co features more than 500 of the bar’s most innovative and sought-after cocktails. But more than just a collection of recipes, Death & Co is also a complete cocktail education, with information on the theory and philosophy of drink making, a complete guide to buying and using spirits, and step-by-step instructions for mastering key bartending techniques. Filled with beautiful, evocative photography; illustrative charts and infographics; and colorful essays about the characters who fill the bar each night; Death & Co—like its namesake bar—is bold, elegant, and setting the pace for mixologists around the world.

Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog in Lower Manhattan has dominated the bar industry, receiving award after award including World’s Best Bar, World’s Best Cocktail Menu, World’s Best Drink Selection, and Best American Cocktail Bar, . 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.

Martin and Rebecca Cate, founders and owners of Smuggler’s Cove (the most acclaimed tiki bar of the modern era) take you on a colorful journey into the lore and legend of tiki: its birth as an escapist fantasy for Depression-era Americans; how exotic cocktails were invented, stolen, and re-invented; Hollywood starlets and scandals; and tiki’s modern-day revival.

Featuring more than 100 delicious recipes (original and historic), plus a groundbreaking new approach to understanding rum, Smuggler’s Cove is the magnum opus of the contemporary tiki renaissance. Whether you’re looking for a new favorite cocktail, tips on how to trick out your home tiki grotto, help stocking your bar with great rums, or inspiration for your next tiki party, Smuggler’s Cove has everything you need to transform your world into a Polynesian Pop fantasia.

This is a book about how to drink rum of all kinds. It’s about classic rums and new-generation rums, about rhum agricole and about premium aged rums, about rums from all over the world. It’s about rum enjoyed with cola and ginger beer. About the best rum for a classic daiquiri. About rum cocktails that ooze style and personality. Above all, it’s about enjoying your rum in all kinds of ways.

The mission of this book is to help drinkers appreciate this complex spirit, find the style they like and discover how this versatile spirit can best be enjoyed. More than 100 different rums are featured and analysed, from rich, sweet mellow Guyana rums to the vegetal peppery rums of Martinique or Guadeloupe and contemporary spiced rums. Dave Broom provides a description and graded tasting notes for each brand, allowing you to create the perfect mix every time. Finally, a selection of classic and contemporary cocktails shows just how wonderfully versatile this spirit is.

In Rum Curious, author Fred Minnick first takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the world of rum, describing its many styles; explaining the great variety of fermenting, distilling, and maturing processes; and highlighting distillers and distilleries.

He then teaches the reader about tasting rum—revealing the experience offered by brands ranging from the familiar to the unusual and obscure. A final section provides recipes for classic and innovative rum cocktails from around the world. Rum Curious is the one book the reader will need to understand and appreciate rum in all its glorious variety.

An original book on the craft of mixology is a rare gem. Gary Regan’s The Joy of Mixology is such a gem, one whose genius lies in Regan’s breakthrough system for categorizing drinks that helps bartenders—both professionals and amateurs alike—not only to remember drink recipes but also to invent their own.

For example, once you understand that the Margarita is a member of the New Orleans Sour Family, you’ll instantly see that a Kamikaze is just a vodka-based Margarita; a Cosmopolitan follows the same formula, with some cranberry juice thrown in for color. Similarly, the Manhattan and the Rob Roy, both members of the French-Italian family, are variations on the whiskey-vermouth-bitters formula.

In this way Regan brings a whole new understanding to the world of cocktails and how to make them. Not only will you learn how to make standard cocktails, you’ll actually learn to feel your way through making a drink, thereby attaining the skills needed to create concoctions of your own. And as Regan explains methods for mixing drinks, how to choose bartenders’ wares and select spirits and liqueurs, and the origins of many cocktails, you’ll feel as though you’re behind the bar with him, learning from a master. Plus, his charming and detailed history of mixed drinks raises this far above the standard cocktail guide fare.

With more than 350 drink recipes, The Joy of Mixology is the ultimate bar guide. Ground-breaking and authoritative, it’s a must-have for anyone interested in the craft of the cocktail.

Julie Reiner, the co-owner of The Clover Club in Brooklyn and The Flatiron Lounge in Manhattan, has written a book that provides inspiration for the rest of us, not only the cocktail geeks. She wants to balance the needs of the everyday drinker with those of the passionate mixologist.

Recipes are organized around seasonality and occasion, with different events and themes appropriate to the specific time of the year. Each section will include a mixture of holiday-inspired drinks, classic cocktails, and innovative new drinks, all along with fun cocktail lore. Tricks, tips, and techniques—such as batching and infusions, tools of the trade, notes on spirit types, and easy substitutions to utilize what you already have on hand—will round out the amazing amount of information in Reiner’s book.

A history of one of the world’s most iconic cocktails—originally an Italian aperitivo, but now a staple of craft bar programs everywhere—with 60 recipes for variations and contemporary updates.

The Negroni is one of the simplest and most elegant drink formulas around: combine one part gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part Campari, then stir and serve over ice. This bitter, sweet, and smooth drink has inspired countless variations as well as legions of diehard aficionados. In The Negroni, Gary Regan—barman extraordinaire and author of the iconic book The Joy of Mixology—delves into the drink’s fun, fascinating history (its origin story is still debated, with battling Italian noblemen laying claim) and provides techniques for modern updates (barrel aging and carbonation among them). Sixty delightfully varied and uniformly tasty recipes round out this spirited collection, which is a must-have for any true cocktail enthusiast.

A complete history of one of the world’s most iconic cocktails—now the poster child of the modern cocktail revival—with fifty recipes for classic variations as well as contemporary updates.

No single cocktail is as iconic, as beloved, or as discussed and fought-over as the Old-Fashioned. Its formula is simple: just whiskey, bitters, sugar, and ice. But how you combine those ingredients—in what proportion, using which brands, and with what kind of garnish—is the subject of much impassioned debate.

The Old-Fashioned is the spirited, delightfully unexpected story of this renowned and essential drink: its birth as the ur-cocktail in the nineteenth century, darker days in the throes of Prohibition, re-ascension in the 1950s and 1960s (as portrayed and re-popularized by Don Draper on Mad Men), and renaissance as the star of the contemporary craft cocktail movement.

Winner of the 2015 James Beard Award for Best Beverage Book and the 2015 IACP Jane Grigson Award.

A revolutionary approach to making better-looking, better-tasting drinks.

In Dave Arnold’s world, the shape of an ice cube, the sugars and acids in an apple, and the bubbles in a bottle of champagne are all ingredients to be measured, tested, and tweaked.

Liquid Intelligence is about satisfying your curiosity and refining your technique, from red-hot pokers to the elegance of an old-fashioned. Whether you’re in search of astounding drinks or a one-of-a-kind journey into the next generation of cocktail making, Liquid Intelligence is the ultimate standard―one that no bartender or drink enthusiast should be without.

Over the course of the past two decades, Tony Abou-Ganim has earned his reputation as one of the leaders in the craft cocktail movement. Through his work with food and hospitality legends like Mario Batali, Steve Wynn, and Harry Denton, Abou-Ganim has earned his reputation as “the Modern Mixologist,” someone bringing the traditional art of mixology into the 21st century. Now, in The Modern Mixologist, Abou-Ganim has established the new standard in cocktail books — a must-have guide to home mixology in a beautiful, coffee-table–suitable format. Featuring gorgeous full-color photography throughout by the award-winning Tim Turner, this book instantly becomes the most beautiful guide to creating cocktails available anywhere. If you carry one high-end cocktail book, this is it — sure to be a terrific gift item all year round.

Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet?  In The Drunken Botanist, Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol over the centuries.

Of all the extraordinary and obscure plants that have been fermented and distilled, a few are dangerous, some are downright bizarre, and one is as ancient as dinosaurs—but each represents a unique cultural contribution to our global drinking traditions and our history.

This fascinating concoction of biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology—with more than fifty drink recipes and growing tips for gardeners—will make you the most popular guest at any cocktail party.

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.

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.

Hundreds of cocktail bitters are on the market, and millions are turning to them to add punch, pizzazz, and complexity to their cocktails and even their cooking. But the storm of exciting brands and flavors has even the savviest bartenders puzzled over their personalities and best uses. Bitterman’s Field Guide to Bitters and Amari is the handbook that decodes today’s burgeoning selection of bitters, along with their kindred spirits amari and shrubs, complete with 190 photographs.

Raise your glass to a surprising new taste sensation for cocktails and sophisticated sodas: Shrubs. Not the kind that grow in the ground, but a vintage drink mixer that will knock your socks off. “Mixologists across the country are reaching back through the centuries to reclaim vinegar’s more palatable past . . . embracing it as ‘the other acid,’ an alternative to the same-old-same-old lemons and limes,” said the New York Times. The history of shrubs, as revealed here, is as fascinating as the drinks are refreshing. These sharp and tangy infusions are simple to make and use, as you’ll discover with these recipes. Mix up some Red Currant Shrub for a Vermouth Cassis, or Apple Cinnamon Shrub to mix with seltzer, or develop your own with Michael Dietsch’s directions and step-by-step photographs.

Distilled from grain nurtured in the soil of Belgium and the Netherlands, genever embodies the spirit, creativity, and resiliency of the culture that created it. Surviving five centuries of wars and prohibitions, genever was perfected and spread across the world. During its evolution, genever inspired the creation of gin and secured a place at America’s early cocktail bars. Whether you are a spirit and cocktail connoisseur or a burgeoning mixologist, Genever: 500 Years of History in a Bottle provides an enlightening review of genever’s colorful past and offers tempting options for making it part of your future.

Combining cannabis and cocktails is a hot new trend, and Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, and Tonics shows you how. Featuring a collection of 75 recipes of cannabis influenced cocktails and drinks; The Cocktail Whisperer Warren Bobrow will show you the essential instructions for de-carbing cannabis to release its full psychoactive effect. Learn the history of cannabis as a social drug and its growing acceptance to becoming a medicinal. Look beyond cocktails and create successful tonics, syrups, shrubs, bitters, compound butter and exotic infused oil to use in any drink. Start your day with coffee, tea, and milk-based cannabis beverages for healing and relaxation. Get your afternoon pick-me-up with gut healing shrubs and mood enhancing syrups. Make cooling lemonades and sparking herbal infusions to soothe the fevered brow. Then, have an after dinner herbal-based cannabis drink for relaxation at the end of a good meal. The options are endless with Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, and Tonics!

At the turn of the century, pharmacies in Europe and America prepared homemade tinctures, bitters, and herbal remedies mixed with alcohol for curative benefit for everything from poor digestion to the common cold. Today, trendy urban bars such as Apothke in New York, Apo Bar & Lounge in Philadelphia, and 1022 South in Tacoma, as well as “vintage” and “homegrown” cocktail aficionados, find inspiration in apothecary cocktails of old. Now you can too! Apothecary Cocktails features 75 traditional and newly created recipes for medicinally-themed cocktails. Learn the history of the top ten apothecary liqueurs, bitters, and tonics that are enjoying resurgence at trendy bars and restaurants, including Peychaud’s Bitters, Chartreuse, and Vermouth. Find out how healing herbs, flowers, and spices are being given center stage in cocktail recipes and traditional apothecary recipes and ingredients are being resurrected for taste and the faint promise of a cure. Once you’ve mastered the history, you can try your hand at reviving your favorites: restoratives, sedatives and toddys, digestifs, and more. Whether you’re interested in the history, the recipes, or both, you’ll love flipping through this beautifully presented book that delves into the world of apothecary cocktails.

Grab your bow tie and a rocks glass, because we’re talking all about one of the most classic - and classy - spirits. Whether you like bourbon, scotch or rye, whiskey’s diverse and complex taste will be your new go-to drink for parties, gatherings, or evenings in your study with a roaring fire. Whiskey can be an intimidating drink to the uninitiated. Most folks may not be able to drink it straight. We’ve got you covered. The Cocktail Whisperer, Warren Bobrow, author of Apothecary Cocktails (Fair Winds Press) incorporates some of the best whiskeys into hand-crafted cocktails that bring out the subtle notes and flavors of any good bourbon or scotch. Whiskey Cocktails features 75 traditional, newly-created, and original recipes for whiskey-based cocktails. This wonderfully crafted book also features drink recipes from noted whiskey experts and bartenders.

In this expanded and updated edition of Forgotten Cocktails and Vintage Spirits, historian, expert, and drink aficionado Dr. Cocktail adds another 20 fine recipes to his hand-picked collection of 80 rare-and-worth-rediscovered drink recipes, shares revelations about the latest cocktail trends, provides new resources for uncommon ingredients, and profiles of many of the cocktail world’s movers and shakers. Historic facts, expanded anecdotes, and full-color vintage images from extremely uncommon sources round out this must-have volume. For anyone who enjoys an icy drink and an unforgettable tale.

The Mixellany Guide to Vermouth & Other Aperitifs explores the remarkable history of aromatized wines and spirits as well as the secrets of their production. When vermouth landed on American shores, it gave birth to an entire family of drinks from the Martini and the Manhattan to the Adonis and the Metropole. In Britain, the dry and sweet versions led to the Blood & Sand and the Matador. But why did Winston Churchill allegedly bow toward France instead of using vermouth in a drink? Why have various eyedroppers and atomizers been marketed to administer minute amounts of this aromatized wine into American drinks on both sides of the Atlantic? In cafés throughout Italy and France you can tell the time by the orders for tumblers and goblets of vermouth on the rocks. Argentines and Chileans love vermouth so much their cocktail hour is sometimes called l’hora del vermut [the vermouth hour]. In some regions of Spain bodegas have barrels of vermouth to dole out for after-work aperitivos. Drinks historians and life-long vermouth lovers, Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller delve into the reasons why vermouths and other apéritifs have been so misunderstood and under-valued since the end of Prohibition in the United States and suggest why it is time to have a change of heart.

Upon tasting Champagne for the first time, Dom Perignon called out to his assistants, “Come Quickly, I’m Drinking Stars!”

So if Champagne is heaven in a glass, why mix it in a cocktail? It’s simple: Champagne is the pinnacle of the winemaker’s art, while the cocktail is the crowning jewel of the mixologist’s craft. When combined, the result is a beverage unrivaled in decadence, pleasure, and inspiration.

Champagne Cocktails proudly presents more than 100 traditional and nouveau concoctions—from Bellini to the Southern Belle to the Mambo King—plus toasts, jokes, and celebrity lore. Also featured are party tips, recipes for complementary foods, a listing of Champagne and sparkling wine producers, and a directory of the world’s posphest Champagne lounges.

The Champagne connoisseur will toast these finer points of culture and fizziology, while the novice will delight in adding a new sparkle to the day.

Winner of the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book, Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean strains five centuries of West Indian history through a cocktail shaker, serving up 77 vintage Caribbean drink recipes - 16 of them lost recipes that have never before been published anywhere in any form, and another 19 that have never been published in book form. Even more delicious are the stories of the people who created, or served, or simply drank these drinks.

The global Tiki Drink revival is in full swing. But without Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log and Intoxica!, there’d be nothing to drink. These two groundbreaking books revealed the top-secret, never-before-published, “lost” exotic drink recipes from Tiki’s original midcentury heyday. Author Jeff Berry has unearthed a lot more recipes since his first two books, and picked up a lot more drink lore too. He’s spilling it all in Beachbum Berry Remixed, a completely revised and updated anthology of the Grog Log and Intoxica!, featuring 40 newly discovered, previously unpublished vintage Tiki drink recipes from the 1930s-1960s, 38 of the best new recipes from today’s Tiki revival, gathered especially for Remixed from the world’s top mixologists and cocktail writers, expanded drink history and lore, incorporating newly discovered information about the origins of the Mai Tai, Zombie, Suffering bastard, and other legendary Tiki mysteries.

From Paul Clarke, editor of Imbibe and the 2014 Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer comes The Cocktail Chronicles, an approachable guide to the cocktail renaissance thus far and―as the name implies―a chronicle of the cocktails that have come along the way. Based on his informative and ground-breaking blog by the same name, The Cocktail Chronicles is not a lab manual for taking the cocktail experience to a molecular level; nor is it an historical monograph tracing the details of our forebears as they developed and mixed the drinks we enjoy today. Instead, The Cocktail Chronicles is a collection of approachable, and easily replicable drinks that all share the same thing: a common deliciousness and a role—both big and small—in the ongoing and thriving cocktail renaissance. With helpful insight into glasses,tools, and basic cocktail tips and techniques, The Cocktail Chronicles covers familiar classics, back-from-the-dead obscurities, enduring classics and the drinks they’ve inspired, and the contemporary cocktails the may well be built to last. This is the cocktail guide that distills all the noise of the current craze into one useful, accessible, and fun-to-read reference that makes cocktails easy to enjoy.

Bestseller and winner of the 2009 James Beard Book Award. Great cooking goes beyond following a recipe—it’s knowing how to season ingredients to coax the greatest possible flavor from them. Drawing on dozens of leading chefs’ combined experience in top restaurants across the country, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg present the definitive guide to creating “deliciousness” in any dish.

Prepared by a James Beard Award-winning author team, “What to Drink with What You Eat” provides the most comprehensive guide to matching food and drink ever compiled—complete with practical advice from the best wine stewards and chefs in America.

Ultimate Bar Book is the first and only guide to classic and new drink recipes. Loaded with essential-to-know topics such as barware, tools, and mixing tips, this book has it all. As a mistress of mixology, the author has the classics down to a Tthe Martini, the Bloody Mary, plus the many variations (the Dirty Martini, the Virgin Mary). And then there are all the creative new elixirs the author brings to the table, like the Tasmanian Twister Cocktail or the Citron Sparkler. Illustrations show precisely what type of glass should be used for each drink. With dozens of recipes for garnishes, rims, infusions, and syrups; punches, gelatin shooters, hot drinks, and non-alcoholic beverages; andlet’s not forgetan essential selection of hangover remedies, Ultimate Bar Book is nothing short of top-shelf.

You’ll be mixing cocktails like a pro in no time with The Everything Bartender’s Book, 4th Edition. Designed for every skill level, this essential guide boasts more than 1,000 recipes for shots, cordials, and punches, along with classic cocktails, mixed drinks, frozen blender concoctions, and even “virgin” versions of popular drinks.

You’ll also find exciting new recipes for making your own bitters, infusions, and syrups, as well as brand-new information on craft beer and fruit ciders. Completely updated and revised, this behind-the-bar handbook reveals the secrets every great bartender—or party host—needs to know!

Mudslides. Daiquiris. Margaritas. Whether you’re trying to beat the heat or just take a mental vacation, these icy indulgences are irresistible. Now, you can make restaurant-quality frozen cocktails at home, with Frozen Drinks: An A to Z Companion to All Your Frozen Favorites. Expert bartender Cheryl Charming shares her secrets on how to: whip up the best frozen drinks, with or without a blender; impress guests with fresh mixers-far superior to the storebought type (sic); create more than 800 of the iciest libations.

When the Manhattan came along, it changed everything. As Gotham’s finest watering holes embraced the new concoction, the original cocktail soon became old hat and known as the Old-Fashioned. Cocktail historian Philip Greene expertly traces the evolution of this new drink from its competing origin stories through its continuing influence and extensive progeny, including the almighty Martini itself. Richly illustrated with vintage ads and artwork and luxe photographs, this definitive, illustrated story of the Manhattan also offers 65 easy-to-follow recipes. Classic variations and contemporary updates range from the Brooklyn and the Vesper to the Little Italy and Red Hook. If you’re thirsty for a good story, you’ve come to the right place.

And a Bottle of Rum tells the raucously entertaining story of America as seen through the bottom of a drinking glass. With a chapter for each of ten cocktails—from the grog sailors drank on the high seas in the 1700s to the mojitos of modern club hoppers—Wayne Curtis reveals that the homely spirit once distilled from the industrial waste of the exploding sugar trade has managed to infiltrate every stratum of New World society.

A fun gift for barflies and a terrific treat for book clubs, Tequila Mockingbird is the ultimate cocktail book for the literary obsessed. Featuring 65 delicious drink recipes—paired with wry commentary on history’s most beloved novels—the book also includes bar bites, drinking games, and whimsical illustrations throughout.

In The Curious Bartender, Tristan Stephenson explores and experiments with the art of mixing the perfect cocktail, explaining the fascinating modern turns mixology has taken. Showcasing a selection of classic cocktails, he explains their intriguing origins, introducing the colourful historical characters who inspired or created them. Moving on, he reinvents each drink from his laboratory, adding contemporary twists to breathe fresh life into these vintage classics.

The first comprehensive account of the cocktail, newly revised and expanded

The cocktail is as old as the nation that invented it, yet until this entertaining and authoritative account, its story had never been fully told. William Grimes traces the evolution of American drink from the anything-goes concoctions of the Colonial era to the frozen margarita, spiking his meticulously researched narrative with arresting details, odd facts, and colorful figures.

After exploring the proto-cocktails of the early nineteenth century, Grimes tracks the rise of the saloon and the bartender, and the spread of the American cocktail to Europe; the golden age of the cocktail, from 1880 to 1920, when classics such as the Bronx, Manhattan, martini, and daiquiri came into being; the Jazz Age and the subterranean world of the speakeasy; the post-Prohibition lull and the Cold War landscape of cocktails that followed; the strange efflorescence of a Polynesian-influenced lounge culture; and the recent resurgence that has produced a wave of exciting new drinks. (The martini, of course, gets a chapter of its own.) The book includes about one hundred recipes-half of them new for this edition-for both classics and innovations.

2400 Reviews of Whiskey, Brandy, Vodka, Tequila, Rum, Gin, and Liqueurs from F. Paul Pacult’s Spirit Journal. As the world’s most respected and trusted spirits authority, critic, journalist, consultant, and author, F. Paul Pacult, is without peer in his meticulous tasting format and fiercely unbiased opinions. The advertising-free nature of his newsletter, F. Paul Pacult’s Spirit Journal, now celebrating its eighteenth year of publication, allows Pacult the journalistic and critical freedom to speak his mind, review after review, product after product.

Readers may not agree with him 100% of the time, but they always know clearly where he stands in terms of demanding quality. Pacult is just as inclined to chastise the distiller of a $1,000 bottle of brandy that falls miserably short of the mark as he is to heap praise upon a $12 bottle of rum that drinks like a $100 bottle of rum. Price, presentation, and/or producer or whether or not he personally knows the distiller never gets in the way of Pacult’s honest opinions and highly detailed reviews.

What is solely paramount to Pacult and what sets him completely apart from all other spirits writers working today is whether or not what’s in the sampling glass looks, smells, tastes, and feels good enough to recommend to a friend. All other data is, to him, immaterial and extraneous.

A new generation of urban bootleggers is distilling whiskey at home, and cocktail enthusiasts have embraced the nuances of brown liquors. Written by the founders of Kings County Distillery, New York City’s first distillery since Prohibition, this spirited illustrated book explores America’s age-old love affair with whiskey. It begins with chapters on whiskey’s history and culture from 1640 to today, when the DIY trend and the classic cocktail craze have conspired to make it the next big thing. For those thirsty for practical information, the book next provides a detailed, easy-to-follow guide to safe home distilling, complete with a list of supplies, step-by-step instructions, and helpful pictures, anecdotes, and tips. The final section focuses on the contemporary whiskey scene, featuring a list of microdistillers, cocktail and food recipes from the country’s hottest mixologists and chefs, and an opinionated guide to building your own whiskey collection.

Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey, follows the trail of America whiskey-making from its 17th century origins right up to the present day. In it, readers will discover the history of the American whiskey industry, how American whiskey is made and marketed, the differences among various types of American whiskey (bourbon, rye, Tennessee) and how they compare to other world whiskies.

In Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey, award-winning whiskey author Fred Minnick traces bourbon’s entire history, from the 1700s with Irish, Scottish, and French settlers setting up stills and making distilled spirits in the New World through today’s booming resurgence. He also lays out in expert detail the critical role this spirit has played throughout the cultural and even political history of the nation. And most importantly, Minnick explores the mystery of who most likely created the sweet corn liquor we now know as bourbon. He studies the men who’ve been championed as its inventors over time and, based on new research and never-before-seen documentation, answers the question of who deserves the credit.

In Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker, award-winning whiskey writer and Wall Street Journal-best-selling author Fred Minnick debunks bourbon myths, provides distillery production methods (such as recipes and barrel-entry proofs!) and creates an easy-to-read interactive tasting journey that helps you select bourbons based on flavor preferences and bourbon styles.

Barrel Strength Bourbon provides an in-depth examination of the bourbon industry in Kentucky, the creation of an American spirit, its resurrection following Prohibition, its astronomical growth in the past decade, and its potential for the future.

Readers will learn how to nose, taste, and appreciate a spirit that, while created from time-tested recipes, is evolving so quickly that new varieties and brands appear weekly on liquor store shelves.

The author, a leading bourbon journalist who routinely helps select barrels for special edition bottlings and tastes new products before most bartenders do, takes readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of distilleries and rickhouses, shares anecdotes from her chats with bourbon legends, and provides insight on what to expect next from one of the fastest growing spirits on Earth.

Historian Michael R. Veach reveals the true story of bourbon in Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. Starting with the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790s, he traces the history of this unique beverage through the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and up to the present. Veach explores aspects of bourbon that have been ignored by others, including the technology behind its production, the effects of the Pure Food and Drug Act, and how Prohibition contributed to the Great Depression. The myths surrounding bourbon are legion, but Veach separates fact from legend. While the true origin of the spirit may never be known for certain, he proposes a compelling new theory.

With the explosion of super-premium bourbons and craft distilleries and the establishment of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, interest in bourbon has never been higher. Veach shines a light on its pivotal place in our national heritage, presenting the most complete and wide-ranging history of bourbon available.

This classic book about how to mix drinks is back in print, with new introductions by Audrey Saunders and Robert Hess.

Both supreme gentility and extraordinary fun characterized London’s high society in the 1930s. When The Savoy Cocktail Book was first published, it not only enriched the style of the times―it became part of it.

Into the next millennium, The Savoy Hotel continues to evoke a world of elegance and style, and this updated edition features several new cocktails including the Millennium Cocktail, created by Peter Dorelli, the former Savoy head barman. This compendium attempts to cover everything about drinks and drinking, especially the art of cocktail creation, presentation, and consumption. With over 750 classic cocktail recipes, The Savoy Cocktail Book allows you to recreate the tradition of sophisticated soirées at The Savoy time and time again.

Harry Craddock left America during Prohibition to work as a cocktail barman for The American Bar at London’s Savoy Hotel. Published in the wake of Prohibition, his Savoy Cocktail Book captures the spirit of the times with its historic recipes and vibrant illustrations. Craddock has been credited with popularizing many drinks and the invention of a number of classic cocktails, such as the White Lady and Corpse Reviver #2.

Frank Caiafa—bar manager of the legendary Peacock Alley bar in the Waldorf Astoria—stirs in recipes, history, and how-to while serving up a heady mix of the world’s greatest cocktails. Learn to easily prepare pre-Prohibition classics such as the original Manhattan, or daiquiris just as Hemingway preferred them. Caiafa also introduces his own award-winning creations, including the Cole Porter, an enhanced whiskey sour named for the famous Waldorf resident.

Each recipe features tips and variations along with notes on the drink’s history, so you can master the basics, then get adventurous—and impress fellow drinkers with fascinating cocktail trivia. The book also provides advice on setting up your home bar and scaling up your favorite recipe for a party.

Since it first opened in 1893, the Waldorf Astoria New York has been one of the world’s most iconic hotels, and Peacock Alley its most iconic bar. Whether you’re a novice who’s never adventured beyond a gin and tonic or an expert looking to expand your repertoire, The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book is the only cocktail guide you need on your shelf.

Dive into an opulent universe of punches, cobblers, toddies, slings, sours and a host of other classic old-world cocktails!

Legendary bartender Jerry Thomas (1832-1885) whose name was once synonymous with quality in the world of high-end drink, compiled this seminal volume in 1862. In doing so, he codified the concoctions that have become the backbone of high-end bars around the world! Often lauded as the father of mixology, Jerry Thomas, in addition to penning this book (the first drink book ever published in America), popularized inventive drinks and elevated the practice of bartending to an art form.
At the height of his popularity in the 19th Century, people all over the country were eager to taste Thomas’ recipes. While serving as the principle bartender at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco he earned more money per week than the Vice President of the United States! Perhaps most famous for his signature cocktail, the Blue Blazer, which involves pouring flaming whiskey between two glasses to create a dramatic pyrotechnic display, Jerry Thomas laid the foundations for today’s cocktail renaissance while Abraham Lincoln was still in the White House.

To this day, Thomas is celebrated as one of the most creative bartenders in history. With this trove of astounding cocktail recipes in your hand you’ll never be short on inspiration behind the bar!