The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks with 150 Recipes Kindle Edition

Many beginner friendly books seem to dumb down or simplify the ingredients a bit, but this book seems to be specifically made for teaching you the *right* way to make each famous cocktail, and then you can simplify or substitute yourself. If that sounds like what you're looking for, then this is the book for you.I bought this book to start my journey into cocktails. All the information at the beginning of the book is actually quite good for that. It explains bar tools you'll want, glassware, common types of alcohol and mixers, and even how to make your own syrups!After that, the book is split into two sections, and each section lists the drinks in alphabetical order. The first section are the classics, and the second is "modern." The split between those two seems to be around 1960 or so.Most of the modern drinks require at least one weird specific ingredient you likely don't have, or would need to buy just for one drink. I can't imagine many people making any of the recipes in this part of the book, and it loses a bit of points for that from me.What it does do quite well is the classic cocktails. As I mentioned before, it teaches you the right way to make them and gives you a little history about them too, maybe alongside a few other comments about it.But even then, even though I'm quite new to the cocktail game, I noticed it missed a few cocktails I would recognize. No Long Island Iced Tea, no Hurricanes, no Mudslides... paired with the fact you'll never make almost any of the drinks in the second half of the book, this really drives the nail in the coffin for it not getting the full 5 stars.As a footnote, I would like to mention how well the book is sorted. Any comments complaining about it are simply incorrect. The two sections, classic and modern, have their drinks in alphabetical order. At the beginning of the book, there is an index for drinks sorted by how they are made (shaken, stirred, built, etc). And at the end of the book, there's a full index for everything, including ingredients. Want to know what drinks in the book use rum? Look in the index, and it lists all the drinks that use it under "rum."All in all, I'm glad I got this book. I feel like I learned from it. Any holes it doesn't fill, the internet can.

At the beginning of this year, we made two incongruous decisions. First, we decided to abstain from alcohol for the month of January (as many others did). Second, although we aren’t big on making hollow New Year’s resolutions, I committed to improving my mixology skills. In our house, my wife is the skilled bartender. She just has an uncanny knack for throwing something together without the aid of a recipe and, usually, it tastes incredible. My motivation was likely borne out of a desire to give her a reprieve from bartending duties, but also an interest in improving my mixology skills. We both love a good cocktail! Enter this book. With a focus on educating both amateurs and professionals on the finer points of cocktail creation and technique, the book features 150 recipes for both classic and modern mixed drinks - all featuring alluring photographs. Our preferences lean towards traditional cocktails and this book does not disappoint in that regard. After a brief introduction, several pages are devoted to the basics - including techniques, tools and glassware. The rest of the book is divided into three parts: classic, modern and syrups. A handy recipe list in the beginning, along with the traditional index in the end, makes finding (or choosing) a particular cocktail a breeze. Additionally, the book’s modest size makes it an easy companion for tucking alongside your home bar. Here are the cocktails we made:• Florodora - This gin-based cocktail is a tribute to the “Florodora Sextette”, who danced in the 1900 musical of the same name. Ours leans a bit more red in color than the pink-hued stunner in the book (thanks to muddled raspberries) but it was no less tasty. Lime juice and simple syrup also go into the shaker before straining over ice and topping with ginger ale. The garnish of orange wheel, lime wheel and raspberry ensures you’ll be getting a healthy portion of fruit as you imbibe!• Garibaldi - Sometimes, simple is best. Case in point: this cocktail right here, which is just Campari and orange juice. We reckon you could substitute the Campari for something similar like Aperol. Fresh, frothy orange juice is critical. A cocktail shaker will aid in aerating it, while a Vitamix would be even better. This will take you right back to the Orange Julius in the mall food court. We garnished ours with a blood orange slice to bump up the fancy meter to 100.• New York Sour - A clever spin on a Whiskey Sour (bourbon or rye, sugar and lemon juice), this version was supposed to have red wine “floating” on top. Sadly, the mixology gods were absent on this day and our result was not quite as impressive.• Southside - This drink falls somewhere between a gin mojito (sans soda water) and a gimlet with mint added. Not only is the fresh mint treated to a muddle, along with simple syrup, but a good old-fashioned “spanking” to release the oils for the garnish. This is a light, breezy cocktail!• Kentucky Buck - This cocktail showcases Kentucky’s state spirit, bourbon. Muddled strawberry and lemon juice are invited too, before garnishing with a lemon wheel. This is the perfect beverage for easing into (or out of) the weekend.

I got this as a gift for my daughter. She just raves about this book! She writes a blog about cocktails and loves the history given about each drink. It’s a beautiful book, colorful , small, and compact enough for travel. She said it’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever given her. Cheers!

Daughter leaned a lot by using this book!

Nice size and heft. Does not disappoint. Recipes followed by beautiful colored photos of the finished drink in the 'proper' glass.

A very basic rendition of cocktail recipes. Easy to read and included a lot of great pictures. All the recipes were well written out and included brands of the alcohol. Nicely done

Smaller in size than expected.

Great gift

Bought as a present really lovely book very pleased with purchase

Bought for a friend they liked it

A well thought out cocktail book. A good selection of drinks with appealing photos.

received today thanks

Estava procurando um livro de drinks e depois de ver vários esse foi um das minhas melhores compras, recomendo para todas as pessoas q estão querendo entrar no mundo da mixologia ou tem interesse por esse assunto, temos várias receitas sendo que as mais clássicas estão presentes nesse livro.