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

This was part of a gift and she really loved it. The photos are clear and large and the instructions easy to follow. It's a nice book with all the classics. We gave this along with some lovely glass swizzle sticks and it was a perfect pairing.

There are loads of cocktail recipes in this book as well as a lot of other useful information. I got this book for the husband last Christmas along with a bar tool kit. We have been enjoying it immensely. A small word of warning there are many different types of liquor in the recipes. This turned out to be an expensive gift as we had to make a serious trip to the liquor store. Our bar is stocked better than most restaurants and bars in our area. The hubs can sure mix a mean drink! Cheers!

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.

Great drink recipe's with easy to follow instructions. Every time I have a family member staying with me, we pick a drink for our signature cocktail for the stay. My sister's stay, we made the Aviation. What a great drink!!

It is a very beautiful book! I love that it has a picture for every drink so that you know how the end product is supposed to look. It also has a good amount of info about ingredients, techniques, bar tools etc. I like the little history associated with each drink. It's fun to read. What I don't like: 1. The Modern recipes are almost impossible to recreate. They require so many obscure ingredients. It's a little ridiculous. I found maybe two drinks in the 100 pages that I thought to be reasonable, as in I could gather the ingredients and give it a try. 2. I wish it was organized by the main spirit in the drink. For example, all the bourbon drinks together, all the rum ones etc. So if I want a rum drink I have to look through the whole book for a rum drink that looks good. I guess I could use the index but still I think it would have been so much better if the drinks were organized by type of alcohol, not only "classic" - "modern" recipes. Overall I do like this book a lot. We've tried a good amount of the classic recipes and we've found some new favorites that I had no idea existed. So I do recommend it. But it also leaves a little to be desired.

I love this book. We’ve been using it for years now. The biggest and unexpected plus was the presentation. The quality of the book when you pick it up is immediately noticeable. The interior history on the drinks is accurate and the pictures are nice enough that I love sitting and looking by through it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the savoy bar book or anything. It’s made to be a presentable coffee table book. Professionals, keep it on the table for guests while you go by the book without pics in the back room. Everyone else- this is THE book for you. Cant recommend highly enough.

I bought this book for my brother, who is just getting into cocktails and mixed drinks. He LOVES this book, and uses/talks about it frequently. He likes that it has detailed photos of the drinks to be able to tell what type of glass it should be in and how it should look when finished. The book is excellent quality, and looks so nice in his bar area. I would say this book is for everyone, not just beginners.

Great book to give a cocktail enthusiast! Beautiful photos to go with each recipe...

This was a gift to my sister who now enjoys cocktails from the beautiful book

Si te gustan los cocktails, este es tu libro

Great imagery and perfect size. Excellent gift!

I bought this as a gift and my friend loved it

Ben fatto, una marea di ricette con indicazioni del bicchiere da usare. Dettagli precisi....tutto in inglese. Per 12€ ottima scelta.