The Craft Cocktail Party: Delicious Drinks for Every Occasion

by Julie Reiner, Kaitlyn Goalen (Primary Contributor)

A Craft Cocktail book for the rest of us by the top female mixologist in the country.

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.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cocktails, Cooking, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2015

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Requested this from the library after watching Drinkmasters on Netflix. Author is one of the judges. I thought this was a very good book. Good enough so that I've now ordered a copy from my local bookstore

[Cristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yum and can't wait to make some of the cocktails.

[Maria Cloos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring!

There are tons of fun, easily executed drinks and preparations in here that anyone can do. It’s going to become a mainstay of my home bar.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unless you've been living in a cave in a remote desert you are probably aware that we are now in the midst of the second golden age of cocktails here in America. I came of age in the 1970s at a time when bartending skills were at an ebb; when most bartenders had just about enough skill to put rum and coke in the same glass, martinis were considered highly exotic and were prepared with second rate gin and the third rate vermouth available at the time, and when a Long Island Iced Tea was the drink of choice by my college friends. But oh how things changed starting in the early 2000s, with fresh infusions and syrups, high quality spirits, an ever increasing range of options for vermouths, bitters, and aperitifs, and a new cocktail culture that emphasized freshness and originality while paying homage to the classics. And Julie Reiner was as responsible for that risorgimento as anyone.

This is a beautiful book with plenty of photographs, lots of recipes, and a great resource for the home cocktail maker. Most of all, it is inspiring. It really doesn't require a lot of effort to make an infusion or a syrup, or to use fresh instead of bottled juice, and Reiner offers plenty of specific instruction on how to do it properly. Stocking the bar is a whole other question, of course: that can become very expensive. Reiner doesn't really offer any help on that score, but she does go to lengths to say which specific spirits she likes best in each category of drink, so that's a help.

The book is remarkably inexpensive (list $26 and currently available for less that $19 at Amazon), and a great addition to any cocktail library. Though I haven't read the Kindle edition, I cannot imagine that it is anything like the hardcover. Spend the extra $6 and get the real deal.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a first read. I love craft cocktails. This is one of the better books on the topic. It's well laid out and has beautiful color photos.The typography is also very lovely making the recipes more readable. It covers tools, glassware, techniques and garnishes. I also love that the drinks are organized by season. I like the inclusion of fresh, seasonal ingredients. I also appreciated that the recipes are laid out in a straightfoward manner and that Reiner includes her suggestion for particular brands of alcohol to use in a drink as a parenthetical next to the type of alcohol e.g. "2 ounces blanco tequila (I recommend El Tesoro)." This makes substitutions easy and allows the reader to use their preferred brand while also letting them know what Reiner thinks makes for the best cocktail. I like that each cocktail recipe includes an appropriate garnish. The book also includes great tips for making drinks in bulk for parties or making your own cocktails by pairing together flavors and spirits that work well together. My favorite cocktails from the book are: Blonde Redhead, C3 Apple Martini, Cherry Smash, and Green Giant. I'm a huge fan of New Orleans so I enjoyed the section devoted to their classic cocktails. And it was great that there was a section on mocktails for non-drinkers at your party. The Five Spice is my favorite mocktail. Highly recommend this book for any craft cocktail lover!

[Anne Frisbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book especially on the tips for throwing parties when you are responsible for the drinks.
- 1.5 to 2 pds ice per person
- Large batch drinks that need dilution but you want to chill before the party rather than shake/stir each one can be mimicked by adding 25 percent water to them

Love the cocktail recipes for: Sloe and Low, and Clover Club. Scofflaw and Bitter French version of French 75 is great. Hawaiian Ice Tea was a bit too sweet so I add less mint simple syrup.

I prefer Ivy Mix's (Julie's partner at Clover Club) new Mia Tia recipe (at Leyenda in Brooklyn) than Julie's Mai Tai one in this book. Ivy's variation is to substitute Mezcal for the rum (not the Appleton one) and she made one other change. Here is the recipe: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/05/...

With that said, both Mai Tai versions are terrific.

Base items in this book that are great are the Berry syrup - made with raspberries and blackberries, and Mint simple syrup made with mint tea

[Beth Lequeuvre · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, when I flipped through this book I thought that this book would be too highbrow for me. But after I actually took the time to read it was not even remotely snobby. All the recipes are laid out by season. And these drinks feature fresh items rather than a bottle of this or premix of that. This book is filled with beautiful pictures and lots of recipes for a wide variety of tastes, there are even mocktails. Looking forward to trying quite a few of these.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get out your cocktail shaker and discover (or rediscover) the art and joy of a well made libation. Read while enjoying a Side Car. With a sugared rim. Yummmm