Hip Sips: Modern Cocktails to Raise Your Spirits

by Lucy Brennan, Carolyn Burleigh, Sheri Giblin (Photographer)

Lucy Brennan shakes up the cocktail world with more than 60 refreshing drinks brimming with exotic combinations of ripened fruits, herbs, flavorings, and spirits. Guava Cosmos, a martini as smooth as James Bond, a frosty bowl of passion fruit-infused citrus punch. . . Add a few recipes for fruit pur es and infused vodkas, the author's signature garnishes (like lollipop rims, citrus twists, and berry picks), and a waterproof clear vinyl jacket, and this handy little book will turn the home bar into a hip and happening hotspot.

Genres: Nonfiction

132 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2007

Reviews

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mint/820 owner Lucy Brennan's cocktail book. If you like the featured drinks menu at 820, you should get this book, stat, because it costs the equivalent of 2 featured drinks, and you get probably 80% of the drinks recipes. The emphasis is on decent booze, good/fresh ingredients, and attention to detail. Lucy is specific about ice. And when I say specific, she will tell you what your cubes should look like and opine on where they should go. She will tell you how long to shake and how many times to stir. She will give you specific brands. Some people may find this a bit much, but frankly, I love detail. I mean, I don't have to follow every instruction, but it tells you how to replicate everything exactly, if that is what you want. THAT IS WHAT I WANT.

My taste for fruity fresh/herbal drinks matches well with the book. I am a big fan of the ad lib (a sort of vodka/cilantro cousin of either the margarita or mojito), the avacado daiquiri, and the guava cosmo. If you have teetotalling friends or children, there are three fruity nonalcoholic drinks in the back of the book that look genuinely tasty. There are some drinks that are too syrupy for me (like the nutty Manhattan, which substitutes in Nocello walnut liqueur for vermouth).

If you don't want to mess with muddling things or making fruit puree, this is probably not the book for you. Also this should not be the only cocktail book you own if you like cocktails, but that is ok. You should also expect that you will end up buying bottles of weird liqueuers, but that's kind of standard when you start in on cocktails. It is a nice book to refer to when you want a tasty drink, and that's more than enough for me.

[Cher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recipes & mixes in this book are creative and yummy! There are a few over-the-top ones that you'd have to pay me serious money to drink, but overall this is the best book I've found for making neat-o party drinks.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've found proposing an avocado daquiri. I have not tried her recipe yet.

[Christine]

I think my next career move is to become a complete lush. N'ah... I saw this at Powell's and thought it was pretty. And it was cheap.

[Darla · Rating 3 out of 5]

None of the drinks really grabbed me as something I wanted to make asap. It's more fruit driven than most books. But a good resource, nonetheless.

[False · Rating 2 out of 5]

A series of modern cocktails, including some classics. Lovely photography. Not much use as a book, however. A vanity purchase.

[Lore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super tasty fruity drinks!