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Day Drinking: 50 Cocktails for a Mellow Buzz
The perfect way to spend an afternoon!
When the occasion calls for a drink, but not getting drunk, mix up a batch of day drinks - creative, low-alcohol cocktails that are festive, delicious, and easy on the booze. Using beer, wine, cider, sake, sherry, and vermouth, plus a variety of amari and other liqueurs, here are 50 light drinks for hot days, warm drinks for cool days , and an abundance of classic - and reimagined - spritzers, sangrias, micheladas, and so much more.
When the occasion calls for a drink, but not getting drunk, mix up a batch of day drinks - creative, low-alcohol cocktails that are festive, delicious, and easy on the booze. Using beer, wine, cider, sake, sherry, and vermouth, plus a variety of amari and other liqueurs, here are 50 light drinks for hot days, warm drinks for cool days , and an abundance of classic - and reimagined - spritzers, sangrias, micheladas, and so much more.
240 pages, Paperback
Published May 16, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 27, 2016
I received this book as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit that the light-hearted frivolity of the publisher’s blurb in NetGalley sold me on this book. Based on what was already sitting on my to-be read shelf, I was in the market for something that would open up a new horizon, but yet didn’t take itself too seriously. What I was really hoping was that this book would be along the lines of This Calls for a Drink! A Sommelier's Guide to the Best Wines and Beers to Pair with Every Situation by Diane McMartin, with lots of good humor in addition to some quality education.
The breezy style of the Introduction confirmed that this book was going to suit my needs. It was funny without being over the top or crass or vulgar, yet it was informative without being didactic. It basically described the book as offering low alcohol by volume cocktails (containing less than ten percent booze) suitable to various day drinking scenarios in which people need to be able to speak without slurring and need to attend to responsibilities later in the day. These cocktail recipes come from bartenders across the United States, from New York City to Los Angeles, and even one or two from London, England.
After the Introduction, the book is divided into seven chapters: cocktail basics, light drinks for hot days, aperitifs, hot drinks, party friendly drinks, unexpected liquors, and mocktails. The Tools and Equipment list in the Cocktail Basics chapter was very comprehensive; it discussed blenders to zesters (in nonalphabetical order!) and everything in between! The Basic Bar Tool Conversion Chart was a super addition to facilitate dividing and multiplying recipes, as well as making recipes without the use of a standard 1½ ounce jigger. I found the tip about when to shake a drink as opposed to when to stir a drink to be absolutely fascinating: shake a drink that contains fruit juice, eggs, dairy, sour mix or cream liquors to ensure that the ingredients are “aggressively incorporated” and stir a drink that contains only translucent liquors. The fact that all the main ingredients of a low alcohol libation were discussed in the Cocktail Basics chapter BEFORE the recipes was a huge bonus for me, as I think there is little worse than reading a recipe and having to Google the ingredients due to lack of familiarity.
The recipe selection is pretty breathtaking – ranging from classics like the Kir/Kir Royale, Pimm’s Cup, and Sangria to trendy new creations using liquors that I have never heard of before (even after reading the Cocktail Basics chapter!). Each drink recipe identifies the bartender who contributed it, along with the bar they hail from and the city that the bar is located in. There is a short introduction to each recipe that discusses the origin of the recipe and sometimes says a word or two about the ingredients, especially if one of them is unusual or otherwise was not covered in the Cocktail Basics chapter. Throughout the recipe chapters, there are callout boxes inviting the reader to “meet” a new liquor or other specialty ingredient that is used in a nearby recipe. These callout boxes are fun introductions to the ingredients, such as Lillet, Calvados, Aquavit, and the yuzu fruit. Notes after the recipes provide additional sourcing information or additional information on how to prepare some of the ingredients. Some of the recipes have variations on them. For example, although the Spiked Iced Tea recipe calls for three ounces of Pimm’s No. 1, there are also variations for making a spiked iced tea with limoncello, sweet vermouth, Pedro Ximenez sherry, and dry curacao. The Classic Michelada recipe has five different variations on it: seaside, make-do, negra, Thai, and salsa. There are also several fun variations suggested for the Classic Belllini, the Wine Spritzer, and Irish Coffee. Of course, I do appreciate that each of the mocktail recipes has a recommendation as to how much of what kind of alcohol to add to turn the drink into a proper cocktail.
The photography is predominantly styled photos of finished drinks, which give an excellent idea of what the recipes should look like if they are completed properly. Maybe one out of every three or four recipes has a photograph associated with it, which is far too few for my tastes. But the photographs that are in the book are very well executed.
One of the drawbacks of this book is that it seems like each cocktail recipe has one ingredient that is odd – a syrup that needs to be made, an obscure liquor that needs to be bought, a particular bitters that needs to be ordered, a vegetable that needs to be juiced, etc – so it was really challenging for me to find a recipe that I could do with ingredients that I had on hand. And I have a fairly extensive liquor cabinet (including maraschino, green chartreuse, and St. Germain). Some of the ingredients, like Dimmi, Byrrh, and Douglas fir liqueur, I don’t even think I could find even if I wanted to. So there was really no instant gratification during the reading and reviewing process. However, the major drawback of this book is that it won’t be published until April 2017, which means that all those people for whom it makes the PERFECT Christmas present will have to wait until next year to receive it.
I have yet to prepare any of the recipes from this book. When I do, I will update my review.
UPDATE #1 - I recipe tested a series of cava cocktails - the Pimms' Royale, the Champagne Cocktail, the Kir Royale, the Classic Bellini, and the Spritz - for my blog posts on Campari and on cava cocktails. I would really only try two of these cocktails again.
In general, all five recipes were easy to execute because the recipe instructions were so well written and easy to follow. My initial complaint in the review that each recipe contained an unusual ingredient was well-founded, as only the Champagne Cocktail had ingredients that normally would be found in my household. For the Pimms' Royale, I needed a bottle of Pimms' No. 1. For the Kir Royale, I was lucky enough to find a bottle of creme de cassis hiding in the back of my liquor cabinet. For the Classic Bellini, I went on a goose chase to find a fresh peach in New England in December. For the Spritz, I was experimenting with whether to keep a bottle of Campari that I had just bought.
I would not try the Champagne Cocktail again because it tasted so much like a glass of straight cava that, in the future, I'd probably skip the showmanship of the bitters-soaked sugar cube at the bottom of the glass and drink a glass of straight cava instead. I would not try the Classic Bellini again because my friend's recipe for bellinis tastes better and uses more readily available ingredients. I would not try the Spritz again because it tasted like a glass of straight Campari, and I am not a fan of Campari.
The problem that I had with the recipe for the Pimms' Royale was that it called for "dry curacao," which I had never heard of and did not have in my liquor cabinet. I substituted the blue curacao from my liquor cabinet. That turned out to be a mistake because the drink, although very tasty, was a murky shade of black. The Kir Royale was good; however, I tested it alongside a better cava cocktail recipe from Chiltern Firehouse: The Cookbook, so I wasn't wholeheartedly impressed with it.
The details of my recipe testing the cava based cocktails are on my blog, The Newfield Street Kitchen.
I have to admit that the light-hearted frivolity of the publisher’s blurb in NetGalley sold me on this book. Based on what was already sitting on my to-be read shelf, I was in the market for something that would open up a new horizon, but yet didn’t take itself too seriously. What I was really hoping was that this book would be along the lines of This Calls for a Drink! A Sommelier's Guide to the Best Wines and Beers to Pair with Every Situation by Diane McMartin, with lots of good humor in addition to some quality education.
The breezy style of the Introduction confirmed that this book was going to suit my needs. It was funny without being over the top or crass or vulgar, yet it was informative without being didactic. It basically described the book as offering low alcohol by volume cocktails (containing less than ten percent booze) suitable to various day drinking scenarios in which people need to be able to speak without slurring and need to attend to responsibilities later in the day. These cocktail recipes come from bartenders across the United States, from New York City to Los Angeles, and even one or two from London, England.
After the Introduction, the book is divided into seven chapters: cocktail basics, light drinks for hot days, aperitifs, hot drinks, party friendly drinks, unexpected liquors, and mocktails. The Tools and Equipment list in the Cocktail Basics chapter was very comprehensive; it discussed blenders to zesters (in nonalphabetical order!) and everything in between! The Basic Bar Tool Conversion Chart was a super addition to facilitate dividing and multiplying recipes, as well as making recipes without the use of a standard 1½ ounce jigger. I found the tip about when to shake a drink as opposed to when to stir a drink to be absolutely fascinating: shake a drink that contains fruit juice, eggs, dairy, sour mix or cream liquors to ensure that the ingredients are “aggressively incorporated” and stir a drink that contains only translucent liquors. The fact that all the main ingredients of a low alcohol libation were discussed in the Cocktail Basics chapter BEFORE the recipes was a huge bonus for me, as I think there is little worse than reading a recipe and having to Google the ingredients due to lack of familiarity.
The recipe selection is pretty breathtaking – ranging from classics like the Kir/Kir Royale, Pimm’s Cup, and Sangria to trendy new creations using liquors that I have never heard of before (even after reading the Cocktail Basics chapter!). Each drink recipe identifies the bartender who contributed it, along with the bar they hail from and the city that the bar is located in. There is a short introduction to each recipe that discusses the origin of the recipe and sometimes says a word or two about the ingredients, especially if one of them is unusual or otherwise was not covered in the Cocktail Basics chapter. Throughout the recipe chapters, there are callout boxes inviting the reader to “meet” a new liquor or other specialty ingredient that is used in a nearby recipe. These callout boxes are fun introductions to the ingredients, such as Lillet, Calvados, Aquavit, and the yuzu fruit. Notes after the recipes provide additional sourcing information or additional information on how to prepare some of the ingredients. Some of the recipes have variations on them. For example, although the Spiked Iced Tea recipe calls for three ounces of Pimm’s No. 1, there are also variations for making a spiked iced tea with limoncello, sweet vermouth, Pedro Ximenez sherry, and dry curacao. The Classic Michelada recipe has five different variations on it: seaside, make-do, negra, Thai, and salsa. There are also several fun variations suggested for the Classic Belllini, the Wine Spritzer, and Irish Coffee. Of course, I do appreciate that each of the mocktail recipes has a recommendation as to how much of what kind of alcohol to add to turn the drink into a proper cocktail.
The photography is predominantly styled photos of finished drinks, which give an excellent idea of what the recipes should look like if they are completed properly. Maybe one out of every three or four recipes has a photograph associated with it, which is far too few for my tastes. But the photographs that are in the book are very well executed.
One of the drawbacks of this book is that it seems like each cocktail recipe has one ingredient that is odd – a syrup that needs to be made, an obscure liquor that needs to be bought, a particular bitters that needs to be ordered, a vegetable that needs to be juiced, etc – so it was really challenging for me to find a recipe that I could do with ingredients that I had on hand. And I have a fairly extensive liquor cabinet (including maraschino, green chartreuse, and St. Germain). Some of the ingredients, like Dimmi, Byrrh, and Douglas fir liqueur, I don’t even think I could find even if I wanted to. So there was really no instant gratification during the reading and reviewing process. However, the major drawback of this book is that it won’t be published until April 2017, which means that all those people for whom it makes the PERFECT Christmas present will have to wait until next year to receive it.
I have yet to prepare any of the recipes from this book. When I do, I will update my review.
UPDATE #1 - I recipe tested a series of cava cocktails - the Pimms' Royale, the Champagne Cocktail, the Kir Royale, the Classic Bellini, and the Spritz - for my blog posts on Campari and on cava cocktails. I would really only try two of these cocktails again.
In general, all five recipes were easy to execute because the recipe instructions were so well written and easy to follow. My initial complaint in the review that each recipe contained an unusual ingredient was well-founded, as only the Champagne Cocktail had ingredients that normally would be found in my household. For the Pimms' Royale, I needed a bottle of Pimms' No. 1. For the Kir Royale, I was lucky enough to find a bottle of creme de cassis hiding in the back of my liquor cabinet. For the Classic Bellini, I went on a goose chase to find a fresh peach in New England in December. For the Spritz, I was experimenting with whether to keep a bottle of Campari that I had just bought.
I would not try the Champagne Cocktail again because it tasted so much like a glass of straight cava that, in the future, I'd probably skip the showmanship of the bitters-soaked sugar cube at the bottom of the glass and drink a glass of straight cava instead. I would not try the Classic Bellini again because my friend's recipe for bellinis tastes better and uses more readily available ingredients. I would not try the Spritz again because it tasted like a glass of straight Campari, and I am not a fan of Campari.
The problem that I had with the recipe for the Pimms' Royale was that it called for "dry curacao," which I had never heard of and did not have in my liquor cabinet. I substituted the blue curacao from my liquor cabinet. That turned out to be a mistake because the drink, although very tasty, was a murky shade of black. The Kir Royale was good; however, I tested it alongside a better cava cocktail recipe from Chiltern Firehouse: The Cookbook, so I wasn't wholeheartedly impressed with it.
The details of my recipe testing the cava based cocktails are on my blog, The Newfield Street Kitchen.
July 29, 2017
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A wonderful cocktail recipe book detailing hundreds of cocktails for a light drink on a summer's day.
I haven't tried all of them, but the ones I did try were great!
A wonderful cocktail recipe book detailing hundreds of cocktails for a light drink on a summer's day.
I haven't tried all of them, but the ones I did try were great!
August 23, 2017
Love the concept and the execution was definitely good!!!! But even though I have a massive alcohol cabinet at home, I only own a solid 10% of all the alcoholic beverages that are featured in this book. Honestly really not feasible for me to make. And I would truthfully rather go completely sober for the rest of my life than deal with making simple syrup every time I pull out this books to make a recipe, and the vast majority of drinks in this book have syrup you gotta make. Nooooo thank you.
October 21, 2016
First of all, the title caught my eye (and totally made me want a drink despite having to actually work during the day!). Having a certificate as a bartender, I’m always curious about recipes and cocktail books and “Day Drinking” was a pretty fun read with standard information but also info that will stick with me. I don’t know why I wouldn’t substitute simple syrup for honey syrup (it seems obvious to me now, especially since I’m a slight health-nut), but once I read it here, it just made sense. Her recipes for syrups, the recipes she’s collected from various bartenders (which list their restaurant/location) are fantastic. It’s a retro-designed book that I really appreciated, and the photos are way cool (my fav is a photo of beer poured into The Red Plastic Cup with “Hello my name is Kat” stuck on it). Also, the fact that some recipes involve IPAs just reached my IPA-laden heart. A fun book overall.
November 1, 2016
This was an enjoyable introduction to low alcohol cocktails from around the world, with wonderful photos.
As a very light drinker I can't see myself buying this for my own collection. However I wouldn't hesitate to buy it as a gift for friends or family who regularly entertain at home. Saying that I did find some cocktails that I'd love try in the party friendly chapter, particularly the red and white Sangrias from Spain. I also liked the look of some of the mocktails like the gingered lemon hot toddy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for the advanced digital copy.
As a very light drinker I can't see myself buying this for my own collection. However I wouldn't hesitate to buy it as a gift for friends or family who regularly entertain at home. Saying that I did find some cocktails that I'd love try in the party friendly chapter, particularly the red and white Sangrias from Spain. I also liked the look of some of the mocktails like the gingered lemon hot toddy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for the advanced digital copy.
April 9, 2017
There are certain locations where day drinking is not only allowed, it is expected. The beach, the lake, and on a boat anywhere. While there is nothing wrong with a cooler full of beer, it is always nice to step up your game and provide the crowd with something a little more festive. Day Drinking is full of inventive, fun, and lower alcohol cocktails to get your though the day, and the night.
March 18, 2017
A visually appealing title, with ample pictures and 70s-inspired graphics and endpapers, would make a nice housewarming gift. Crowdsourcing the recipes has advantages and disadvantages: it's a diverse range of drink styles and flavor profiles, so any reader is likely to find something they'd like, but it doesn't provide much advantage over a generic web search for cocktail recipes.
For me, the complexity of some recipe ingredients is off-putting. If I want a pitcher of something sippable for brunch, having to make two or three different components (tinctures, syrups, garnishes) before the drink is an obstacle unless I've thought to start the night previous.
For me, the complexity of some recipe ingredients is off-putting. If I want a pitcher of something sippable for brunch, having to make two or three different components (tinctures, syrups, garnishes) before the drink is an obstacle unless I've thought to start the night previous.
February 26, 2017
Day Drinking by Kat Odell is exactly that, a book filled to the brim with a variety of cocktails that would be perfectly suited for a day party or outing with friends. I struggled to read this book, I think mainly because the copy I received from the publishers was an e-version and not print, so it felt very disjointed. Most of the drinks have a photo, but it's two to three pages from the actual recipe, which can result in a lot of flipping back and forth to see if you've achieved the right mix for a drink. Overall, I really liked the variety of drinks provided-from fun and fruity, to more tart and bold-there's something for everyone in here. I do wish that the names of the drinks was a bit more prominent on the pages, instead of being squished between a bartender and location in small font. I know it's a day drinking book, but I think it also might've been fun to have this pairs well with this food, just because day drinking is typically associated with brunches and barbecues, so that additional insight could've been useful if you're using this book to plan a party.
tldr; It's a lot of reading with minimal photography...which isn't exactly my cup of tea for a cocktail book.
I received access to an e-copy of this title complimentary from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Score Card: Cover Art: 3/5 | Content: 3/5 | East of Read: 5/5
tldr; It's a lot of reading with minimal photography...which isn't exactly my cup of tea for a cocktail book.
I received access to an e-copy of this title complimentary from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Score Card: Cover Art: 3/5 | Content: 3/5 | East of Read: 5/5
February 13, 2017
Kat Odell has compiled many recipes from bartenders from all around the country. There is a distinct laid-back, almost retro vibe to the writing that I found enjoyable. Each drink comes with a little history and backstory that added to the nostalgia of bygone eras where drinking for flavor trumped quick inebriation. The photographs are lovely and the styling matches the overall tone of the book well.
The concept of day drinking is one that most people are familiar with, including myself, and I love the idea of a book filled with low-alcohol beverages. It's nice to have flavorful options that won't result in slurred speech and a hangover. While these drinks are targeted towards low-key day consumption, I could see these as great evening cocktails for those who prefer lighter beverages.
I found a lot of recipes I'd love to try out, particularly the coffee based ones, the fruity summer spritzers, and an earl grey & Pimm's combination. Overall, I found the directions simple and where there are ingredients that may be harder to find Odell does a good job of offering possible substitutions. There is also a handy list of measurement conversions and equipment definitions that I found particularly useful.
While I haven't made any of the cocktails yet, I'm looking forward to trying them out as the spring and summer months approach. This book would make an excellent gift for fellow day drinkers or for someone who prefers lighter cocktails!
*I received this book as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 17, 2017
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital copy of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
I received this as a PDF file to read on the computer. The drink titles seem to be missing causing the recipes blend together. (It's hard to find where recipes start and end.) Hopefully this will be fixed in the finalized copy.
The recipes that I was able to decipher looked tasty.
I received this as a PDF file to read on the computer. The drink titles seem to be missing causing the recipes blend together. (It's hard to find where recipes start and end.) Hopefully this will be fixed in the finalized copy.
The recipes that I was able to decipher looked tasty.
Read
May 8, 2018This was a very enjoyable and informative book. Nice to know there are Day drinks out there where the point is to relax and enjoy, without a serious buzz. Very nice book.
Read
August 28, 2018Great. Lots of variety of good ideas for drinks. Nice clear instructuions and pictures
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews