The Dead Rabbit Mixology & Mayhem: The Story of John Morrissey and the World’s Best Cocktail Menu

by Sean Muldoon, Jack McGarry, Jillian Vose

A groundbreaking graphic novel-style cocktail book from world-renowned bar The Dead Rabbit in New York City
 
The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog in lower Manhattan has won every cocktail award there is to win, including being named "Best Bar in the World" in 2016. Since their award-winning cocktail book  The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual  was published in 2015, founders Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry, along with bar manager Jillian Vose, have completely revamped the bar's menus in a bold, graphic novel style, now featured in their newest collection The Dead Rabbit Mixology & Mayhem . Based on "Gangs of New York"-era tales retold with modern personalities from the bar world (including the authors) portrayed as the heroes and villains of the story, the menus are highly sought-after works of art. This stunning new book, featuring 90 cocktail recipes, fleshes out the tall tales even further in a collectible hardcover edition—making it a must-have for the bar's passionate fans who line up every night of the week.
 

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Graphic Novels

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2018

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comics - terrible.
Cocktails - incredible.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Combining a cocktail menu with a graphic novel is an excellent idea in theory. However, the story told by the comic pages is disjointed and amateurish, with no character definition or progression. The art is serviceable, but stiff and a bit dull. On the other hand the cocktails are amazing, truly impressive creations that use interesting ingredients and techniques. There is also a guide to some of the techniques and theory used to make these drinks, as well as recipes for some of the custom, homemade ingredients, which is a valuable resource. The title of World's Best Cocktail Bar is well deserved, imo. My only criticism is that the vast majority of these recipes are not realistic for a home bartender to recreate. Some if the ingredients are extremely hard to source and/or extremely expensive. I found a small handful of recipes that I can make at home, but most are inaccessible to me because I simply can't procure the necessary components. As an example of what is possible and a reference guide for future creations though, this book is second to none.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is the comic entertaining?
No.
Are the ingredients easy to make or obtain?
Absolutely not.
Is this suitable for novice or at home bartenders?
Unlikely.

But this cocktail book does a fantastic job of explaining why people made the choices with the ingredients they used, it features a killer index, and the drinks and ingredients will definitely spark inspiration for even the most casual cocktailer.

I consider myself an intermediate mixologist and probably more toward the novice side of intermediate. The more I learn, the more I am sure I have so much more to learn. This book is perfect for someone like me who has made cocktails and played with them, but wants to bridge the gap toward more serious creations.

Five stars.

[Casey Tjokrohardjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book from an amazing cocktail bar. I've been to the dead rabbit multiple times and after reading this book its clear why their cocktails are a cut above the rest. The creative ideas, complexity and harmony of flavours within their drinks are illustrated throughout the book. This is not a beginners cocktail book, but it stirs the imagination and encourages one to create new cocktail flavours.

[Tyler Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice range of recipes for their cocktails as well different syrups and tinctures at the back end of the book. The comic art and writing aren't amazing but they are fun enough along side the actual recipes, the rest of the book is written well, the comic writing just doesn't do a lot, very simple.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cocktail recipes are worth checking this out from the library for, particularly Jillian Vose’s. They are excellent. And there’s some good tips for building your own drinks and components like tinctures.

The rest? Classic bar bro BS. It’s not worth reading the story or the pages of “comic” that are included. You’ve heard variations of it a hundred times before.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but don’t find it very relevant at this point in my mixology career. I’m using the basics, and Dead Rabbit has many ingredients I simply don’t have access to. That being said, still a great reference tool that I hope I will grow into!

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in one sitting today. I've never been to The Dead Rabbit, but it inspired my owner to create her cocktail bar. The comic/menu aspect is so so cool. It pushed the gears in my head and I have so many more drink ideas to try.

[Bill Rand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic cocktail book that has a great graphic novel in it at the same time.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are really into high end cocktail making this books is for you. I didn't read the comic portion so I can't speak to that part of the book.

[Cristhian · Rating 4 out of 5]

It felt more like a strip than a graphic novel.

The drinks part are superb tho.

3.6/5

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Oddly compelling mix of the basic function of creating novel alcoholic drinks and a Raison D'etre of running an establishment.

[Shirleon Sharron · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for cool look, 4 for the drinks that I have yet to make, and 3 for the story. I thought the cover was cool and when I flipped through the pages it made me want it! Anyway, the story they tell in comic form isn't that great but I love the idea of it and wish it could be more. But their expertise is in drinks anyway and they did well on that point. I'm hoping to try some out soon!
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Yeah, it has both - just thought I'd warn ya!

Language: Yes, it has some foul language - Yes, it's a cookbook.

Explicitness: Medium to Hot - Mr. Bunnyman gets it one with some lady friends and it's very obvious.