What do you think?
Rate this book
The Aviary Cocktail Book
"A towering achievement...one of the most beautiful things I own" - Jim Meehan, co-founder of PDT, author of The PDT Cocktail Book & Meehan's Bartender Manual "The most gorgeous book I've ever seen...stunning." - Tim Ferriss, Author of The 4-Hour Workweek, host of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast "Just so beautiful" - francisco, Pixar artist FROM ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST INNOVATIVE BARS COMES ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST INSPIRING COOKBOOKS. Measuring approximately 12"x10"x2", and weighing over 8 pounds, this culinary approach to cocktails will be equally at home in your kitchen, your bar, or on your coffee table. Endlessly engaging, this is not a typical Gentleman’s Guide to Cocktails – it’s the definitive word on 21st century cocktails.
Unknown Binding
Published January 1, 2018
About the author
Grant Achatz
12 books51 followersGrant Achatz is the multiple award-winning chef and owner of Alinea in Chicago. He has written for Gourmet and The New York Times Diner’s Journal and is a columnist for The Atlantic’s Food Channel. He lives in Chicago with his girlfriend and two sons, Kaden and Keller.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Ac...
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Ac...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 26, 2018
One of our children decided to earn some side money by getting a “certificate in mixology.” Until then, I did not realize how many things a mixologist (or bartender in most contexts) needed to know and be proficient in.
The Aviary Cocktail Book takes this proficiency to the rarefied extreme. This is the most gorgeous, most complex, and funniest book on the art and science of creating and presenting alcoholic beverages that I have ever encountered. You, gentle readers, are probably far more familiar with the wares of the local “watering hole” than am I. So don’t judge this review too harshly.
First, I would go to see a documentary of “The Making of The Aviary Cocktail Book,” if there ever was an opportunity. Not only is each of the hundreds of photographs a work of consummate beauty, but many have a surrealistic component that is utterly fascinating.
The Aviary is a restaurant and bar that goes beyond “farm to table.” https://theaviaryrestaurant.com/ The book extols the art of creation. It chides those who choose not or are incapable of stepping up their performance. Ostensibly, it is divided into several topical divisions of cocktail creation:
Light and Refreshing
Seasonal
Boozy
Drinks with Snacks
Adventurous
Non-alcoholic
Warm
Rich
Bubbles
Time
Aromatic
The Office
Dusty Bottle
The Green Thumb Cocktail
I have never seen any better food photography. But many of the recipes go to twenty or more ingredients (The Green Thumb has “only” 19.). The Green Thumb drink requires an atomizer to give the drink the proper aroma. The aroma is made by cooking ten of the "right" hot dogs and then chopping them up and then rendering it down to fat and crispies. Then using 190 proof alcohol (that is correct 95% ethanol) and chopped hardwood lump charcoal ignited until completely reduced and the residue strained through “chinois” into a small container. That liquid is frozen and then strained through a paper filter. The results are the ready for the atomizer. You still have to create the Sugar Snap Pea syrup and the Green Thumb spice mix. When all is ready, you need to assemble four alcoholic beverages including St. George Botanivore gin and Los Arcos Amontillado sherry combined with things like olive oil and lime juice.
We are cautioned that when you are ready to serve with the accompanying pea shoots and aroma from the hot dogs, don’t make more that you can drink immediately “because it oxidizes quickly, losing its appealing color.”
This book will give me many happy hours of reading, but I don’t expect to choose to make many of these cocktails. I am not saying that you cannot create (re-create) each drink, but the effort involved may test your level of frustration. Even The Aviary notes that the cost in materials and labor makes most of these “uneconomical” to serve at their restaurant.
The Aviary Cocktail Book takes this proficiency to the rarefied extreme. This is the most gorgeous, most complex, and funniest book on the art and science of creating and presenting alcoholic beverages that I have ever encountered. You, gentle readers, are probably far more familiar with the wares of the local “watering hole” than am I. So don’t judge this review too harshly.
First, I would go to see a documentary of “The Making of The Aviary Cocktail Book,” if there ever was an opportunity. Not only is each of the hundreds of photographs a work of consummate beauty, but many have a surrealistic component that is utterly fascinating.
The Aviary is a restaurant and bar that goes beyond “farm to table.” https://theaviaryrestaurant.com/ The book extols the art of creation. It chides those who choose not or are incapable of stepping up their performance. Ostensibly, it is divided into several topical divisions of cocktail creation:
Light and Refreshing
Seasonal
Boozy
Drinks with Snacks
Adventurous
Non-alcoholic
Warm
Rich
Bubbles
Time
Aromatic
The Office
Dusty Bottle
The Green Thumb Cocktail
I have never seen any better food photography. But many of the recipes go to twenty or more ingredients (The Green Thumb has “only” 19.). The Green Thumb drink requires an atomizer to give the drink the proper aroma. The aroma is made by cooking ten of the "right" hot dogs and then chopping them up and then rendering it down to fat and crispies. Then using 190 proof alcohol (that is correct 95% ethanol) and chopped hardwood lump charcoal ignited until completely reduced and the residue strained through “chinois” into a small container. That liquid is frozen and then strained through a paper filter. The results are the ready for the atomizer. You still have to create the Sugar Snap Pea syrup and the Green Thumb spice mix. When all is ready, you need to assemble four alcoholic beverages including St. George Botanivore gin and Los Arcos Amontillado sherry combined with things like olive oil and lime juice.
We are cautioned that when you are ready to serve with the accompanying pea shoots and aroma from the hot dogs, don’t make more that you can drink immediately “because it oxidizes quickly, losing its appealing color.”
This book will give me many happy hours of reading, but I don’t expect to choose to make many of these cocktails. I am not saying that you cannot create (re-create) each drink, but the effort involved may test your level of frustration. Even The Aviary notes that the cost in materials and labor makes most of these “uneconomical” to serve at their restaurant.
November 24, 2018
An astounding account of how the drinks are made at Aviary. I hope to reproduce some of these at home -- but even those I won't be able to make have helped me understand the genius behind their drinks. An absolute must-read for any cocktail lovers.
June 14, 2020
Gorgeous visuals, keen insight, and extravagant recipes. This book is *not* for beginners or even for intermediates, but even if you’re not advanced in the art of cocktails, this is a great book to read — it will fascinate you.
Read
September 9, 2020Very intricate drinks that use difficult-to-find ingredients and measured in grams. These cocktails need equipment and time dedicated to themselves.
September 18, 2023
As always very good. (Prepare for complex recipes.)
August 8, 2026
Definitely an aspirational cocktail book, similar in style to the Alinea cookbook. All the recipes are big projects with a good amount of complexity and equipment needed.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews