Complete Bartender's Guide: Expert Advice on Equipment, Bar Craft, Cocktails and the Wide World of Alcoholic Drinks

by Dave Broom

Whether you like your drinks shaken or stirred, this is the only guide to mixology you will ever need Including everything one needs to know to mix a variety of cocktails at home, this comprehensive guide to all things alcoholic provides recipes and mixing instructions for more than 600 of the world's most popular mixed drinks. It thoroughly explains the basics of stocking a bar at home, while also advising on the correct conditions and temperatures in which to store the various ingredients that comprise its delicious recipes. A special feature on ten classic cocktails is included that details their history as well as the bartender responsible for their invention. There is also a brief history of the base spirits and an explanation on the distilling processes to create them, advice on the best brands to buy for all the world's principal alcoholic drinks, and an A-to-Z of all cocktails covering everything from as Adam and Eve to the Yellow Fever. It concludes that the perfect way to battle any hangover is strictly by imbibing "the hair of the dog," and offers invaluable advice for anyone who is suffering after enjoying a cocktail or two too many.

Genres: Cocktails

400 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2010

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well now, to be completely honest I don't have any particular opinion on the literary merit of this book. The five-star rating is mostly driven by the fact that it shows both imperial and metric measurements, which actually makes it easy to use. Oh, that and the fact that I now make a mean Cosmopolitan and Sidecar (among other things). The Complete Bartender's Guide also deals with infusions (something I am also dabbling in at the moment) and has some interesting facts about spirits and the region and / or culture from whence they sprung. Now, where did I put that G & T?

[Adrian P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book which distils (ha ha) a lot of knowledge into one volume. Cocktail recipes are there, but what is even more interesting is the short history and background to each spirit. I prefer my edition which doesn't have the lengthy subtitle on the front, though...

This book will encourage you to experiment beyond your usual G & T, and it was also useful for a certain novel writer who needed to check the difference between Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey...