PastryWiz Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century

 

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Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century
by: Paul Harrington, Laura Moorhead

Price*$168.50
as of 02/09/2010 07:12 EDT

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.874
EAN: 9780670880225
Edition: illustrated edition
ISBN: 0670880221
Label: Viking Adult
Languages: EnglishOriginal LanguageEnglishUnknownEnglishPublished
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 242
Publication Date: May 01, 1998
Publisher: Viking Adult
Studio: Viking Adult

Editorial Review:

Product Description:
The 1990s cocktail comeback is headiest among the twentysomethings who made the movie Swingers a hit and were profiled in Esquire's Cocktail Culture cover story. Paul Harrington slakes the growing thirst for mixology at Wired's Cocktail Web site, which draws over 250,000 hits a month and has more than 40,000 readers. Now this specialist bartender (known to his fans as The Alchemist) has put all his wit, wisdom, and know-how into a book that's as cool as it's compendious--from James Bond's classic Vesper to the Monkey Gland and the Police Gazette. Starting with full coverage of basic essentials from glassware to garnishes, Cocktail goes on to feature everything you need to know about sixty-four classic cocktails, illustrated with four-color spreads and over three hundred additional drink recipes. Find out what turns a Martini into a Bull's Eye, whether to serve a Mint Julep over shaved or crushed ice, and the true genesis of the Moscow Mule and the feisty, hard-to-get Nicky Finn. Snappy, classy, and spectacularly packaged, Cocktail is the book for bar, cocktail table, and party gift-giving.

Amazon.com Review:
Paul Harrington, a.k.a. "The Alchemist" of www.cocktailtime.com, HotWired's popular cocktail Web site, amuses and enlightens, while making the reader feel like an insider in today's swinging, hip cocktail culture in Cocktail. It is true that there is a bit of the mixologist in each of us, and this book provides all the information you need to produce a perfectly blended Gibson, Petit Zinc, or any other drink your friends are likely to request. Harrington presents a well-organized and thorough guide to drink making, beginning by explaining the intricacies of mixers, spirits, garnishes, glassware, and how to stock a home bar. He goes on to recount the history behind 64 classic cocktails (the Lemon Drop may have fern bar origins, but it still meets with the Alchemist's approval), giving proportions for each drink, with precise instructions and a mouthwatering illustration of the finished result. Harrington finishes with a comprehensive list of drink recipes, and a glossary that clarifies obscure cocktail jargon. (How does Chartreuse get its color, anyway?) His voice is authoritative but witty throughout; he comments with sarcastic affection on this era that he terms the "Revival of American Drinking". Slip on your smoking jacket, grab a copy of Cocktail, and mix up a pitcher of Gimlets tonight. --Lori Forest


Related Items:
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:  out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Excellent overview
This is a terrific, easy to read book. It is very well researched and illustrated and gives you a good sense of the history and fun (the civilized kind) of cocktail making and drinking.



Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - WARNING! There is an edition that does not match the description!
CAREFUL! Amazon describes "Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century," as being 9.5" X 8.5". The book I received was 8"X6". It's clearly a "pocket" edition or something; the text is tiny and the first section of the book is printed on lightweight paper w/ B&W illustrations instead of color. The book sells for $285 and I got it for $48, and I wondered about that, but Amazon makes no mention of a lesser edition. Disappointing. I probably would have gotten the cheaper version, even knowing that it's a smaller, hard-to-read version, but there is NO information out there that there is even a different edition available! So watch out...if you are paying the $30-to-$70 price, you are probably NOT getting the real thing.

Aside from all that....the content of the book is great, if you can read the miniscule font size.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The Cost is ridiculous....
I am willing to buy this book $25 used, $35 new...that's it. If you want to sell your copy of this book to me for that price, just reply back to this review.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Best Single Cocktail Primer
I was lucky enough to get this book a few years ago, with the author signing the inside cover. He even answered an email regarding the best type of gin for a given drink. I think this book has everything that one needs to start enjoying cocktails. I first mixed the Aviation, enamored as I was of the beautiful illustration and text. What an amazing drink! Since then, I have tried most of the highlighted drinks (the ones Paul considers worth imbibing first). Just last night we had the Picon Limon. I have many cocktail books, and I enjoy reading those, and I turn to Paul's book when it comes to mixing. Eventually I will branch out, but I have a few of his illustrated cocktails to go. I hope a second edition comes out or a second volume. This should be an inexpensive one volume introduction or masterful summary of cocktail basics. You'll get more books, but this is one book to which you will return. I also recommend Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktals by Ted Haigh. It's not a replacement, but it seeks to revive some classics, which Paul does with the Aviation, for instance.

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Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century
Price*$168.50
as of 02/09/2010 07:12 EDT

 

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Product prices and availability updated on 02/09/2010 07:12 EDT.