Customer Reviews

The Bar Guide (Williams-Sonoma Guides)

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This is an excellent guide to the art of mixology and setting up a home bar. It shares the same features as "Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide" such as the alphabetical format which I find very useful and convenient as quick reference at the bar; and the appended listing of drinks following certain typologies - a great help finding the right drink appropriate to the occasion or what one has in stock. The presentation and layout however is more appealing and inspires neophytes like me to explore more the diverse world of wine and spirits. It is an alternative but will not replace the "Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide."

I'll admit that I was impressed with the cover as well as the little green ribbon used to mark pages, but when I browsed the book it impressed me enough to buy it.

This book is chock full of information and recipes pertaining to the past 130 years. It has trivia, origins of liquors and pictures as well as history of drinks that are famous today.

Examples include: did you know that Absinthe was eventually replaced with what we use nowadays called Bitters? Also has origins of liquors (you know "Eau-De-Vie"? No, I didn't, but if you don't either it's the pear-in-the-bottle liquor -- they literally fasten the bottle to the pears before they get too big and the pear grows inside the bottle.)

If you're looking for a guide to help you make that "time period" party just right, this is the one for you. Tells you how to stock your bar properly, glasses to use and drinks for special occasions, such as Wassail for Christmas and tropical drinks from the 40s. You name an ingredient -- they've got a drink for it.

If you're not a social drinker, this pretty much makes a good read. I've literally curled up in bed just browsing the information aside from the recipes.

A must have for the serious bartender-wannabe for authentic drinks and history.