Customer Reviews

Bartending 101: The Basics of Mixology, 4th Edition

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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this book all the way through in about two days and found it to be very informative on how to act, how to get into, and what to expect when aspiring to become a bartender. It has an entire chapter on what to do to get started in the field of work and how to work your way up to the top.

That being said though, I found that the drink section is outdated and inaccurate. Most books on bar tending become outdated after a year anyway, but I have just started working as a bar back and I noticed that some of the drinks were not right (I had to double check a few online). It did give several helpful websites though for up to date drinks and what is popular now.

Also, they push their bar tending kit that they sell in the back of the book in almost every chapter. I found that kind of annoying. Other then that though, the book is a good way to find out how to act and what to expect when bar tending, and did have good information on pouring and making many drinks.

If you read this book before starting a bar back job or going to a bar tending school, I would say it would be a good way to get a head start and get ahead in the field before you start.

I have several books on Bartending and they all have pros and their cons. I think this is really a great beginners book. One review said that drinks were outdated, and that is to be expected, hopefully you don't buy this book for a lot of drink recepies, because that's not what it's really for. There are a few things about this book that I really loved and haven't seen in others that I bought:

1: List of Liqueurs, you can make liqueurs out of almost any flavor and this book breaks them down into category and what flavor they represent: Nutty Flavors-like Amaretto (almond) and frangelico (hazelnut); Coffee- Kahlua, tia maria; Berries- Black Haus (blackberry), boggs (cranberry), Chambord (black raspberry; Fruits of the Vine- Cocribe (coconut), Cointreau (orange); Herbs, Spices and other such vices- Brambuie (honey), Aquavit (caraway) so on and so on. The other bartending books list alcohols in alphabetical order so they aren't put into groups like this. I really like it because it lists the more common ones about 8-12 in each section.

2. It shows you a basic bar set up, lists the drinks and mixers you need to make 70% if the most common drinks people will order and how to set them up in your home.

3. It gives you ideas on where you can look for jobs and where are good places to start and work your way up, and I really like how it stresses speed and experience and who to talk to when looking for a job.

Some cons though:
No pronunciation! Grant it they don't use super fancy words but some of the alcohol listed I know doesn't sound like it's spelled and a little help would be nice-especially for a beginners book.

Some illustrations for "show bottles" aren't needed and are somewhat confusing.

But overall I'm glad I got this book and it is helpful to a beginner.

Just not impressed by it, granted it wasn't what I was really looking for, it's so lightweight, I suppose it does what it says on the cover. Doesn't do anything great except give this very vague overview of "if you wanna...then do this" mentality. Simply not worth your time, there are plenty of other books out there with better depth/understanding on the subject. The cartoon pictures didn't help.

A very basic book on bartending. It doesn't move me and all the recipes are very American. Would work in college...