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.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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
About the Author
Paul Harrington, a bartender for ten years, is the columnist for the Web site ?Cocktail? and is featured in publications from Go to The Economist. He hosts cocktail gatherings for such companies as Microsoft and the band Combustible Edison.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is it, folks - the only cocktail mixing book you need, unless you're a not-quite-grownup that just wants fruity, sweet drinks that obscure the taste of alcohol, and doesn't want to hear about Maraschino Liquer, Pernod, or daquiris and margaritas that haven't been blended (Hemingway, like all true connoisseurs, drank them straight).
What I appreciate most about this book is that not only does Harrington give us many recipes, he gives us the history alongside beautiful color photographs of the drinks. This is a book of classic cocktails, lovingly offered by a man who is passionate about his art, and about maintaining the purity of his craft and the sacred act of relaxing and/or sharing cocktails with your good friends. For Harrington, a cocktail is not for getting drunk, but is a special treat to be savored for the complexity of the ingredients working together on one's tongue, and warming one's soul. I also appreciate very much the lengthy introduction with cocktail history, and his cocktail philosophy, and descriptions of all the various alcohols (gin, vodka, whiskey, etc.) out there, many of which I had never heard of (like Pernod, Pisco, and Lillet), and how they can work together to form amazingly complex (and exciting!) taste sensations, like the Floridita (a drink in which the beginning of the sip is slightly sweet, moves into a full bodied flavor, and ends with just a hint of chocolate in the finish). Few cocktail books will mention this drink, and only Harrington will tell you where it comes from, what to be careful about when mixing, and what to taste for when you drink it - directions he gives for all the drinks. He even gives variations of drinks, and explorers historically why some drinks are known by different names and/or different ingredients in different parts of the country.
You will find no drinks with names that you wouldn't say to your mother; certainly nothing that a refined gentleman or lady would say in public. You'll find (almost) nothing that is simply a fruity concoction designed to mask the taste of liquor so you can get drunk faster - the mai tai is in there, but mostly for historical reasons, I believe; it *is* a Trader Vic drink, after all.
These are real bona fide cocktails, historically researched, and written about by a master of cocktail lore who has an absolute love for his art.
It's been said before, but this absolutely must be your first cocktail book. I would suggest that as your kids go off to college, you give them a copy - it'll keep them away from rum & cokes and other damaging drinks, and teach them to respect alcohol and enhance their enjoyment of it. And while you're at it, pick them up a decent cocktail shaker and a couple of martini glasses, too.
A million stars for Harrington.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you were stranded on a desert island (one with a well-stocked bar of course) and could have only one bartender's guide, this would be the one to bring. Paul Harrington would, I'm sure, be quick to recommend the Mojito, or possibly a Mai Tai, for your situation.
I've long been a fan of Harrington's "Cocktail" web site at HotWired for that very reason. He focused on the cocktail not as a means to get blasted, but as the perfect complement to the occassion at hand. The articles made for good reading and the recipes made for good drinks. Not so much of a snob as a respectful purist, Harrington dismissed the trendy fern-bar drinks and embarrasing "naughty" drinks in favor of the classics. And he did them right.
Of course, I always thought it would be great if he put out a book, so I wouldn't have to boot up the computer and get on the net everytime I needed to remember how to make a Bronx. Well darned if he didn't do that very thing. It's all here--the drinks, the opinions, and Douglas Bowman's gorgeous illustrations. Only you can take it into the kitchen without running an extension cord, and the pages load instantly.
I have an extensive collection of vintage bar guides, yet I find myself referring to "Cocktail" more than any of them. For a book on drink classics, I can think of no higher compliment.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book focuses on "classic" cocktails -- for the most part, those that were around before Prohibition. You won't find Sex on the Beach, but you will find a bunch of almost-forgotten morsels like the Pegu and the Mojito.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part is a primer to mixing and stocking a bar, with lots of background on various ingredients and techniques. The second part, my favorite, focuses on 64 cocktails, mostly old-school drinks like the aforementioned Pegu and Mojito. In addition to these recipes, there is also a nicely-pretentious discussion of each drink, including its history (as near as can be determined). The third part is the reference section, with a couple hundred recipes -- again, still fairly old-school -- and a nice glossary.
This book is very highly recommended. After buying this, you'll want a couple more books for your bar shelf, but you'll find yourself returning to this one again and again.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 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... Read more
Published on September 8, 2009 by L. Lavigne
2.0 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". Read more
Published on June 17, 2009 by B. Kimzey
5.0 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.
Published on February 16, 2006 by T. Diggs
5.0 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. Read more
Published on January 17, 2006 by Phlosar
5.0 out of 5 stars
The definitive book on making and enjoying cocktails
This is, without a doubt, the finest book ever written on cocktails. It is both contempory and classic, authoritative without being stuffy. Read more
Published on January 2, 2006 by Douglas Alan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great classic cocktail book
There are enough reviews about this book to get an idea of its quality and value. I'm just adding another thumbs up because I continue to enjoy reaching for it to try another... Read more
Published on January 13, 2005 by Thomas Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be Prepared To Have Your Cocktail Standards Raised
In a world where the term "Cocktail" is quickly being replaced by the term "Martini" (as in chocolate martini, apple martini,... Read more
Published on December 21, 2003 by Davis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cocktail Revival
If you would like to learn about cocktails this is where to start. Many cocktail books are a mere recipe book. This one is a classic. Read more
Published on March 25, 2002 by John Schwemmer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for beginners
I think this is one of the finer introductions to home bartending. The book is intelligently divided into three portions: 1) an introduction and background on materials and methods... Read more
Published on December 13, 2001 by C Yu
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Drinks Book That Will Outlive The Cocktail Fad
When my husband and I first met, he had one drink he used to make for parties: a scary blue slurpee he called a Tidybowl Margarita. Read more
Published on May 1, 2001 by Christine Potter
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