Customer Reviews

Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This book is the best bar book you will find. It combines the best elements of many different kinds of such tomes. Beautifully illustrated, the book highlights more than sixty cocktails, with two pages of texts and artistic photomontage each. The text gives interesting historical information, as well as intelligent discussion of variations and proper occasions. There is a supplemental section with hundreds more cocktails. The book is opinionated and witty. You'll love it.

I first learned of Paul Harrington, "The Alchemist," from the Cocktail website at HotWired. His classic descriptions of drinks, their histories, and the nuances of mixology (NOT bartending) made me an instant devotee.

As much as I love the website, it's not the most practical reference (i.e. few people have a computer in their bar). I was thrilled when Paul released this book with all the wonderful aspects of the website, including the gorgeous and inspirational illustrations, intact. I've browsed through a number of other drink related books, purchased a subset of those books, and use even fewer. When I want a recipe or a history, I turn first to this book.

While Cocktail doesn't claim to have recipes for every drink known to man, it does have all the classics. Let's face it, do you really want to know how to make a "pink squirrel" or "slow comfortable screw"? If so, this book is probably not for you. Take heart, though, for Paul does provide direction for countless other, less classic, drinks at the website.

If you're serious about exploring cocktail culture or expanding your libation repertoire -- both as a mixologist and an imbiber -- you'll find this book infinitely useful and a joy to use as well as peruse.

Cocktail : The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century by Paul Harrington and Laura Moorhead may not be the biggest book about mixing drinks around, but it certainly is one of the best. With 275 recipes, it certainly does cover its fair share of drinks, but fans of the shooter beware, you'll find no such drinks in this book. Harrington is focused on bringing back the classic cocktail, and while some may find him pretentious, or even snooty, no one can say he doesn't know what he's talking about. The most refreshing thing about this book is that it doesn't just give recipes, it give background on the cocktail, the time period it was created, and even who some of the more famous imbibers of the particular drink were. There are even well done pictures of some of the cocktails. So, if you're looking for more than just a recipe book, and you want to create some classic cocktails, check Cocktail out. However, if you're looking for Atomic Bodyslams and Sex on the beach, find another book.

This concise book is definitely the best place to start when learning about cocktails, and it's quite possibly the only book you'll ever need. Cocktail eschews the banal bar fare of mixed drinks and shows you what you can REALLY accomplish with all those pretty bottles. The book particularly excels at showing one how to approach the home bar: after reading this book and experimenting a bit, you will be in a position to please and impress both yourself and your friends with the artistic (and largely forgotten) concoctions of bygone eras. Yes, you'll make better Martini's, but you'll also discover dozens of drinks that, most of the time, you'd much rather be drinking. As an object, itself, the book is a nicely (but unexceptionally) printed hardcover, and it features many neat cocktail "portraits" adapted from the book's original source: Hotwired's Cocktail. The writing is tasteful, witty, and accessible. The quality of the information is quite high.

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 of bartending 2) a colour catalogue of selected cocktails and 3) the drink list reference section. Each section complements the others. The color section was the most useful for me because it contained historical notes which helped me remember the drink recipes better. (...)

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.

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 version of the classic cocktail. I have other cocktail books and have seen others on the store shelves but this one stands out for the following reasons. It looks good: The way it is layed out and the artwork is classy. It teaches: Provides an interesting history and description of classic cocktails. It's got a good format: Starts out with the basic knowledge needed to make cocktails, covers many of the classic cocktail recipes, and then at the back of the book provides many more additional concise recipes for additonal versions of cocktail drinks grouped by base spirit.

The recipe for the aviation is worth the price of the book alone.