Cocktail Parties With a Twist: Drink + Food + Style [Hardcover]

Alexandra Angle (Author), Eliot Angle (Author), Ericka McConnell (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 2002

This book is a lively guide to how to pull off a fabulously memorable cocktail party. The authors, who own a hip catering service in Los Angeles, detail how anyone can host an unforgettable event - from mixing a perfect cocktail to reconfiguring a room for maximum effect. Color photos of 14 sample gatherings, from romantic drinks for two to casual birthday parties to more formal soirees, provide an inspiring backdrop to the authors' helpful ideas for setting the mood, from florals, fabrics, and lighting suggestions; and tips about guest list, layout, invitations, and timing. Ninety recipes for Aqua Vitae's signature fresh cocktails and seasonal hors d'oeuvres accompany the party ideas, all ideal for hosts with a limited amount of time but a discerning palate.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alexandra and Eliot Angle are the founders of Los Angeles' Aqua Vitae, an event catering company and interior design service, known for its fresh style, that designs elegant soirees for distinguished clients. Ericka McConnell's photographs have appeared in Oprah, Health, Bon Appetit, House & Garden, Martha Stewart Living, and Travel & Leisure, and are featured in STC's Rebecca Cole: Tulip Obsessed products, and Yoga Within. She lives in New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang (November 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584792108
• ISBN-13: 978-1584792109
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fresh Take on the Cocktail Party, November 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Cocktail Parties With a Twist: Drink + Food + Style (Hardcover)

This book is a breath of fresh air in the sometimes overly fussy genre of entertaining books. The parties all have a fabulous air of fantasy about them, but the authors really show you how you can get the same feel. My favorite is the Impossibly Small Apartment party, which shows how a less-than-perfect pad can be transformed into a cool spot for a glamorous get-together.

Actually, the best part is the original cocktail recipes, which are sophisticated and delicious. Too many cocktail books are just encyclopedias of drinks, many of which are awful. The authors have done a great job of presenting excellent classic recipes, and their original recipes are killer!

Overall, this is a younger, hipper version of Colin Cowie or Martha. This book is a must-have for bartenders or aspiring mixologists, and would be a perfect present for a young person starting out in party-giving (maybe for a 21st b-day) or for anyone who's get-togethers could use an infusion of fun, funky ideas.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fizzer, November 19, 2004

By 

Zentra (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cocktail Parties With a Twist: Drink + Food + Style (Hardcover)

Why did I buy it? Looked good, sounded good. Lived up to it's promise? Too many group shots of chatty singles in salubrious discussion. Would have been nice to have seen more shots of the food. In the end, the recipies themselves proved to be a little more of the same. Unimaginative, hardly unique.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is excellent, November 20, 2002

By 

Tom Watson (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cocktail Parties With a Twist: Drink + Food + Style (Hardcover)

A friend of mine got me this book because I am having a Christmas party, and the book is awesome. Being a single guy, most of my parties consist of your basic beer, wine, vodka and tequila. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but this book has really fantastic drink recipes - speakeasy-type drinks from the Prohibition era and other cool cocktails. It also teaches you how to mix excellent drinks and about different kinds of alcohol, etc.., as well as how to make many different kinds of party food. I highly recommend it. It's laid out like a coffee table book, with very cool pictures (including several good looking girls, which is a bonus, at least for me). I am about to buy it for some friends and wanted to stop off and give it a good review. Check it out!