Hip Sips: Modern Cocktails to Raise Your Spirits [Hardcover]

Lucy Brennan (Author), Sheri Giblin (Photographer), Carolyn Burleigh (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2007

Lucy Brennan shakes up the cocktail world with more than 60 refreshing drinks brimming with exotic combinations of ripened fruits, herbs, flavorings, and spirits. Guava Cosmos, a martini as smooth as James Bond, a frosty bowl of passion fruit-infused citrus punch. . . Add a few recipes for fruit pures and infused vodkas, the author's signature garnishes (like lollipop rims, citrus twists, and berry picks), and a waterproof clear vinyl jacket, and this handy little book will turn the home bar into a hip and happening hotspot.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Master Mixologist Lucy Brennan owns Mint and 820, a popular bar and a restaurant in Portland, Oregon.

Sheri Giblin's work includes Grilled Cheese. She lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 132 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811849589
• ISBN-13: 978-0811849586
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Bartending

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Grandfather's Martini, March 8, 2007

By 

David Adamshick "Dave, Dave" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hip Sips: Modern Cocktails to Raise Your Spirits (Hardcover)

Cocktails can mostly be broken into 2 groups -

Syrupy sickening concoctions downed by people in a hurry to get the party started.

Or standards. The drinks we know by heart, reproduced like a jazz standards - anywhere from awful renditions to beautiful artistry.

In Hip Sips authors Lucy Brennan and Carolyn Burleigh find a new path for the cocktail that brings a level of detail normally reserved for kitchen to the bar.

Featuring the drinks that made Brennan's 820 bar the best spot for cocktails in Portland, Oregon. Beets, avocados, and berries take their rightful place a long side the popular citrus fruits. Do it yourself infusions replace flavored alcohols.

The instructions are clear, concise and easy to follow. The introductions are fun to read and the photography beautifully compliments the recipes. If you or someone you know has a love for food

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, I guess...but sadly less than I'd hoped for., August 18, 2008

By 

Christopher Conatser "Yowzaboodle" (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hip Sips: Modern Cocktails to Raise Your Spirits (Hardcover)

Having heard all the buzz over Lucy Brennan and her fresh-ingredient cocktails, I was excited to burrow into her book and find all kinds of enlightened blends of unusual flavors.

I was disappointed.

The book is beautiful, unusually well-edited and published for the genre. Brennan has a flair for visual impact. Her recipe principles are simple and well-laid out. But...in the end, too simple: a one-note song.

Practically every cocktail in Lucy's book, it seems, includes some basic spirit, one unusual ingredient (or none), a quarter-ounce of her favorite orange liqueur, and 2 oz of (freshly made, at least) sweet-and-sour. There is no thought to blending, to flavor families; no distinction amongst whether lemon or lime or perhaps some other sour base might better set off a particular ingredient, or whether different amounts of sweetness and sour might bring out particular flavors. It seems that it is enough to simply introduce new ingredients to the bar without pursuing their full potential or investigating their possibilities. Not to imply that her drinks are not good, for what they are: it's just that there are many other cocktail books on the market now that offer far more insight, depth, nuance and complexity, and offer far more reward to the curious cocktailer. The Joy of Mixology (Gary Regan) and The Craft of the Cocktail (Dale Degroff) are higly recommendable in Hip Sips' stead. For those with an interest in adding "kitchen" flavors and creativity to their cocktails, On Food and Cooking (Harold McGee) or Culinary Artistry (Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page) offer an intense introduction that will have you off and running.

At any rate, I wouldn't turn down a copy of Hip Sips if it were offered to me. But with all the other books recently on the market, it just doesn't stand up to the competition in the areas that matter.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mixology "bar" has been Raised, May 9, 2007

By 

L. Campbell (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hip Sips: Modern Cocktails to Raise Your Spirits (Hardcover)

As a resident of Portland, OR, I know firsthand the prowess of this author. Let's say that this sweet little book will elevate YOU to high-priestess at your next party. Inventive, easy recipes with normal easily-acquired ingredients! I would downgrade five stars to 4.95 stars only because of the font used through-out because the book, while "hip" and "cool", is very hard to read without proper light and really good eyes. Makes a really good hostess gift, too!