The Martini Book: The First, the Last, the Only True Cocktail [Hardcover]

Sally Ann Berk (Author), Zeva Oelbaum (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1997

Here are 201 recipes for gin and vodka drinks fashioned in the style of the martini, with practical advice on glassware, shakers, olives, preparation techniques and measurements.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What was a friendly cocktail party--a few friends, some witty banter, and a martini or two--just got serious. Your best friend, Bob, wants an Imperial Martini, and his new girlfriend from Key West thinks a Shrimptini would really hit the spot. Across the room, someone with purple hair and "Cocktail Nation" tattooed on her bicep wants an Alternatini. Suddenly your rep is on the line, and it's going to take more than that set of cool glasses you got for Christmas and a bottle of olives to bail you out. A splash of gin and a few drops of vermouth aren't enough to keep you among the suave and the sophisticated; what you need now is Sally Ann Berk's The Martini Book.

This is the first, last, and only book you will ever need to make a martini and possibly save your reputation as a first-class party host. Every type of martini imaginable is included here, along with a history of the famous drink. The Dutch may think they invented the martini, but most true aficionados agree that America has a better claim on this quintessential cocktail. Best of all, The Martini Book is an equal-opportunity cocktail guide. Purists may scoff that a Vodka Martini is a bastardization of a fine drink, but Berk assures us that vodka has a legitimate and rightful place in the martini pantheon. That old Bondian dictum "Shaken not stirred" is also put to rest: it's OK to go both ways now. With more than 201 variations, it's tough to imagine a more comprehensive treatise on the subject of martinis, or a better way to save a cocktail party. --Mark O. Howerton

About the Author

Sally Ann Berk is the author of The New York Bartender's Guide,Smoothies, Shakes & Frappes, and Farmer’s Market Cooking, among others. She is the editor of Secrets of the Druids and A Reasonable Affliction: 1001 Love Poems to Read to Each Other. She lives in Northern California with her husband and son.

Zeva Oelbaum is a New York-based still life and food photographer. Her work can frequently be seen in The New York Times Magazine, House Beautiful, and many other magazines and books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (January 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884822983
• ISBN-13: 978-1884822988
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,014,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Martini Recipe Book that I have found Yet!, January 13, 2003

By 

K. Roth (Columbiaville, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Martini Book: The First, the Last, the Only True Cocktail (Hardcover)

I just started making martini's and this book has really helped me. There are a lot of recipes (I think around 200). A lot of these recipes are just variations of garnish but there are many, many other recipes for every martini you could ever think of. The Cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Winston Churchill's recipe, the Daydream Martini, the apple martini, cajun, peppermint, coffee martini, etc., etc., etc. The beginning of the book talks about the difference between gin and vodka martini's, how to set up your martini bar, the difference between shaking and stirring, the history of martini shakers, the difference in selections of vermouth and famus martini drinkers. There are also quotes throughout the book about martinis. It is a great book and would be an excellent guide to have in your bar for making martini's. And for people who want to perfect making different kinds of martini's, this is a great book. This book is excellent for veterans and newcomers to the drink.

39 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars You'll say, "I could have written that!", July 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Martini Book: The First, the Last, the Only True Cocktail (Hardcover)

I have to give credit to the author first of all for all the work she did typing these recipes in. The credit must end, though, when we realize that what she typed amounts to far less than the advertised "201 recipes". Why must she claim that a drink made up of "six parts gin to three parts vermouth" is any different than "eight parts gin to four parts vermouth"? She also considers the addition of varying garnishes to make completely different drinks. And why must she write for nearly every recipe "combine liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with cracked ice and shake well"? Well, duh. The author also deserves derision for her completely useless alphabetical index - the drinks are in alphabetical order already. It's like indexing a dictionary -- stupid. Why couldn't she have spent less time writing "combine liquid ingredients" and more time giving us an index by those ingredients? That would raise it from one star to three stars immediately.

Although it has good recipes, it contains sugary, sweetly sick drinks that are not martinis (they are cocktails that likely no bartender has ever heard of), it has a useless index, and the recipes are so redundant as to be rather humorous reading. Even the photography is sub-standard, and the pictures aren't labeled! In some cases, the drink pictured is not any of the drinks on the page! Perhaps if they print a second edition, they'll fix it up into a tome that any cocktail lover would want.

If you're a yuppie into froofroo drinks, buy this book. If you're a serious cocktail drinker, you won't go wrong having it, but you certainly don't need it, either, unless you already have Harrington's and Schumann's books.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What else is there?????, December 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Martini Book: The First, the Last, the Only True Cocktail (Hardcover)

I received this book as a gift last Christmas. As a martini lover....I've tried several versions that I LOVE but have never been able to recreate due to the fact that I couldn't remember the ingredients. For example....I enjoyed a Cajun Martini while in New Orleans. I couldn't ever recreate this drink that I loved so much. All in all........I've only altered one martini drink and that's the Chocolate Martini. I add clear creme cocoa liquor vs. colored. I absolutely LOVE this book and it is a MUST have for anyone who loves martini's. It leaves you the option of never being bored with this cocktail because there are so many variations. In other words.....whatever suits your mood.