New Classic Cocktails [Paperback]

Gary Regan (Author), Mardee Haidin Regan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2002

Cocktails Are Back and their new incarnations make more sophisticated sipping than ever before. These updated classics from the country s most popular chefs and bartenders are simple to concoct yet complex in character and flavor. Here s how to stir up new, exciting tastes with finesse. Cheers!

White Peach Sangria and Pomegranate Sangria --chef Bobby Flay

The Cajun Martini --chef Paul Prudhomme

The Citrus Cooler --Paul Bolles-Beaven, Union Square Cafe

The Rumbo Jam --Katy Keck, New World Grill

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…Presents scores of the newest examples of the high-octane art…Every creation is temptingly photographed.  Sip with extreme caution!…”(County Life Sussex, April 2003)

From the Inside Flap

Raise your glass to the resurgence of the cocktail! It’s not just Martinis and Manhattans that have come back into style–today’s drinks of choice are twists on the classics. Highball, old-fashioned, and stemmed glasses are the settings of brightly colored beverages that explode with flavor and sometimes carry an element of surprise–like a chocolate kiss at the bottom of your glass.

Gary Regan and Mardee Haidin Regan, the cocktail experts, bring us up to date with New Classic Cocktails. And they don’t stop at the recipes–the book sets the record straight as to when and where the drinks were invented and what inspired their origination. The authentic recipes allow you to recreate the exact drinks that are being concocted behind the bars at famous restaurants and cocktail lounges across the country.

New Classic Cocktails details 50 drinks–such as the Cosmopolitan, the Metropolitan, and the International–that garnered an avid following at bars and restaurants nationwide. Though only time will tell whether or not they attain true "classic" status, many of these modern masterpieces share the qualities of the classics, such as the famous "shaken, not stirred" Martini. Simple in design, yet complex in character and flavor, they’ve caught on in a big way.

The recent explosion of new drinks has been spurred in part by the abundance of new alcohol products on the market–flavored vodka and schnapps, spiced rums, and a wide variety of new spirits of every hue. Add to that the innovative mixers now available–from subtly flavored mineral waters to strawberry-kiwi fruit juices and even neon-bright syrups–and you have quite a flavorful and colorful palette from which to create these masterpieces.

New Classic Cocktails includes firsthand interviews with bartenders and chefs across the country who recount the stories behind the creation of each drink. In addition, each recipe is accompanied by a striking full-color photo, capturing the playful mood of these captivating cocktails. So relax, pour yourself a new classic cocktail, and enjoy it as you read about its history. Cheers!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (October 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764567063
• ISBN-13: 978-0764567063
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After being raised in British pubs, and being put to work as a bartender by his parents when he was just 14 years old, gaz regan, the bartender formerly known as Gary Regan fled to New York City in 1973.

For over two decades he tended bar at a variety of dives in Manhattan, and in 1990 he started to write about his favorite subjects--drinks and drinking. It wasn't long before he noticed that his work encouraged liquor companies to send him free bottles of booze. He quit the bar business immediately, started to write on a full-time basis, and in 1991 his first book, The Bartender's Bible, was published.

Between 1995 and 1998 gaz, together with Mardee Haidin Regan, co-wrote The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskey, The Bourbon Companion, New Classic Cocktails, and The Martini Companion. Since then Mardee wrote The Bartender's Best Friend (2002), and gaz wrote The Joy of Mixology in 2003. His new book, the bartender's GIN compendium, was released in August, 2009.

gaz writes The Cocktailian, a bi-weekly column, for The San Francisco Chronicle. In the past he has written regular columns in The Malt Advocate, Nation's Restaurant News, Cheers Magazine, and The Wine Enthusiast, concentrating on cocktails, bartenders, and the cocktailian craft.

His work is also published in magazines in the U.K., Australia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and Austria. He also conducted Cocktails in the Country, a series of two-day bartender workshops, for seven years, from 2001 until 2007.

gaz and Mardee host www.ardentspirits.com, publish a free e-mail newsletter, Ardent Spirits, and maintain a Worldwide Bartender Database that serves to put spirits companies in touch with their most important ambassadors: The men and women who hold forth from behind slabs of mahogany all over the globe.

gaz lives in a small village in the Hudson Valley, about 50 miles north of the Big Apple.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pull out your best barware...., September 5, 2001

By 

N. Mila "zoahie" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Classic Cocktails (Hardcover)

I got this book a couple of years ago for cocktail ideas for New Years Eve, but I find myself reaching for it time and time again. This book is perfect for the entertainer who is tired of serving rum and cokes or vodka tonics. I WOW'ed a whole boat of thirsty sailors last summer by showing up with a jug full of Bolo's Pomegranate Sangria (and they are STILL talking about it). This summer I took Bolo's White Peach Sangria recipe and substituted champagne for the ultimate dico party refreshment! And as far as the Cosmopolitans with their sugar and orange zested rims, let's just say that this book has made my batches infamous around my circle of friends! And the book goes on to include some of my personal bar favorites such as the Oatmeal Cookie and Lemon Drops (or try the Komikaze made with Chambord!).

Keep in mind that this book is a collection of exotic and famous concoctions from bartenders across the country. These are elegant, top notch cocktails to be served in your best barware for your favorite friends. So sure, there are recipes that have some odd ingredients (yes, it IS difficult to find pomegranate juice at your local grocery) but with savvy you can make some small substitutions and still come out a winner. This book will get you experimenting and serving something other than bloody marys at your next brunch! Have fun with these!!

(On an odd side note, I did go to Carbo's here in Atlanta and asked them for their "Just Peachy" cocktail that they invented, and well, they had no idea what I was talking about. I just had to go home and make one myself!!)

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice Eye Candy But Hard to Swallow, July 15, 2000

By 

Richard N. Strauss "just nick" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Classic Cocktails (Hardcover)

A book so lovely it seems more appropriate on a coffee table than behind a bar. Recipies can be odd: ingredients for one cocktail includes sea urchin and wasabi, another combines Baileys and Jagermeister. With fifty recipies, this is not the definitive bible on mixology. If you are looking for a primer, try the "Harvard Student Agencies Bartending Course"; if you want beauty and drink history, try "Cocktail" by Paul Harrington. Nonetheless, "New Classic Cocktails" does succeed in a few areas. It is seductively beautiful in its photography and it offers up truly unique concoctions. If you're not afraid to add chocolate to a martini, it's a worthwhile addition to your reference collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It has enhanced our ability to spend money on alcohol, December 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: New Classic Cocktails (Paperback)

This is a beautiful book with wonderful photographs. It is well written full of delightful stories behind the drinks. There are definitely interesting and different cocktails included, but already the book has been worth the price as we have had two incredible winners (Chambord Kamikaze & Pink Lemonade) with two tries.