The Professional Bartender's Handbook: A Recipe for Every Drink Known - Including Tricks and Games to Impress Your Guests [Paperback]

Valerie Mellema (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2007

The Professional Bartender s Handbook is written for the professional bartender, but anyone can learn the simple tips and tricks this book provides. A copy belongs behind every bar, big or small. Whether running a stand-alone business or one incorporated into a restaurant, hotel, or food service operation, the successful bartender needs product and equipment knowledge and a strong grasp of mixology. The Professional Bartender s Handbook is more than a recipe guide. If you have ever wondered what ingredients were in your favorite drink, this book will teach you. With nearly 1,500 different cocktails, shooters, and even a non-alcoholic section, there is a drink (or two) for everyone. This new book is fun and easy to read. The recipes are in alphabetical order, along with suggested glassware, ingredients, and garnishes. You will learn tips and tricks, bar terminology, measurements, how to set up a bar, glassware, responsible serving issues, garnishes, bar games and tricks, famous toasts, and much more. You will learn the most popular brands of alcohol, as well as what wines complement your dinner selection.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...Once folks master all these recipes and techniques, they'll be able to figure out how to make a variation such as a prickly pear margarita on their own. Bottom line: A useful book for any home bartender. --Insatiable, insathope.blogspot.com

About the Author

Great customer service and bartending is not something that is foreign to Valerie. She has served many a happy customer from behind the bar in a restaurant bar for many years. She has also had the opportunity to work with many great bartenders on busy Friday and Saturday nights where the bar top was the place to be. She especially enjoyed training new bartenders and chatting with her many regulars. Valerie resides with her husband, Troy, in Amarillo, Texas where together they operate her freelance writing business, Words You Want, from their home.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company (FL); illustrated edition edition (November 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910627959
• ISBN-13: 978-0910627955
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Training
  • #26 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Bartending
  • #37 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Hospitality, Travel & Tourism

More About the Author

Valerie Mellema was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on October 9, 1982. She has had a lifelong love affair with horses and writing. Today, Valerie Mellema is an author and ghostwriter. She attended West Texas A&M University where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Agribusiness/Equine Business and Industry with a Minor in Animal Science. She was a bartender for several years and is the author of The Professional Bartender's Handbook. She is also the author of Horses 101: The Complete Guide to Buying & Caring for Your Horse.

Valerie resides on beautiful Lake Fork in Texas with her husband, Troy, and son, TJ. Together, they operate an SEO writing and ghostwriting business called Words You Want. They offer writing services in SEO articles, blogs, eBooks, press releases and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You (or Someone You Know) Needs This Book, December 24, 2007

By 

V. Kalambakal (San Pedro, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Professional Bartender's Handbook: A Recipe for Every Drink Known - Including Tricks and Games to Impress Your Guests (Paperback)

The Professional Bartender's Handbook is an easy-to-use book for anyone. If you're stocking your own bar there are lists of what and how much to buy (including alcohol, mixers, and extras), what tools to have on hand (types of glasses, spoons, strainers--who knew?). There's even a chapter on really starting a bar--from business plan through OSHA regs and promotions.

As for recipes, the book has 1500 of them, from A Bat and a Ball to Zuma Buma, with a separate section for non-alcoholic drinks. Over 200 pages filled with recipes! None are indexed, only alphabetized, so if you're looking for various martinis--from apple to vodka, you could be skimming pages for awhile.

The book starts with the basics about liquor, like the difference between Haitian and Jamaican rum, how wines should be served, etc., There's even a chapter on drinking games and toasts--what more could you want? Everything you need to be a fantastic bartender is right here.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginners, April 5, 2010

By 

Priscilla Y. Martinez "University Student" (Houston, Tx) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Professional Bartender's Handbook: A Recipe for Every Drink Known - Including Tricks and Games to Impress Your Guests (Paperback)

I was completely new to everything thats bartending when i got this book and this book has provided a strong base in knowledge of bartending. I think this is a better option for novice bartenders and may not be as useful for the more experienced bartender, but may still help as a reference.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leisa Wilson, January 5, 2009

By 

Leisa K. Wilson "The Write Remark" (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Professional Bartender's Handbook: A Recipe for Every Drink Known - Including Tricks and Games to Impress Your Guests (Paperback)

This is a classic bartender's guide that has everything you need to know to create perfect cocktails and fabulous parties- whether you are a professional mixologist or whether you are brand new to the art form. The guide is laid out in a very organized easy to follow format with everything you need to know about the liquors and mixes you will use, how to set up a working bar, tools of the trade, bar management and 1500 alcoholic drink recipes, as well as several non-alcoholic drink recipes as well. Finally, there is a concise section of some bar add-ons and several games, tricks and toasts and case study examples to read and study. The back of the book utilizes both a glossary and an index.

Even if you start with no bartending knowledge at all, this easy to follow guide gives you all the information you need to properly stock and operate a professional bar, or, if you prefer, remain the host and utilize this book at home. It will have you serving up libations for friends and family in no time. There are checklist for liquors, mixers, and tools and accessories, step-by-step directions for preparing garnishes, advice on what type of glassware to use, guides for preparing for large gatherings and more in this comprehensive guide to bartending.

The drink recipes are simple to follow, so you can easily make hundreds and hundreds of beverages just by following the simple guides. You no longer need to worry about non-drinkers feeling left out, either, with the pages of non-alcoholic drink recipes included in this guide. To add to the entertainment value of your bar, whether for profit or fun, this guide includes fun tricks and games that you can use to amaze your guests and encourage them to enjoy themselves. If you have "The Professional Bartender's Handbook," you truly have the only book you will need to learn how to be a professional bartender worth his or her weight in gold.

The Professional Bartender's Handbook: A Recipe for Every Drink Known--
Including Tricks & Games to Impress Your Guests by Valerie Mellema is an exceptional bartending guide and is rated at the highest level- 5.