An original book on the craft of mixology is a rare gem. Gary Regan’s The Joy of Mixology is such a gem, one whose genius lies in Regan’s breakthrough system for categorizing drinks that helps bartenders—both professionals and amateurs alike—not only to remember drink recipes but also to invent their own.
For example, once you understand that the Margarita is a member of the New Orleans Sour Family, you’ll instantly see that a Kamikaze is just a vodka-based Margarita; a Cosmopolitan follows the same formula, with some cranberry juice thrown in for color. Similarly, the Manhattan and the Rob Roy, both members of the French-Italian family, are variations on the whiskey-vermouth-bitters formula.
In this way Regan brings a whole new understanding to the world of cocktails and how to make them. Not only will you learn how to make standard cocktails, you’ll actually learn to feel your way through making a drink, thereby attaining the skills needed to create concoctions of your own. And as Regan explains methods for mixing drinks, how to choose bartenders’ wares and select spirits and liqueurs, and the origins of many cocktails, you’ll feel as though you’re behind the bar with him, learning from a master. Plus, his charming and detailed history of mixed drinks raises this far above the standard cocktail guide fare.
With more than 350 drink recipes, The Joy of Mixology is the ultimate bar guide. Ground-breaking and authoritative, it’s a must-have for anyone interested in the craft of the cocktail.
As the author of The Bartender's Bible, The Book of Bourbon and New Classic Cocktails, Regan is no stranger to spirits, and in his newest work he sets out to explain "the histories behind various cocktails and perhaps come up with some new theories, if not conclusions, along the way." He accomplishes it all, offering a definitive and entertaining guide to the bartender' trade. Beginning with a solid history of mixed cocktails, Regan then provides an instruction manual for bartenders, asking, "do you have what it takes?" He instructs on everything from bartender etiquette (how to treat a customer who doesn't tip, how to tell someone he's had enough) to the brass tacks of tending bar (how to arrange liquor bottles, how to rim a glass and how to pour out precise measurements). Regan misses nothing, and everything he covers is simply explained; clear illustrations identify the "families" of cocktail glasses, while charts show the "families" of alcohol. It isn't until three-quarters through the book that Regan begins his cocktail recipes. And by that time, readers will finally have the knowledge to prepare each one. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Inside Flap
An original book on the craft of mixology is a rare gem. Gary Regan?s The Joy of Mixology is such a gem, one whose genius lies in Regan?s breakthrough system for categorizing drinks that helps bartenders?both professionals and amateurs alike?not only to remember drink recipes but also to invent their own.
For example, once you understand that the Margarita is a member of the New Orleans Sour Family, you?ll instantly see that a Kamikaze is just a vodka-based Margarita; a Cosmopolitan follows the same formula, with some cranberry juice thrown in for color. Similarly, the Manhattan and the Rob Roy, both members of the French-Italian family, are variations on the whiskey-vermouth-bitters formula.
In this way Regan brings a whole new understanding to the world of cocktails and how to make them. Not only will you learn how to make standard cocktails, you?ll actually learn to feel your way through making a drink, thereby attaining the skills needed to create concoctions of your own. And as Regan explains methods for mixing drinks, how to choose bartenders? wares and select spirits and liqueurs, and the origins of many cocktails, you?ll feel as though you?re behind the bar with him, learning from a master. Plus, his charming and detailed history of mixed drinks raises this far above the standard cocktail guide fare.
With more than 350 drink recipes, The Joy of Mixology is the ultimate bar guide. Ground-breaking and authoritative, it?s a must-have for anyone interested in the craft of the cocktail.
gaz regan, the bartender formerly known as Gary Regan, writes The Cocktailian, a bi-weekly column, for The San Francisco Chronicle. He has also written regular columns in The Malt Advocate, Nation's Restaurant News, Cheers Magazine, and The Wine Enthusiast, and his work has been featured in magazines such as Food Arts, Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, Imbibe (UK & USA), and various others. His work is also published in magazines in the U.K., Australia, Austria, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, and Russia.
gaz works regularly with companies such as Diageo, Pernod-Ricard, Heaven Hill, and other major spirits producers and marketers, and he travels the world holding workshops, judging cocktail competitions, and making public appearances. He's a regular judge at Diageo's World Class competition, he speaks at the London Cocktail Week, and he has judged cocktail competitions in Australia, France, London, Slovakia, and of course, the USA.
gaz also heads up the Bar Smarts Graduates Program for Pernod-Ricard USA -- it's a traveling roadshow of cocktail innovators, movers, and shakers that roams the USA highlighting innovative bartending techniques of the best of the best in the bar business.
gaz publishes a free e-mail newsletter, gaz regan's Notion, that reaches over 9,000 bartenders and consumers, and he maintains the Worldwide Bartender Database, an on-line community that's well over 2,000 strong. Over 80% of the members of this database are in the USA, and the vast majority of the best bars in America are represented here. gaz uses the database to let bartenders know about jobs, competitions, and festivals in The Weekly Shooter, and he also sends solid information to member bartenders in another weekly email newsletter, The Bartender's Bulletin.
gaz's first book, The Bartender's Bible, was published in 1991, and between 1995 and 1998, together with Mardee Haidin Regan, he co-wrote The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskey, The Bourbon Companion, New Classic Cocktails, and The Martini Companion.
gaz wrote The Joy of Mixology in 2003, the Bartender's GIN Compendium in 2009, and The Cocktailian Chronicles: The Professor Years, Volume 1, was published in June, 2010. gaz regan's Annual Manual for Bartenders was released in 2011, and if he gets a move on there will be another edition in 2013.
gaz also conducted Cocktails in the Country, a series of two-day bartender workshops, for seven years, from 2001 until 2007. During his 7-year run, gaz trained bartenders from top cocktail bars in New York, London, Bratislava, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, and various other major cities.
gaz lives in a small village in the Hudson Valley, about 50 miles north-west of the Big Apple.
Your average cocktail/bartender book is usually just the result of somebody gathering together as many recipes as they can find, prefacing it with the obligatory "how to stock your home bar" chapter, then selecting "File / Print..." Is it any wonder then that people these days are confused as to what a Martini really is?
Thankfully, Gary Regan has shown us that a mixology book can be far more then we have come to expect.
In "The Joy of Mixology", Gary lays out for us the results of what obviously has been many years of research into what cocktails really are, and how to make them properly. First he covers the common topics such as history, bartending, garnishes, glassware, but with far more interesting information then you most likely have seen elsewhere. Mr. Regan then dives into laying out the various styles of cocktails and mixed drinks, and how to understand them in ways that focus on the proper and well-balanced construction of each style. There is a lot of meat in how he organizes his lists, and a wealth of information behind their proper construction.
Cocktails really don't need to be as confusing as they seem to be to most people. This book goes a long way in not only making sense of the large array of cocktail selections available, but also in bringing to light the potentials of a "Quality" cocktail experience.
I'm surprised that this book doesn't have more reviews - I am usually too preoccupied or lazy to take the time to write Amazon reviews, but in this case I had to speak! This really is THE BOOK if you're looking to learn the art of mixology, the craft of the cocktail, the joy of boozing it up in a delicious and debonair way! I am rather obsessive with the whole mixing drinks thing - and an obsessive buyer of cocktail books - but the only two that really matter - the only two that are ESSENTIAL and not just a novelty to own - are this book and Dale Degroff's the Craft of the Cocktail. Buy others if you have the inclination, but if you're wondering what to buy to learn, or to enjoy, or to be able to say you have the definitive books on the subject - buy those two. And believe me, I've tried out enough of the recipes to KNOW what I'm talking about!
The chart in the middle of the book is invaluable. At a glance you can see what you can make with the ingredients on hand and confidentally experiment without straying too far off tried and true formulas (who knew the Sidecar and Margarita were related?).
