The Ultimate Guide to Pitcher Drinks: Cool Cocktails for a Crowd [Paperback]

Sharon Tyler Herbst (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2003

In the mood for a Summer Hummer?
How about a French Flirt or a Neon Nexus?
or Maybe even a Sin City Slider?

This book includes these and 150 more cool cocktails for a crowd—everything from classics like Sangría, Martinis, and Manhattans, to newer favorites like Kamikazes and Mudslides, to international raves such as Brazil’s Caipirinha and Cuba’s Mojito, not to mention liquor-free variations. Plus, there’s information on mixing techniques, ingredients, equipment, and glassware, hangover helpers, tips on party food for non-cooks, and a user-friendly index that lists recipes by ingredients.

Serving pitcher drinks is an ingeniously effortless way to entertain and still have fun at your own party. It’s an idea whose time has come—in fact, it’s long overdue. No doubt about it, a premixed pitcher of drinks is a huge asset to any gathering. Making individual cocktails not only takes time, but removes you from the action. So mix up a batch of pitcher drinks and join in the party. They’re stylish, fun, and easy, and they definitely take the angst out of entertaining!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Big barbecue events call for pitcherfuls of drinks to wash down all those spicy meats. Sharon Tyler Herbst comes to the rescue with The Ultimate Guide to Pitcher Drinks. Anyone who has a crowd of guests with thirsts to quench will find lots of inspiration here to keep a party well lubricated. Nearly half the volume consists of definitions of drink terms, ingredients, techniques, and garnishes, which make it ideal for reference. Drinks range from martinis and cosmopolitans through tropical favorites to sweet and ultracreamy concoctions. There are a few nonalcoholic libations. Popular Long Island iced tea appears, but not the celebrated Fish House Punch. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

In the mood for a Summer Hummer?
How about a French Flirt or a Neon Nexus?
or Maybe even a Sin City Slider?

This book includes these and 150 more cool cocktails for a crowd?everything from classics like Sangría, Martinis, and Manhattans, to newer favorites like Kamikazes and Mudslides, to international raves such as Brazil?s Caipirinha and Cuba?s Mojito, not to mention liquor-free variations. Plus, there?s information on mixing techniques, ingredients, equipment, and glassware, hangover helpers, tips on party food for non-cooks, and a user-friendly index that lists recipes by ingredients.

Serving pitcher drinks is an ingeniously effortless way to entertain and still have fun at your own party. It?s an idea whose time has come?in fact, it?s long overdue. No doubt about it, a premixed pitcher of drinks is a huge asset to any gathering. Making individual cocktails not only takes time, but removes you from the action. So mix up a batch of pitcher drinks and join in the party. They?re stylish, fun, and easy, and they definitely take the angst out of entertaining!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1 edition (March 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812967682
• ISBN-13: 978-0812967685
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #352,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Tyler Herbst is the award-winning author of twelve books on food and wine, and the foremost writer of culinary reference books, including the bestselling Food Lover's Companion and Food Lover's Tiptionary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really fun book, April 14, 2004

By 

Brandi Host (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Pitcher Drinks: Cool Cocktails for a Crowd (Paperback)

This book not only has great drink recipes but some of the best drinking quotes I have ever seen. Useful and entertaining what could be better? Well worth owning for sure.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book seriously rocks!, July 20, 2005

By 

Crazy for Cocktails "Tom" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Pitcher Drinks: Cool Cocktails for a Crowd (Paperback)

Maybe "Dracula Fan" needed some more blood in his bloody mary-something to nourish his rather small brain. Okay, I'm sorry to get personal, but his (or her) review just doesn't track.

This book seriously rocks! I've made most of the drinks in it over the past year . . . they're not only super EASY, but FUN and DELICIOUS! And as for the "no pictures" remark, well most of us haven't needed pictures to understand things since grade school-the recipes here are crystal clear. Besides, smart people know that photos pump up the price, and this book has 150 recipes for a very reasonable $10.36 (Amazon price). Yes, this book is small (5 x 7 inches), but it's packed not only with great recipes, but with loads of other information-from definitions of liqueurs and liquors, to measurement equivalents, to garnish ideas, and so on.

Too bad a dead-head review can knock down the rating of such a good book. I'm giving it 5 stars and it deserves it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When You Want to "Consume Mass Quantities", September 3, 2006

By 

Bill Marsano (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Pitcher Drinks: Cool Cocktails for a Crowd (Paperback)

By Bill Marsano. "Pitcher Drinks: Cool Cocktails for a Crowd," by Sharon Tyler Herbst makes it clear that, frankly, there are few ways to have more fun than to slip into Margaritas-for-the-Mob Mode, which can mean mixing drinks in stock pots, buckets and if necessary washtubs (stirring with paddles is optional, but plenty of ice is mandatory). Herbst, an award-winning author of numerous books in the hospitality realm, is smart and reliable (the TV quiz "Jeopardy" uses her books as reference works). There are plenty of recipes, a good glossary of drink and bar terms, useful measuring equivalents, hangover cures for emergency use (she recommends not overdoing to begin with, which is always smart advice, so be sure to read her chapter on How to Light Up the Party Without Getting Lit), hints on what she blithely calls Garnishes and Fandangos, and more. In short, this book is all you'll need to get well started on the road to quality fun for quantities of friends. --Bill Marsano is a James Beard Award-winning writer on wines and spirits.