Synopses & Reviews
An original book on the craft of mixology is a rare gem. Gary Regans
The Joy of Mixology is such a gem, one whose genius lies in Regans 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, youll 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, youll 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, youll feel as though youre 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, its a must-have for anyone interested in the craft of the cocktail.
Synopsis
The drink maker's Joy of Cooking, this is the definitive and indispensable reference to cocktails, their ingredients, accessories, history, and lore, from the author of the bestselling The Bartender's Bible (more than 500,000 copies sold). The Joy of Mixology brings a new understanding to the world of cocktails and how to make them. Expert "cocktailian" Gary Regan's unprecedented innovation is the fresh look he takes at various "families" of drinks. By redefining the old cocktail categories such as Sours and introducing new families such as New England Highballs, Regan has made the devilishly confusing job of memorizing ingredients far simpler than ever before. The book also takes the pressure off bartenders who think that every ingredient must be measured precisely. Regan shows how to feel one's way through drinks by understanding how the ingredients work together. With more than 400 recipes and advice on concocting your own creative variations, plus a history chapter that includes memorable quotations from great cocktailians along with notes about their particular methodologies of cocktail making, this will instantly be recognized as today's essential guide to mixology.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 370-376) and index.
About the Author
GARY REGAN is the author of The Bartenders Bible and coauthor with his wife, Mardee Haidin Regan, of The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys, New Classic Cocktails, The Martini Companion, and The Bourbon Companion. He has written articles on mixing and drinking for the San Francisco Chronicle, Food & Wine, Playboy, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Wine & Spirit Magazine, and Cheers Magazine. Gary and his wife are the creators of the e-letter Ardent Spirits and drink experts for Amazon.coms Kitchen & Housewares store. They live in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York.
Table of Contents
The history of cocktails and mixed drinks --The bartender: do you have what it takes? --The theory of mixology --The craft of the mixologist --Foundations of the bar: garnishes, mixers, and supplemental ingredients --Tools and vessels --Glassware --Birds of a feather: cocktail and mixed-drink families --The recipes --Tables and charts.