Synopses & Reviews
Mixology for the Masses
This enlightening field guide to the cocktail renaissance by Paul Clarke, the executive editor of Imbibe magazine, is inspired by the pioneering blog he launched in 2005, The Cocktail Chronicles is neither a lab manual nor an historical thesis; instead, it offers mixology for the masses in a way that's always welcoming and never overwhelming. The more than 200 easily replicable recipes were collected by Clarke over the course of a decade of drinks journalism, and all share a common deliciousness and a role — explained in Clarke's engaging manner — in the thriving cocktail renaissance. Informative, fascinating, and bound by Clarke's enthusiasm for great yet approachable drinks, The Cocktail Chronicles celebrates the breadth of the cocktail renaissance and its continuing revolution without making things overly complex or precious. Life is complicated; thanks to The Cocktail Chronicles, a good drink doesn't need to be.
Synopsis
Not every revolution requires an insurrection, and not every renaissance begins in salons, galleries or cloistered chambers. The cocktail seemed an unlikely candidate to start either a revolution or a renaissance, but somehow over the past decade, it has managed to become the center of both. Today the cocktail is celebrated at week-long conferences and festivals that draw thousands. Taking cues from a wider culinary movement that's been building steam for decades, craft-cocktail bars (and the bartenders and writers who inhabit them) are digging in the depths of the drink's rich history and apply these fresh-taught lessons to new drinks, appropriating techniques and skills acquired everywhere from centuries-old handbooks. However, as fascinating as today's artisan-driven or tech-savvy craft-cocktail bars can be, there's also a need for cocktail comfort food--for exciting drinks that have the benefit of being delicious, and that can be easily prepared by non-professionals. From Paul Clarke, the 2014 Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer and founder of the groundbreaking spirits blog, The Cocktail Chronicles, comes an approachable guide to the cocktail renaissance thus far and--as the name implies--a chronicle of the cocktails that have come along the way. The Cocktail Chronicles is not a lab manual for taking the cocktail experience to a molecular level; nor is it an historical monograph tracing the details of our forebears as they developed and mixed the drinks we enjoy today. Instead, The Cocktail Chronicles is a collection of approachable, and easily replicable drinks that all share the same thing: a common deliciousness and a role -- both big and small -- in the ongoing and thriving cocktail renaissance. This collection of expertly curated recipes represent a photo album of sorts--snapshots of people encountered over the years, with some close friends and family members depicted alongside a few dimly remembered strangers. The Cocktail Chronicles believes cocktails should be fun: it doesn't demand the purchase of a new product for every recipe or require hours spent preparing a single ingredient -- that is a sure way to suck the joy right out of it. Life is complicated--a good drink doesn't have to be. To that end, The Cocktail Chronicles has you covered.
Synopsis
From Paul Clarke, editor of Imbibe and the 2014 Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer comes The Cocktail Chronicles, an approachable guide to the cocktail renaissance thus far and--as the name implies--a chronicle of the cocktails that have come along the way. Based on his informative and ground-breaking blog by the same name, The Cocktail Chronicles is not a lab manual for taking the cocktail experience to a molecular level; nor is it an historical monograph tracing the details of our forebears as they developed and mixed the drinks we enjoy today. Instead, The Cocktail Chronicles is a collection of approachable, and easily replicable drinks that all share the same thing: a common deliciousness and a role -- both big and small -- in the ongoing and thriving cocktail renaissance. With helpful insight into glasses, tools, and basic cocktail tips and techniques, The Cocktail Chronicles covers familiar classics, back-from-the-dead obscurities, enduring classics and the drinks they've inspired, and the contemporary cocktails the may well be built to last. This is the cocktail guide that distills all the noise of the current craze into one useful, accessible, and fun-to-read reference that makes cocktails easy to enjoy.
About the Author
Paul Clarke is a Seattle-based journalist specializing in spirits, cocktails and the culture of drink. The executive editor of Imbibe magazine, Paul has also written about drinks for the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, MIX Magazine, Serious Eats, Tasting Table, Wine and Spirits, Sip Northwest and many other publications and websites. He is on the editorial board for the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, to be published by Oxford University Press in 2015. Since 2005, he has documented his exploration of fine spirits and mixology on The Cocktail Chronicles, one of the first exclusively spirits-and-cocktail-related blogs on the Internet. Paul has also participated as a moderator, speaker and judge at conferences and competitions including Tales of the Cocktail, Portland Cocktail Week, the International Association of Culinary Professionals annual conference and the American Distilling Institute craft spirits awards. Clarke has been profiled on Salon.com and in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and in 2011 was named by Imbibe magazine as one of the "People Who Have Changed the Way We Drink." Clarke has been quoted in publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, LA Confidential and Tiki Magazine.
Table of Contents
Introduction Chapter One: Notes from a Renaissance in Progress • Glassware • About the Drinks • Basic Cocktail Technique Chapter Two: Not Forgotten -- Familiar Classics and Back-from-the-Dead Obscurities • Cocktail Context: Gin • Cocktail Context: Applejack and Calvados • Vermouth and Aperitifs • Cocktail Context: Brandy • Absinthe • Sherry • New Orleans • Cocktail Context: Whiskey Chapter Three: Muses and Bridges -- Five enduring classics and the drinks they've inspired • Daiquiri • Old Fashioned • Manhattan • Martini • Negroni Chapter Four: Staying Power -- Contemporary cocktails that may well be built to last • Cocktail Context: Tequila and Mezcal • Cocktail Context: Rum • Bitters • Cocktail Context: Vodka • Amari • Pisco • A Tip of the Pith Helmet: Props to the Tiki Drink Chapter Five: Bottles, Tools and Tips Acknowledgements Index