Recommended Reading
I have an obsession. I collect cocktail books. I love ‘em! Especially when I feel I always have more to learn, there’s always something to implement and there’s always something to pluck and pull from. I’m not writing to mention every single piece of cocktail literature out there but I am often asked about recommended reading so I’m here to recount the books that got me going and the books I still refer to even today.
Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh: This was the first cocktail book I was instructed to read when I first had a glimmer of interest in bartending and crafting cocktails. I really enjoyed the relatability and the “matter of fact-ness” of the author’s writing style, very conversationalist and not a technical owner’s manual approach. This book is equal parts cocktail history and practical cocktail conversation. Even after you finish this it serves as a good point of reference. It doesn’t cover every single classic cocktail but I would still recommend it as a foundational piece of literature.
The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan: For those interested in the “behind-the-scenes” art of actual bartending then I cannot stress the importance of this book. How do you prep a bar? How should you run a bar? What do you do with a drunk person? How do you handle a lousy tipper? This books really contains a slew of sage wisdom and sound advice for most public bartending scenarios. I wish I hadn’t randomly stumbled upon this one so I listing it here so you will thank me later. This really would have eased a lot of stresses early on in my bartending career. My passion to create and stimulate on a cocktail level was always there but the logistics of handling awkward and negative connotations surrounding public bartending was always the knock against my chosen career path. This book served as a great pick-me-up and the perspective it presented still serves me to this very day.
11,000 Drinks by Paul Knorr: Do not be intimidated by the title of this book! I only recommend this as a total referential recipe book. In no way have I or would recommend to you that it is imperative to memorize all of these cocktails. Literally keep this on your back shelf and flip to it when needed - it’s great! In a future blog entry, I will break down cocktail recipes and how to store/handle them. For now, this is an entry regarding an introduction to building a cocktail library and what books have gotten me by. Plus, this one is just fun to have - it’s like a hardcover cocktail phone book. Get it, keep it, shelve it.
The Flavor Bible by Andrew Dornenburg: This book is responsible for really turning on my craft cocktail jets. I also cannot more strongly recommend this book too. In fact, it is mandatory. What’s really awesome about this one is that, although it is a food/cook book, if you read it and/or refer to it with a cocktail perspective then it really blows you away. It is also equal parts reference style and conversational style. This book will teach you food/spice/herb pairings and why/how certain flavor profiles work with each other but it also demonstrates what foods/herbs/spices are in representative of each specific season. For someone like me who was raised on meat and potatoes and did not really get into fresh/organic ingredients until much later in life, reading this book was a powerful eye-opening experience.
In conclusion, reading these books and absorbing their stronger points will serve as a powerful gateway into the world of craft cocktails. There are many other books I could recommend but these were the big ones that were most impactful to me so I hope these will help someone else out there like they did for me. I would simply say to try books out that are more conversational in style as they help ease the intimidation factor of creating fancy beverages. Steer clear of ones that hold hands too much or treat you as inferior. Anyways, thanks for checking back in. I hope to address the approach of learning cocktails in my next entry. Until then, cheers!
