Oct 08 2009
Food & Wine Cocktails 2006 (Food & Wine Cocktails)
Raise a glass to Food & Wine's updated tribute to the cocktail, a slim, softcover companion to the magazine's popular Official Wine Guide. In addition to offering 150 signature drinks from the country's most exciting restaurants, bars, and lounges, it contains definitive recipes for the classics.
As a scene-scoping, style-setting, modern magazine, Food & Wine always keeps tabs on the trendiest nightlife. These cocktails are the ones making a sensation in the newest, hippest eateries and bars throughout the nation, the drinks bartenders get asked for again and again. And that's not all: mix-masters won't find better recipes for such traditional favorites as Manhattans, martinis, and mojitos. Each of the chapters focuses on a particular spirit type—vodka, rum, whiskey—and every page highlights one special cocktail, along with a short description of the establishment that provided the recipe, its address and phone number, and an interesting behind-the-scenes anecdote. There's also useful information on simple recipes for the best bar food, a list of the hottest bartenders around the country, and tips on stocking the bar and buying glassware. For those who want to visit the showcased restaurants and bars, an index lists them all geographically—making this a guide-within-a-guide to America's best nightlife.
Customer Review: Super handy guide
When this arrived, I thought "That's it?" It's a slender little pocket guide with only a couple of recipes on each page, but after digging onto it, I've been very surprised and pleased by its contents! There have been no clunkers of any of the cocktail recipes I've tried so far, and a couple that I've added to my entertaining repetiore. Some recipes call for less common ingredients, most of which are explained in the 'Spirits Lexicon, a handy bit of knowledge for a layman like me who lacks any bar tending experience. All in all, a great little book for someone who enjoys the artistry of preparing interesting cocktails.
Customer Review: Fun to read and try
First of all, don't buy this if you want to learn how to make straight-forward cocktails. These are innovative cocktails developed by some of the trendiest bars and eateries in the U.S. You might even have difficulty finding some of the alcohols mentioned in a number of recipes because they're often quite uncommon. With that said, if you have a well-stocked bar, then this book is recommended. It's also better than Cocktails 2005 because it includes recipes for bar food that look really tasty (e.g. sirloin burgers with onion jam). There are a number of drinks you'll probably never make (the squid ink martini with real squid ink!), but the rest should be fun to try!
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