pboy's Full Review: Gary Regan - The Bartender's Bible: 1001 Mixed Dri...
When I first turned 21 one and started drinking for the very first time :) , I ordered some pretty boring drinks. If I was ordering a beer, I was ordering a screw driver or, if I was in a chinese place, I was ordering a Pina Colada. I simply didn't know any better. I tried a Martini once and didn't like it, so I said to myself "Stick with what you know."
That all changed when I went to a cocktail party with people from work. The host wasn't serving beer and he wasn't serving any drinks that I knew of. Every hour we brought out a "drink of the hour" that most of use got to try for the first time. I was hesitant, but I went along with everyone else. I was floored. I was expecting a bunch of foul drinks like Old Fashions that taste like dressed up metal. To my surprise, I liked every drink that came out. We started with a Mai Tai, which is probably one of my favorite drinks today (if its done right). That was followed up by a Mellon Ball. Then we went on to Cosmopolitans. And so on and so on... This party really changed me from a beer drinker to a cocktail drinker. Sure I still like beer, but I crave a good cocktail.
After the cocktail party, I ran out and bought a couple bartending books. Most of the books were terrible. The books provided the ingredients and the recipes, but that was it. The books didn't provide any instructions on how the drinks are to be mixed, how they should be served, or even possible substitutes to the ingredients. Most of the books were arranged alphabetically so you really needed to know what you wanted to make first, before you could find it. Personally, I was new to cocktails, so I wanted to be able to search by rum drinks, or tropical drinks, etc. and decide what I wanted on the spot.
I went back to the host of the cocktail party and he suggested this book, The Bartender's Bible : 1001 Mixed Drinks and Everything You Need to Know to Set Up Your Bar. This book is significantly different from the rest that I have read. First, the book provides some great information on how to get started in setting up a bar. What alcohol to stock, what glasses, and what garnish. Of course, I didn't run out and stock a complete bar, but it gave me some great ideas.
The book in arranged nicely if you are unfamiliar with certain drinks, but at the same time it is easy to find your old favorites. Once you find a recipe of the drink you are interested in, you get more than a play by play on how to make it. Each drink has a short history and ancedotes about the drink. Of course, a shot by hot recipe is included. The recipe, however, also includes very useful descriptions on how to mix, serve, and drink the cocktail. I especially like mixing a drink no one has heard of and then repeating the history of the drink. It makes the experience a little bit more enjoyable.
I've purchased 5 or drink bartending books in my time, this is the best I have come across.
Mix Drinks Like a ProNow you can with this indispensable handbook, the most thorough -- and thoroughly accessible -- bartending guide ever created for...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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