DrinkBoy's Full Review: Gary Regan - The Bartender's Bible: 1001 Mixed Dri...
Gary Regan is a well regarded expert on the topic of spirits and cocktails. In the Bartenders Bible, he uses this expertise to provide an excellent, as well as large, collection of cocktail recipes.
While some of the recipes listed might simply contain a list of ingredients, and minimal instructions on how to make them, this is usually because that this is all that is needed for that particular drink. When a cocktail needs more details, Gary provides you with just enough to understand it, without derailing you from the primary intent of the book.
And the final chapter in the book contains a welcomed topic that is rarely covered. It presents a list of the various drink families that were in existence long before Prohibition, many of which existed even before the "cocktail" itself. It includes such classics as "Cobbler", "Crusta", "Daisy", "Fizz", "Highball", "Rickey", and "Smash".
Perhaps the only flaw I find with the book is that it lists the recipes in chapters based on their "base sprit" as opposed to simply being alphabetical. Thus to find the recipe for a "Monkey Gland", you either have to know it is based on "Gin", or you first have to look it up in the index at the back of the book, which then redirects you to the appropriate page.
This book comes in both paperback and hardcover versions. The hardcover is spiral bound so that it can lie flat while you refer to the recipes within. If you can find it, I highly recommend the hardbound edition.
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