There are times when an “over statement” is really an “understatement.” This book’s title, World’s Best Cocktails, is absolutely true, but the title could have read World’s Best Cocktail Book. I think it is the best bar book in years from many perspectives:
- Comprehensive content
- Recipes both classic and refreshingly new, 500 of them
- Reviews of the best international bars
- Signature drink recipes from pioneering bars and bartenders from across the planet
- Photographs and graphic layout that are as bright as the best in cocktails
This book is “busy,” filled with graphics, pictures and lots of text. Lots of text. There are lengthy descriptions of the best bars around the world with their history and specialties laid bare. If you walk into the door of one of these bars, you can confidently step to the counter and begin ordering as if you’ve been there since that day that door first opened.
There are Bartender Profiles where a pioneer mixologist shares several of his personal bests and favorites. In long quotes, you learn their preferences and inspirations. Here you can gain insights and inspiration from Ago Perrone of The Connaught, Alex Kratena of Artesan Bar, Jim Meehand of PDT, Thomas Estes of Cafe Pacifico, and many other stars.
All of the major cocktail components are described for you: their history and their styles. You know how varied rums can be. Can vodkas really differ? Oh, yes, and here you’ll learn why.
Author Tom Sandham is a leading mixologist with a broad perspective of cocktail history. While much of the cocktail world is buzzing with the newest and latest, Tom includes sections on classic cocktails for each spirit. Here’s an example from the City Exchange in 1840’s New Orleans, surely a site of cocktail inspiration:
Brandy Crusta
Ingredients:
- Superfine sugar
- Champagne flute
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 2 ounces cognac
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon sugar syrup
Preparation:
Rim the flute with the sugar and wrap the thinly pared peel of half a lemon around the inside of the glass. Stir all the ingredients with ice and strain into the glass. Garnish with a lemon zest spiral.
There are 500 recipes in this book, 500 good reasons to buy. You’ll have hours of drinking pleasure with this book. And equally many hours of reading about the history, the ingenuity, and the charm of a glass filled with a mixture of magic.