It's no longer good enough to come out with a generic guide to cocktails. You need to have an angle. Four of the latest cocktail books focus on the following: wine cocktails, appetizer recipes specifically for cocktails, cocktail culture, and cocktails from Danny Meyer's restaurants. A brief overview of the pros and cons of each, below.
Foreword by Danny Meyer
Pros: Big and splashy color photos, large fonts,
index allows readers to search by spirit (vodka, gin, tequila,
etc.). Very much a coffee table book, ideal for picture
browsing.
Cons: Table of contents organizes drinks into vague (not especially useful) categories like "inspired flavors" and "casual libations." Good thing they have an index.
By Eve O'Neill and Doug "Bix"
Biederbeck
Pros: Cute little brown hardcover from the
folks at Bay Area supper club Bix. Very fun, with loads of
trivia, lists, and tips (not unlike Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany).
Cons: Sometimes strays a wee bit from food and drink, as in dedicating five pages to "Five Essential Jazz Albums."
By Kathy Casey
Pros: Features some unusual cocktail
categories (like liquid desserts, which includes a tasty-sounding
"Berry Orange Creamsicle"); sources of hard-to-find
ingredients are listed at the end of the book.
Cons: Very little attempt to bridge the drinking and the eating (no pairing suggestions); appetizer recipes are designed for large batches (Sicilian mini meatball recipe "makes 56," for example).
By A.J. Rathbun
Pros: Smart intros and
footnotes to every cocktail recipe; gorgeous photos; who knew this
could sustain a whole book?
Cons: Short at 96 pages.
by James Oliver Cury
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