The first annual volume of Mixologist: The Journal of the American Cocktail was published in April 2005 and featured works by noted cocktail authorities Dave Wondrich, Ted Haigh, Robert Hess, Gary Regan, Jared Brown, Lowell Edmunds, Paul Clarke, Audrey Saunders, Phil Greene, Anistatia Miller, and Darcy O'Neil. The never-before-published articles presented in this inaugural 200-page book focussed on the origins of six classic cocktails. Additional articles explored the legend of Antoine Amedee Peychaud, creator of Peychaud's Bitters; the history of Plymouth Gin; a definitive and scientific guide to simple syrup; and a look into the classic future of cocktails.

"Wine Chic Women" takes you from wine geek to wine specialist using creative techniques and practical advice. The editors of Novelwines.com bring 18 years of wine dilemmas, budgets and solutions together into a resourceful, yet entertaining, guide for the novice or experienced wine drinker. Give yourself a wine image makeover and reap the benefits of being a wine chic woman. Soon, you'll be serving, cooking with and buying wine confidently. "Get ready to lift your wine confidence to a new elevation, renew your wine image and become a wine chic woman!"

"This book is divine! Very pleasant reading with much knowledge from the writers imparted to the readers. Like women, wine ages beautifully with tender love and care."
--Richard and Cristina Partridge, Richard Partridge Wines, Napa Valley, California.

Visit Jolie and Lisa at www.novelwines.com

Are you maintaining a low-carb diet? Trying to cut your sugar intake? Or just trying to watch your weight...and still have fun? Look no further than this one-of-a-kind guidebook by famed low-carb guru Dr. Douglas Markham. Here you'll find a dazzling array of innovative recipes for easy-to-prepare, mouth-watering, low-carbohydrate cocktails and delicious high-protein snacks. You'll also discover:

• the safest, most effective way to follow a low-carb lifestyle in social circles
• how the kind of alcohol you ingest affects your brain and your body
• how to drink responsibly
• the preferred liquors, wines, and beers for stocking your bar
• sugar-free mixers, garnishes, and other ingredients to have on hand
• the nonalcoholic equivalents of today's most popular cocktails
• which low-carb protein-rich snacks can slow the absorption of alcohol

"Shepard's Guide to Mastering French Wines" makes you an authority on the finest French wines. Explore the vineyards region by region. Then throw away those misleading point scorecards as you develop your own wine taste.

What They Are Saying About Shepard's Robbie Cutler Diplomatic Mystery Series "Bill Shepard has adroitly used his encyclopedic knowledge of Bordeaux and the region to weave a fascinating story. If you like Bordeaux wine read "Vintage Murder,"" - Evan Galbraith, United States Ambassador to France 1981-1985. ""Murder On The Danube" is very well written, very informative and very entertaining. Reminds me of Eric Ambler's "A Coffin for Demetrios,"" - John Goodspeed, Star/Democrat.

People everywhere are changing the way they drink to complement healthier lifestyles. Everyone wants low carb drinks, but very few people know how to make them! Here is the answer - a simple, quick guide that every bartender will love. * Great tasting recipes, based on drinks you already make. * Popular combinations, even exotics and shooters! * No math! The carbs are already calculated. * A simple shopping list helps get you started. * No stress! Make these drinks with minimal effort. Packed with fun tips, great recipes, and lots of hints on how to make your job easier, this book may become your next best friend!

Whether you're a lifelong New Yorker or you're visiting for the first time, when you're in the Big Apple you're in food heaven - a nosher's paradise where you can find the freshest and most authentic foods of any cuisine in the world, from steaming soup dumplings to Persian Kebabs, Moroccan tagines, Chinese bubble tea, Senegalese ginger beer, Colombian cholados, kosher focaccia bread, the freshest Italian cheeses, Guyanese roti and more!

In this thorough and user-friendly book, passionate New York food guide Myra Alperson takes readers on her popular tours around town. Organized by borough and divided into easy-to-follow walks -- each of which can be done in an afternoon -- she points readers to the best ethnic restaurants, cafes, bakeries, tea houses, take-out stores, specialty shops, produce stands, supermarkets, and other food hot spots.

From generations-old favorites to vibrant newcomers, the delicious discoveries and include the best:

- Indian, Greek, Brazilian, Cuban, Romanian, Irish, Chinese, Afghan and Thai spots in Queens
- Italian, Kosher, Caribbean, Polish, Scandinavian, Russian and Moroccan delights in Brooklyn
- Chinese, West African, Soul Food, Mexican, Dominican, Korean and Turkish finds in Manhattan
- Sicilian, Albanian, Jamaican and Cambodian delights in the Bronx
- And much more.

You'll also discover: New York's last authentic beer garden * where to buy Chilean hot dogs and Brazilian pizza* the newest wave of Egyptian markets * the last Kosher market in Brighton Beach and the only Norwegian market in New York City * fun and delectable side trips * vegetarian and kid-friendly finds * cultural information for each neighborhood, along with info on the best parks, museums, gift shops, and bookstores.

Complete with subway, bus, and car directions along with detailed maps of each neighborhood covered, Nosh New York turns an afternoon in the city into a delicious food adventure.

Frank J. Prial has written authoritative and entertaining wine articles for The New York Times for over 25 years. His pieces have delighted wine lovers of all ages with celebrations of old favorites and forays into new tastings from around the world. In Decantations, Prial's first book since Wine Talk was published in 1978, the wine master's finest columns are gathered on everything from imbibing with the Rothschilds in France to stalking Zinfandels and Chardonnays in Africa.

This robust collection of articles, organized by topic, include informative, humorous, and sometimes unorthodox observations on wine making, wine families, wine personalities and the wine business, as well as tips on ordering, tasting, and enjoying wine. An essential book for lovers of wine and lovers of lovers of wine.

Clyde May was the patriarch of a family from rural Bullock County, Alabama. He was a devoted father, a war veteran, and a churchgoer. He was also a moonshiner. This colorful memoir based on oral history interviews with May's son, Kenny, explores May's life and his passion for making good whiskey despite the risk of going to jail. Now the family tradition is taking a new twist, as Kenny and his siblings have established Alabama's first legal distillery to bottle and sell a distinctive whiskey based on the late Clyde May's recipe.

The Choice Wine Buying Guide 2004 is the result of the widest wine test ever conducted by Choice. Now in its third year, the guide has established itself as a totally independent and reliable guide to over 400 of the most popular and best value wines available in Australia. Seasoned wineophiles and novices alike will appreciate The Choice Wine Buying Guide 2004. It includes a score out of 20 and taster's notes for each wine. From a panel of 16, each wine was tasted by at least four experts in the Australian wine industry--winemakers, retailers, educators and consultants--bringing a true range of experience and expectation to the process. You'll be amazed at the results. There are some great medal quality wines on the market for under $15. And as for the long-held belief that you should drink red wine with red meat, and white wine with white meat--read this book and you'll see that it pays to think outside the square when it comes to matching wine with food. The special recommendations section features a vintner's dozen wines considered great value and great quality. No boutique or difficult-to-find wines were tested for this book, so most of them will be found at the local bottle shop.

"A short, engrossing history of the concoction in all its variety."
--Katherine Powers, The Boston Sunday Globe

The cocktail is as old as the nation that invented it, yet until this entertaining and authoritative account, its story had never been fully told. William Grimes traces the evolution of American drink from the anything-goes concoctions of the Colonial era to the frozen margarita, spiking his meticulously researched narrative with arresting details, odd facts, and colorful figures.

The book includes about one hundred recipes--half of them new for this edition--for both classics and innovations.

Todd Wilbur shares his best-kept secrets for making knockoffs of your favorite drinks-right in your own kitchen and without spending a lot of money. Readers can re-create the delicious taste of America's best-loved brand-name soft drinks, beverages, dessert drinks, mixers, and liqueurs by following Todd's easy, step-by-step instructions. If it comes in a glass, cup, bottle, or mug, it's here for you to clone at home. Discover how to make your own versions of:

• 7-Up®
  
• Starbuck's® Frappuccino®
  
• Nestea®
  
• Sunny Delight®
  
• Dairy Queen® Blizzard®
  
• McDonald's® Shamrock Shake®
  
• 7-Eleven® Cherry Slurpee®
  
• Grand Marnier® & Amaretto

Special Sample Recipe for:

Starbuck's® Frappuccino®

It was in 1995 that Starbuck's® stores started selling this frozen drink, one of the company's most successful new products. The Frappuccino® is blended with strong coffee, sugar, a dairy base, and ice. Each one is made to order and each one is guaranteed to give you a throbbing brain freeze if you sip too hard. The drinks come in several different varieties, the most popular of which I've cloned here for your frontal lobe-pounding, caffeine-buzzing pleasure.

Make double-strength coffee by measuring 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per cup (serving) in your coffee maker. The clone will be even more authentic if you use Starbucks beans and grind them yourself just before brewing. Here now is an improved version of the recipe that was first posted here on this site, plus the new addition of a mocha version of one of world's coolest cold coffee drinks.

Coffee

3/4 cup double-strength coffee, cold
1 cup low-fat milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cups ice

1. Make double-strength coffee by brewing with twice the coffee required by your coffee maker. That should be 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per each cup of coffee. Chill before using.

2. To make the drink, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Pour into two 16-ounce glasses, and serve with a straw.
Makes 2 "grande" drinks.

Caramel

For this version, add 3 tablespoons of caramel topping to the original recipe above and prepare as described. Top each glass with whipped cream and drizzle additional caramel over the whipped cream.

Mocha

For this version, add 3 tablespoons Hershey's chocolate syrup to the original recipe and prepare as described. Top each glass with whipped cream if desired.

The work you are about to read is far more than a cookbook. Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky will have a broad, engaging appeal not only to serious gourmands but also to alcoholics and sex perverts as well. In fact, I think of this book as sort of a culinary version of James Joyce's Ulysses. McGovern's masterwork, to my mind, compares quite favorably with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. For one thing, it's shorter.
From the Introduction by Kinky Friedman

Written by Mike McGovern, one of the Kinkster's legendary Village Irregulars, Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky is a feast of wit, wisdom, and some damn good recipes as featured in, drawn from, and inspired by the novels of Kinky Friedman, private dick extraordinaire and culinary mastermind.

When Richard Kinky "Big Dick" Friedman was only a little Kinky, growing into his Texas jeans and ten-gallon hat, he had two choices at mealtime -- take it or leave it. But the years have been kind to the Kinkster, and thanks to a successful career first as a singer/songwriter and more recently a bestselling author, Kinky has become a connoisseur of good wine, good food, and the best cigars (that he still prefers bad women just goes to show that some things never change).

With a choice from a full menu of everything from appetizers and soups to desserts and libations, the reader is invited to indulge in the best of Kinky cuisine, including:

Downtown Judy's Tortilla Soup with Chili Puree
Fried-Egg Sandwich a Go-Go
Saddle Up Burritos
Teri and Chinga Chavin's Ol' Ben Lucas Swordfish Stew
Son of Chicken McGovern
Steve Rambam's Jailhouse Chili
Frankie Lasagna
Beer Bread
Jack Daniel's Tiramisu
Crunchy Coconut Banana Cake

The book also features the world according to Kinky -- selections of wit and wisdom from all twelve of his novels on everything from life and death, love and sex, religion and God, food and wine, and the state of the onion.

Whether you're a fan of Kinky's music, a devotee of his novels, or just a lover of good cookin' and good eatin', Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky wilt be sure to satisfy your appetite.

IT STANDS TO REASON THAT IF OUR FOODS ARE NOW LIGHTER AND MORE DYNAMIC, OUR WINES SHOULD BE ALSO.

A longtime champion of the victimized wine consumer, Willie Gluckstern debunks the myths and misinformation surrounding the (allegedly) complex subject of wine. His straightforward advice includes:

• The wines that go BEST with food -- and why.
• A cure for label worship: "There are just as many lousy $60 bottles as $3.99 bottles."
• How to avoid getting ripped off in stores and restaurants.
• How to choose a great wineshop: "Do they know where Italy is?"
• Dreary housekeeping tips, such as storage, decanting, saving opened wine, and "that sulfite thing."

Plus, the straight poop on oak, "the MSG of wine," a few well-chosen words for greedy restaurants and retailers ("Those bastards!"), and an unprecedented exposé of mass-market Champagne, including how to find the good stuff by cracking the secret label code.

Irreverent, informative, and controversial, The Wine Avenger is indispensable for beginners as well as enthusiasts.

Once little more than party fuel, tequila has graduated to the status of fine sipping spirit. How the Gringos Stole Tequila traces the spirit's evolution in America from frat-house firewater to luxury good. But there's more to the story than tequila as upmarket drinking trend. Chantal Martineau spent several years immersing herself in the world of tequila--traveling to visit distillers and agave farmers in Mexico, meeting and tasting with leading experts and mixologists around the United States, and interviewing academics on either side of the border who have studied the spirit. The result is a book that offers readers a glimpse into the social history and ongoing impact of this one-of-a-kind drink. It addresses issues surrounding the sustainability of the limited resource that is agave, the preservation of traditional production methods, and the agave advocacy movement that has grown up alongside the spirit's swelling popularity. In addition to discussing the culture and politics of Mexico's most popular export, the book takes readers on a colorful tour of the country's Tequila Trail, as well as introducing them to the mother of tequila: mezcal.

The life of a scholar is stressful. The best way to muddle through is with a stiff drink. Balancing teaching, research, and service more than merits a cocktail at the end of a long day. So, sit back, relax, and infuse some intoxicating humor into old-fashioned academia. A humorous handbook for surviving life in higher education, The Faculty Lounge: A Cocktail Guide for Academics provides deserving scholars with a wide range of academic-themed drink recipes. Philipp Stelzel shares more than 50 recipes for all palates, including The Dissertation Committee (rum), The Faculty Meeting (rye), The Presidential Platitude (gin), and more. Offering cocktails for every academic occasion along with spirited, amusing commentary, The Faculty Lounge is the perfect gift for graduate students, tenure-track professors, and disillusioned administrators.

A tour of the French winemaking regions to illustrate how the soil, underlying bedrock, relief, and microclimate shape the personality of a wine. For centuries, France has long been the world's greatest wine-producing country. Its wines are the global gold standard, prized by collectors, and its winemaking regions each offer unique tasting experiences, from the spice of Bordeaux to the berry notes of the Loire Valley. Although grape variety, climate, and the skill of the winemaker are essential in making good wine, the foundation of a wine's character is the soil in which its grapes are grown. Who could better guide us through the relationship between the French land and the wine than a geologist, someone who deeply understands the science behind the soil? Enter scientist Charles Frankel. In Land and Wine, Frankel takes readers on a tour of the French winemaking regions to illustrate how the soil, underlying bedrock, relief, and microclimate shape the personality of a wine. The book's twelve chapters each focus in-depth on a different region, including the Loire Valley, Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne, Provence, the Rhone valley, and Bordeaux, to explore the full meaning of terroir. In this approachable guide, Frankel describes how Cabernet Franc takes on a completely different character depending on whether it is grown on gravel or limestone; how Sauvignon yields three different products in the hills of Sancerre when rooted in limestone, marl, or flint; how Pinot Noir will give radically different wines on a single hill in Burgundy as the vines progress upslope; and how the soil of each chateau in Bordeaux has a say in the blend ratios of Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon. Land and Wine provides a detailed understanding of the variety of French wine as well as a look at the geological history of France, complete with volcanic eruptions, a parade of dinosaurs, and a menagerie of evolution that has left its fossils flavoring the vineyards. Both the uninitiated wine drinker and the confirmed oenophile will find much to savor in this fun guide that Frankel has spiked with anecdotes about winemakers and historic wine enthusiasts-revealing which kings, poets, and philosophers liked which wines best-while offering travel tips and itineraries for visiting the wineries today.