This is the perfect little book for all those who love a dram or two! From tips on how to nose, taste and savour to suggestions for which glassware to use for optimum appreciation, this book has it all. There's a selection of food tips which recommend the addition of a wee drop to soups, casseroles and desserts, and a cache of fantastic cocktail tips too (who wouldn't enjoy a Rusty Nail or a classic Old Fashioned?). This is a great little gift book which celebrates 'the water of life' in all its forms and functions.

Over the past decade, the popularity of cocktails has returned with gusto. Amateur and professional mixologists alike have set about recovering not just the craft of the cocktail, but also its history, philosophy, and culture. The Shaken and the Stirred features essays written by distillers, bartenders and amateur mixologists, as well as scholars, all examining the so-called 'Cocktail Revival' and cocktail culture. Why has the cocktail returned with such force? Why has the cocktail always acted as a cultural indicator of class, race, sexuality and politics in both the real and the fictional world? Why has the cocktail revival produced a host of professional organizations, blogs, and conferences devoted to examining and reviving both the drinks and habits of these earlier cultures?

For mixologists of the highest calibre, mixing truly fantastic drinks is just the start. The world's very best bartenders interact on a more personal level with their customers and exhibit a sophisticated range of skills that deliver a truly memorable visitor experience. In Ultimate Bartending, Paul Martin, one of the UK's most renowned and decorated bartender trainers, shares the secrets that have enabled him to transform countless promising mixologists into some of the greatest. He covers topics as diverse as heads-up bartending, offering recommendations, building rapport, projecting passion, delivering service pro-actively, reading your guest, using positive body language, dealing with stress, seizing opportunity and much more. If you want to evolve your skills, enjoy significantly more job satisfaction and elevate your career, this book will show you how to achieve your true inner potential.

An artisinal cocktail book by two best friends and the entrepreneurs who invented the The Mason Shaker cocktail shaker and whose mission is to bring cocktail crafting out of the bar and into the home.
Design, cocktail, and culinary enthusiasts Eric Prum and Josh Williams realized that while cocktail bars have sprouted up just about everywhere, good drinks still couldn't be found in the one place where they always mixed them: at home with friends.
So, from their Brooklyn workshop, where they designed, created, and launched The Mason Shaker, a now-iconic invention that transformed a Mason jar into a cocktail shaker, they also created "Shake." One part instructional recipe book and one part photo journey through their year of cocktail crafting, the book is a simple and inspirational expression of their seasonal, straightforward approach to drinks and entertaining: Mixing cocktails should be simple, social, and above all, fun.
Each recipe is presented visually, in four color photos, as well as in written recipes, making "Shake" both an arresting gift and a practical guidebook to simple, elegant cocktails.

Japanese whisky is now hailed as among the very best in the world, having won scores of international accolades. In 2014 a Japanese whisky finally won the title of World's Best Whisky in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible and the art continues to thrive as demand across the globe grows. With Japanese whisky consistently outscoring established distilleries in blind tastings and awards, this well-timed book brings to life a whisky that is rapidly capturing the hearts of even diehard traditionalists and becoming sought after in bars across the world.

Poet and historian Angus Martin was born in Campbeltown in 1952 and has lived there all his life. In this, his thirty-seventh book, he has employed his intimate knowledge of the history and families of his native community to produce the definitive account of the distillers, distilleries and related trades and industries which transformed a small West Highland fishing town into the whisky-making capital of the world. Exhaustive research in neglected sources has resulted a study with unprecedented detail and insight.

From the celebrated Cuban bar Cienfuegos, owned by the co-owner of the award-winning Death & Co., dubbed America's Best Cocktail Bar, comes this spirited collection of 100 recipes that celebrate Cuba's rich cocktail history and culture. Featuring classics as well as modern craft concoctions, Cuban Cocktails offers more than just a gathering of recipes. It captures the tropical elegance and unfiltered energy of old Cuba, brimming with beautiful, evocative images of the drinks and the places where they came to life. Sidebars shed fascinating light on the country's legendary bars and nightclubs and the famous bartenders and entrepreneurs who ran them, while quotes and fun facts give a tantalizing taste of the once-forbidden Caribbean island.

Made from distilled grape wine and produced in countries spanning the globe, brandy is a spirit loved by many, long associated with refined taste and sophisticated consumption. Yet it has recently welcomed a new surge in popularity thanks to exciting new cocktail trends - today it has taken on a new life in the world of mixology. Cognac - the illustrious and elegant, amber brandy - is currently one of the most fashionable components of high-end mixed drinks, consumed in the world's coolest bars. From the spirit's most recognized examples to often overlooked varieties such as Armagnac, this book delves into the fascinating history of this globally consumed beverage. A richly illustrated book, Brandy takes readers on a journey from the alchemists of the Middle Ages to present-day mixology hotspots, chronicling the contributions of many cultures to the history of the drink and the beautiful locations in which it is produced. For those also inclined to imbibe, the book offers advice on buying, storing and serving brandy, and features classic and new cocktail recipes for both connoisseurs and first-time drinkers to enjoy.

Some of the best cocktails are the easiest to make, and author Kara Newman figured out the secret-using equal parts of the main ingredients and adding a dash of bitters or a splash of seltzer to gild the lily. Take the Cucumber Gimlet: Combine one part each vodka, lime juice, and lemonade; 2 cucumber slices; then garnish with a basil leaf! And beverages like this are a breeze to size up for parties-just double, triple, or quadruple the proportions. This book contains 40 simple recipes, from two-ingredient sips like the Bamboo Cocktail to timeless classics like the ever-popular Negroni, proving that great, artisanal cocktails don't have to come from a bar.

What did Charles Dickens savour in punch, Thomas Jefferson eat in omelettes, Queen Victoria sip in navy grog, and the Kamehameha Kings of Hawaii drink straight? What helped spark the American Revolution, was used as currency in Australia, was targeted by the Temperance Movement, and is still a sacramental offering among voodoo worshippers? The answer is rum, whose colourful, secret history is described in Rum: A Global History. This book chronicles the evolution of rum, from a raw spirit concocted for slaves five hundred years ago, to a beverage savoured by connoisseurs. It charts the history of the drink, showing how this once-humble spirit has become a worldwide phenomenon over the last five hundred years. Rum: A Global History shows how rum has left its mark on religious rituals, popular songs and other cultural landmarks, describing a far more varied and interesting history of the drink than is commonly known. Also included in the book are recipes for sweet and savoury rum dishes, obscure but delicious rum drinks, and illustrations of rum memorabilia from the earliest days to the tiki craze of the 1950s. Costing less than a bottle of good rum, Rum: A Global History will provide satisfaction for far longer, with none of the hangover, guaranteed. The book will delight all who enjoy the beverage and wish to learn more of its heritage, as well as those who enjoy a fast-paced, well-written history of food.

This title provides a complete history of one of the world's most iconic cocktails - now the poster child of the modern cocktail revival - with fifty recipes for classic variations as well as contemporary updates.

Gin is classic, classy and quintessentially British. It can be enjoyed on picnic blankets in summer with a slice of cucumber, or in dimly lit bars in a martini, shaken, not stirred. Bringing together a heady cocktail of timeless recipes, clever statements, trivia and quips from the world's wisest and wittiest gin lovers, this book celebrates the glory of gin!

Every bartender must know each and every ingredient behind the bar. The third edition of Spirits distilled, by Mark Ridgwell, is a comprehensive guide to all of the major spirits categories. Taking the reader through the principles of distillation to an explanation on how to taste spirits, Ridgwell reveals the history and legends behind vodka, gin, tequila, genever, rum, brandies, liqueurs, eaux-de-vie, flavoured white spirits and the entire range of whiskies. Lovers of spirits will find this book to be an invaluable resource for understanding and appreciating the world of spirits from a qualitative rather than quantitative perspective. Professionals too will find the quizzes in Spirits distilled a particularly useful tool for understanding better the spirits they sell. This edition of Spirits distilled contains a new chapter on cocktails by drinks consultant Michael Butt, with a section at the end of each spirit chapter detailing the best cocktails featuring that spirit. An essential book that belongs on the reference shelf of everyone who works with or enjoys spirits, Spirits distilled is a classic in the making.