Beverages Books

I love books with anecdotes in the margins! They make all the recipes that much more appealing. The notes themselves are fun to read, and they make it easy and fun to select a recipe. I also like how the book is organized. I will recommend this book to others.

I was so excited to see a fun and easy guide for mixing drinks, not like all those boring and bulky cocktail encyclopedias. I loved all the cute anecdotes and tips too! By this book for yourself and all your girlfriends!

This is a great calendar! Shag is one of my favorite artists. His style is truly unique and his artwork definitely puts you in a retro-lounge kind of mood. It takes you back to the wonderful ultra hip, ultra chic, ultra cool, ultra lounge, ultra laid back, cocktails & martinis era of the 1960's. This calendar also exhibits some of Shag's more humorous and playful side as well. Each month will take you to a different part of the world, from Venice to Rio, to Paris and Tokyo. This is a great introduction to the world of Shag, but also for those who are already familiar with his work, it's another great way of having his work in your home (especially since all his prints sell out so quickly!). Be sure to check out his website: www.shag.com

If you already have the calendar and are trying to order the book, here's what you have to do: under the calendar image at the top of this page, click on "Hardcover" (Paper over board). This takes you to the book page. You gotta have both of 'em--the calendar art is perfect for framing in 2005, and the book is a great coffee table reference for all your favorite illustrations and recipes!

This book has a lot of great recipies and even better pictures! Many new recipies and old favorites with a twist. Highly recommended.

Shaken: 250 Classic Cocktails With A Twist appeared some time ago, but deserves ongoing mention as an excellent and in-depth cocktail guide for any who want to create something different from standard cocktails. Here are 250 recipes for coladas, fizzes, martinis, punches and more: both traditional and modern blends. Shaken provides a rich variety: paired with gorgeous color photos throughout, it's an inspiration for any who find cocktails appealing.

This book is awesome - any bartender that works in a fast paced club, or any bar that caters to a younger crowd needs this book. It contains almost every shooter I've encountered as a bartender, and about 1,000 more...definitely add this one to your collection...

Why memorize drinks before you NEED to? Gene has done all the work for you. When you need to find a shooter you don't know go to his book and look it up, I bet it's there. Gene was my bartending school's top instructor.

Tom Foley Hawaii Bartending Correspondence School

Finally some one wrote a book on wine that doesn't make you feel like an idiot for not knowing this stuff. This book is entertaining as well as informative.

Sip by Sip is a "must read" book on wine---only unlike most others which can be encyclopedia-like Michael Bonadies makes this not only clear, practical but fun to read!

By reading the book I've finally found out what all the wine lingo means, and I have a better idea of where I should go. When I make my trip to Sonoma I know I'll save lots of bucks with the great coupons.

The coupons in the back of the book are well-worth the purchase. Not only is the book packed-full of useful wine country information, you get coupons for free wine tasting, free wine, and great discounts. I used a coupon at Korbel and received 25% off of my purchase for a champagne that is only sold at Korbel and through their wine club. Get the book -- the coupons will pay you back many times over!

Unlike most of the books of the "Classic Beer Styles" series, Daniels and Larson don't go into the details of how to brew beer. This is fortunate because there are a myriad of other books that cover that topic and the actual brewing process isn't different from most beers. Instead, they cover in depth what imparts these flavors into beer - the malt. They also detail a history of smoke in beers and introduce an intriguing concept; many beers at one time tasted of smoke because of methods used to dry the malt. Today it is definitely a specialty but from Alaska to Germany to Japan, I was surprised to find out how many different types of smoked beers are produced. I was also surprised to find out how relatively simple it is to do it for yourself.

Like in his previous works, Daniels consistently cites sources so you know you are reading fact, not fiction. Larsen's experiences both at his brewery and while traveling demonstrate his passion for his subject. This has translated into a book the truly captures all aspects of smoked beers in a very entertaining package. Read this book and if you don't feel inclined to begin smoking your own malt you'll at least want to jump on a plane to Bamberg, Germany and try some genuine smoked beers for yourself.

I've always enjoyed smoke-flavored beers, but during the writing of this book I found that the range of flavors and smoke-intensities was even broader than I had imagined. In the modern home of smoked beers -- Bamberg, Germany -- we found pilseners and weizens with a hint of smoke along with marzens and bocks with enough smoke to cure a sausage! In addition to detailing the many smoked specialty beers of Germany, we also cover the vast range of smoked beers now made in America.

Whatever your taste for smoke, we've written this book so that you can make a beer that perfectly satisfies your mood. Along the way, we review subjects like the history of smoke in beer and the chemistry of fire and smoke. In the end though, it comes down to practical realities: simple smoking methods for malt and recipes for all levels of brewers who want to make great smoked beers -- from either home- or commercially-smoked malts.

Whether you are a casual brewer with a taste for smoke or just a casual beer traveler looking for new flavors to explore, "Smoked Beers" will add new entries to your beer diary.

I am a Southern transplant who moved from Mississippi to San Francisco, and I am always in search of the nearest and dearest bon vivant who'll appreciate the art of entertaining--and will teach me how to perfect it. This book has ended my search and made my year. Because I have met the best in Denise Gee and her lovely book, Southern Cocktails. I've not only made the drinks (most recently, the beloved 'apple joujou' for friends), but I've also read over and over again what I call fabulous "cocktales"--engaging stories about the drinks themselves. Thanks to Ms. Gee, the writing is as delicious as the recipes she serves up to her readers. There's more than drinks to enjoy here, too; Gee introduces us to some of the best little bites I've ever tasted. And Mr. Peacock's photography is so stunning you'll want to rip out the pages and frame them in your kitchen. Life doesn't get any sweeter than this. Buy this book for your friends' birthdays, for housewarming presents, and for yourself. Your bar--and your parties--will never be the same.

I am a serious cook and frequent hostess with hundreds of cookbooks. This little gem is one I turn to constantly. The drink recipes are wonderful and wide-ranging in ingredients and presentation. The appetizer recipes are fabulous (try the blackeye pea con queso for a true taste of the South), easy to prepare and perfect with a cocktail. I am giving this book to every bride and college graduate who will be beginning to think of doing serious entertaining. We pride ourselves here in the South on the quality of the food and drink we serve to family and friends. This book has added a number of recipes to my repertoire that are always received with oohs and ahhs. I highly recommend it!

This autobiographical and historical look at Schramsberg and its important role as the leader in American Sparkling Wine. It is written by the owners, Jack and Jamie Davies, in a down to earth, easy to undertstand style. Learn about their vision and pioneering determination to do something that had yet to be done in America, to produce Sparkling wine made the traditional way as done in Champagne, France. The book is filled with wonderful stories, delicious recipes and gorgeous photgraphy. Jim Alinder, demonstrates his Ansel Adams prowess with the camera. This tasteful picture book covers all seasons and aspects of the making of great Sparkling wine in both color and black and white photography.

This book is a must have for any coffee table or wine enthusiast.

This coffee-table book actually makes great reading! It has splendid color and duotone pictures of the winery, the caves, the vineyards and the surrounding Napa Valley landscape in all four seasons of the year. In addition to telling how they transformed a mountain-side wilderness back into the Napa Valley's leading producer of fine champagnes (President Nixon took several cases of Schramsberg champagne to China to toast Chou en Lai), the Davies have included excerpts from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Silverado Squatters" describing his visit in its heyday 100 years earlier, and the story of how Jacob Schram, an imigrant German barber, was able to save enough to buy, clear and plant his mountain vineyard and dig the caves that have now been expanded to house more than 2,000,000 bottles fermenting today to become tomorrow's finest champagnes. The chapter with Jamie's collection of special recipes and menus for fine dining make this more than just a book for lovers of fine wine and great photographs!

The book is divided in two roughly equal halfs, where the first focus on the spirits and liqueurs themselves, with a bit of history and methods of production as well as serving suggestions. This is a good introduction to various types of drinks and brands, but don't expect too much details.
The second half, which to my mind is the real essence of the book, presents 100 recipes of soups, starters and main dishes using alcohol such as Pastis, Cognac, Gin, Sherry, Calvados, Vermouth, Whisky, and cakes and desserts using Kirsch, Malibu, Apricot brandy, Curacao, Rum, Port, Coffe liqueur etc.
I have tried about 20 of the recipes, and I must say that almost all have resulted in very delightful food experiences(and the few ones that have not, may well be better explained by my occasional clumsiness as a cook instead of there being anything wrong with the recipe). The most striking thing is that the alcohol really contributes a lot to the taste and is not just some hardly noticeable thing in the background that only works as an impressive addition to the name of the recipe.
For these reasons, and also because I know of no other book that cover this field as broadly as this one, I warmly recommend it, especially if you happen to have a collection of spirits and liqueurs at home anyway, but only used it for other purposes so far.

Stiart Walton has a sense of humor and a sense of asthetics and taste. Besides an interesting history and description of spirits and liquers, there are drink recipes and photographs, complete with the suggested glassware to be used. The food recipes with spirits are doable, and have clear step by step photos. I am a cookbook collector and a sometimes cook! This volume makes me want to drink, eat and be merry - in that order!