Message 18359 of 39188 in General Discussion

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> Being new to cocktails I thought I'd have to buy simple syrup, sour 
> mix, etc. and am pleased to know that I don't have to...
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One "trap" that a lot of newbies get into, is that they pick up some random 
cocktail book and plow through it trying various drinks. The "random" cocktail 
book is... well... crap. Sometimes they work well for a knowledgeable 
bartender who can "read between the lines" and know how to interpret the 
ingredients properly for their own situation. But this same book is a disater 
for the total neophyte who is relying on that book for instruction... and 
worse, is when this neophyte actually ends up learning enough out of this book 
to get a job, and is now seen as the "teacher", and ends up teaching these 
poorly written recipes as if they were accurate.

You know the old saying, for lack of a nail, the kingdom was lost...

    For lack of a nail, a shoe was lost.
    For lack of a shoe, a horse was lost.
    For lack of a horse, a rider was lost.
    For lack of a rider, a battle was lost.
    For lack of a battle, the kingdom was lost.

And so for lack of a good book, the bartender was lost.

So it all starts with getting a GOOD book to use as a resource. I don't think 
there are any books that I would call PERFECT, but there are a lot that I 
think of as being very good, especially for the neophyte who is wanting to 
learn about the really proper way to make a drink.

This process is probably best done by a book of fewer, but quality, recipes, 
and written by somebody that has done the necessary research to actually get 
them right. With such a book, you can basically just work your way through the 
book one drink at a time, and not only learn a ton, but by picking up the 
products you need as you move to the next drink, you'll also end up with a 
fairly well stocked bar when you are done.

The best book at the moment of this type is probably "Esquire Drinks" by David 
Wondrich.

Another great book for "learning" about cocktails is "The Joy of Mixology" by 
Gary Regan.

And for "reference" books (ie. wad-o-drink books) that you can use for looking 
things up in:

Dale DeGroff: "The Craft of the Cocktail"

Mardee Regan: "The Bartender's Best Friend"

Sharon Tyler Herbst: "The Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide"

-Robert Hess
 www.DrinkBoy.com
 www.MuseumOfTheAmericanCocktail.org