Cocktail Literature

November 13, 2022 11:23 AM

GiftFilter: Hobbyist mixologist friend loves reading, and loves cocktails. Recipes are plentiful and abundant, but is there a good book about history, origins, cocktail evolution, or fun facts that comes to mind? Current contenders include Imbibe! and I’m Just Here for the Drinks, but I would be grateful for your suggestions.
posted by Juniper Toast to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

I don't actually know anything about this book except I remembered the name. Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist.
posted by FencingGal at 11:49 AM on November 13, 2022

It's very specific, but I think someone who already does a lot of thinking about cocktails would appreciate the specificity: Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All
posted by babelfish at 11:53 AM on November 13, 2022

I loved The Drunken Botanist: The Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks. I recommend reading it with a little notepad so as you read you can write down all the various weird boozes you want to track down and buy.
posted by aubilenon at 12:09 PM on November 13, 2022 [4 favorites]

Two cocktail history books (full disclosure, I haven't read the second, but the first is great): Gilded Age Cocktails and Midcentury Cocktails.

These aren't recipe books, exactly, but more like science books that happen to be about booze: Liquid Intelligence and Cocktail Codex.
posted by box at 12:21 PM on November 13, 2022

Not a recipe book, but Mary Robinette Kowal's The Spare Man is a cocktail-themed murder mystery thriller In Space. (On a cruise ship to Mars, to be exact.) There's a cocktail recipe in every chapter, including non-alcoholic ones and new takes on old classics, and they're plot-relevant as well, with the lead character being very much a cocktail fiend.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:43 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

You didn't mention fiction, but trust me on this one: Moscow-Petushki (also known as Moscow to the End of the Line).
posted by kickingtheground at 12:50 PM on November 13, 2022

A Bartenders Life, by Toby Cecchini.
He is the inventor of the Cosmo from his time at The Odeon.
posted by wowenthusiast at 2:13 PM on November 13, 2022

Two years ago, Cocktails with Suderman posted a holiday gift guide that contains books. His posts tends to have a lot on the history and rationale for drinks so a subscription to his substack might make for a good gift.
posted by mmascolino at 2:43 PM on November 13, 2022

Mondo Cocktail by Christine Sismondo
posted by dobbs at 3:05 PM on November 13, 2022

Imbibe is probably the best one for what you're looking for! Wondrich also just released the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails with Noah Rothbaum that is amazing. Otherwise Punch is also a stone cold classic, and really opens up a whole new world of cocktail making that isn't really talked much about.

Already mentioned though too is Liquid Intelligence. I think it's pretty much a bible for understanding cocktails and the way in which ice and sugar act on the spirit to produce drinks. It's pretty meticulous, and will answer questions that one didn't even know they had, but in ways that are then usable. I refer to it a whole bunch when batching or subbing in as it references dilution and different brix points for a lot of different items.
posted by Carillon at 3:07 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you’re in the US, you could buy the Oxford Companion from Cocktail Kingdom. Co-owner Don Lee is the creator of the Benton’s Bacon Old Fashioned, among other modern classics, and was a college friend. He is good people, and has invested a lot of energy both in engineering gorgeous barware and dismantling sexism and racism in hospitality.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 3:24 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

My friend helped research and write this book about the cocktails and spirits of Latin America, and the traditions and history they come from. I haven't read it yet but it sounds super interesting and he's a great writer and genuine spirit fiend.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 3:45 PM on November 13, 2022

Playboy's Host and Bar Book is... old school. Interesting reading in context.
posted by ovvl at 4:11 PM on November 13, 2022

Best answer: Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol by Mallory O'Meara. A feminist look at the world of alcohol and cocktails.
posted by aquamvidam at 4:41 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails , by Camper English, is a great read.
posted by gingerbeer at 4:52 PM on November 13, 2022

He also reviews books about cocktails and liquor more generally on his blog.
posted by gingerbeer at 4:54 PM on November 13, 2022

Jason Wilson's Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits is a really fun read, and that reminds me that I should look at it again for more recipes.
posted by General Malaise at 4:57 PM on November 13, 2022

Imbibe is probably the one you want, but figure out first if your friend doesn’t already have it. Wondrich always has more material than he can fit in, and his tone is both conversational and incredibly well informed. (Disclosure: I can’t say he’d call me a friend, but he’d definitely recognize me at an industry event, but for that matter I’ve also met many of the other authors mentioned in this thread).

Gaz Regan’s Joy of Mixology is a great book about bartending and really highlights the professional and hosting aspects of bartending that make it more than just mixing drinks (it’s where I first read about mindfulness in any career, in fact).

The first Death & Co book is maybe a better choice for a reader than the Codex. They profile a bunch of regulars (hey, it’s Father Bill) and get more into the culture of it, where the Codex gets into the weeds of the cocktail family tree (not that that’s a bad thing, just that between the two the Codex is the second book).

I’m Just Here for the Drinks isn’t bad, but the ingredients can be frustrating. We have a large home bar with around a dozen amari and I have to guess on a lot of substitutions. The drinks I’ve made are good (mmmm, Sharpie Mustache) but I’ve done a lot of “can’t make that … or that … or that.” It could be aspirational but it’s not the first book I’d buy as a gift.
posted by fedward at 4:57 PM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

I quite enjoyed Chasing the White Dog, a history of moonshine distilling on both sides of the law.
posted by sapere aude at 7:42 PM on November 13, 2022

Not exactly historical, but if you want to take a cultural slant on drinking practices, you could try David Lebovitz's Drinking French. The book follows customs for all the different drinks a French person might encounter during the day, nonalcoholic and alcoholic alike, but is complete with recipes and practices around French liqueurs, aperitifs, and cocktails, plus a postscript on bar snacks. Lebovitz is an American pastry chef who has been living and blogging about food and drink in Paris/France for the past 20 years. I am a longtime reader and fan of his unpretentious, humorous, and well-informed writing style.
posted by amusebuche at 8:28 PM on November 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Seconding "Drunken Botanist" - I was given a copy for Christmas a few years back, and love it. For "context", my minor in college (and I say this with all seriousness) was Beverage Service Management, which included wines, spirits, and cocktails. It's well-written, the entries are easy to digest (hah!), and there are bug facts, which is always cool.
posted by OhHaieThere at 8:56 PM on November 13, 2022