Raising the Bar: A Bottle-by-Bottle Guide to Mixing Masterful Cocktails at Home

by Brett Adams, Jacob Grier

Overview

An accessible guide to building a home bar one bottle at a time, this book gives readers tools for mixing fantastic cocktails without investing time and money in niche single-use ingredients.

There's a basic cocktail formula for building a bar that is anything but ordinary.

Spirit + Sugar + Acidity/Bitterness = Tasty Cocktail

Instead of drawing on esoteric bottles of liquor, complicated syrups, and obscure sodas, this book takes readers through the home bar bottle by bottle, ensuring that every ingredient is versatile enough to be used to the last drop.

Building on a very basic cocktail pantry, each chapter thoughtfully introduces a new bottle and explains how it opens new possibilities for cocktails. Each chapter builds on the one before, so readers never encounter recipes calling for unfamiliar spirits or ingredients. RAISING THE BAR allows readers to set their own pace and maximize the usefulness of the spirits they bring home.

This book will be a go-to reference for the home bartender that is practical enough for the day-to-day and special enough for a party. With handsome graphics and a smart focus on what's already in stock, it's what home mixologists can turn to when they want creative and delightful drinks without a bar cart full of single-use bottles.

Perfect for:
Those new to cocktail making looking for accessible, easy-to-mix cocktails
Cocktail and entertaining enthusiasts,
Anyone wanting inspiration on how to set up a well-stocked bar at home

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781797210322
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	11/29/2022
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	93,649
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Brett Adams is a bartender with nearly two decades of experience in restaurants and more than a decade spent behind the bar, including at Multnomah Whiskey Library, and as bar manager at the Hoxton, Portland, where he created all the cocktails, curated the spirit lists, and trained the staffs of its bars Lovely Rita, 2NW5, and Tope.

Jacob Grier is the author of Cocktails on Tap: The Art of Mixing Spirits and Beer (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2015), which was picked by Esquire.com as one of the fifteen best cocktail books for home bartenders. His writing has appeared at Slate, Reason, the Atlantic, Imbibe, Mixology, Distiller, and many other publications. He is the founder of the annual event Aquavit Week and co-founder of a series of beer cocktail events called Brewing Up Cocktails.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Getting Started 12

Classic Cocktail Structures 16

Building a Drink 20

Shaking and Stirring 22

Serving and Garnishing 24

Bar Tools 27

A Perfect Pantry 31

Syrup Recipes 33

Glassware 36

Part I The Classic Bar 41

1 Bourbon 42

2 Gin 53

3 Vermouth 64

4 Orange Liqueur 73

5 Tequila 83

6 Light Rum 95

7 Cognac 104

8 Benedictine 113

9 Campari 125

10 Vodka 134

11 Maraschino Liqueur 144

12 Rye 154

13 Absinthe 166

14 Chartreuse 178

Interlude Punch Break 191

Party Tips 192

The Art of Making Punch 193

Punch Recipes 195

Part II The Advanced Bar 199

15 Apple Brandy 200

16 Cynar 209

17 Aged Rum 218

18 Scotch 228

19 Apricot Liqueur 239

20 Sherry 246

21 Elder Flower Liqueur 255

23 Mezcal 262

23 Cachaça 273

24 Fernet 281

25 Crème De Cacao 289

Continuing the Journey 296

Resources 298

Acknowledgments 299

Index 300

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2022

Home is where the cart is in this snappy guide to stocking up on essential liquors and liqueurs for do-it-yourself bars. Grier (Cocktails on Tap) and bartender Adams keep the spirit selection and recipes uncomplicated and attainable. Lemons, limes, and simple syrup are in; esoteric fruits and obscure bitters are out. Cocktail fundamentals make up the opening section, which provides lists of handy bar tools and pantry items, and analyzes the balance of sweet and acidic in classic quaffs like the old-fashioned. Given its versatility, bourbon is rated the best choice if one had to purchase just a single potent potable, with gin not far behind. Both get their own chapter and accompanying drink recipes, as do vermouth, orange liqueur, tequila, and 20 others. Easy does not necessarily translate into overly familiar or unadventurous, with many recipes showing off obscure historical roots and intriguing flavor profiles. Yes, there is a traditional Manhattan, but there is also a Los Angeles, a whiskey sour punctuated with sweet vermouth that dates to 1930. And the nearly lost practice of combining light rum and gin is celebrated in drinks like the Stan Lee, with lime juice and grenadine adding to the venture. Home mixologists are sure to be stirred. Agent: Jud Laghi, Jud Laghi Agency. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly