The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender, with 500 Recipes Kindle Edition

I'm a novice and very casual bartender. I picked this up because it has generally good reviews.I really enjoy the trivia and background information, and the personal stories are mostly entertaining. The history and variations of the most common cocktails are a highlight for me. I was expecting some of this, but the amount of background information on bar tools and spirits was a pleasant surprise!A few things keep it from being a 5-star purchase, but I whole-heartedly recommend the item anyway - if you don't mind the following:-Cocktails are organized alphabetically (not by primary spirit/ingredient) and there isn't an index that flags all, e.g., vodka based cocktails. So, you have to hunt and peck at first. I use page flags for reference works and I just grabbed them and started flagging the recipes I wanted to remember - no big deal.-The instructions given for each cocktail vary in detail. After reading through the whole book and seeing the author's explanation of "building" a cocktail, I didn't think any cocktail recipe was unclear...but another novice might find that bothersome. This isn't straight forwardly a step-by-step guide to making all the cocktails included.I was looking for more than just a recipe book, so these two issues don't break the deal for me. I found reading through the book and the recipes very enjoyable. I've got a list of drinks that I want to try at our local lounge, and I can refine the few drinks that I currently make at home.If you're looking for a book that's as much a personal history of making cocktails as a list of recipes, you won't be disappointed. I'm sure that I can now put together a decent bar and start figuring out which spirits and drinks I like - and more importantly, I have the foundation for exploring my own variations and recipes. Considering the title and the concept of the book, I think it was well executed and I am not disappointed with my purchase.4.5/5

A couple other reviewers already commented on the lack of a good index or a means of searching by ingredient rather than cocktail name. The good news is - the Kindle's search engine allows one to overcome this. The Kindle version (can't speak for the hardcover) also has extensive "links to pertinent websites" and "other resources" sections in the back which offset these apparent shortcomings in the hardcover version, but they aren't noted in the Table of Contents. I'd have given the book 3 stars if I couldn't search w/Kindle. It has better than average history and technical (i.e., how-to and what-to) information and an excellent Glossary and, as mentioned, good further reading and resources sections with active links, but it is average to below average for recipe retrieval for a bar book (alphabetical listing, no listing by ingredient). Also, I loved the subchapter heading "PROHIBITON AND REPEAL" (sic). Was an editor trying out recipes? What I didn't like was light blue links in the text that went nowhere when I clicked on them. For example, Mr.DeGroff refers to a drink called "Flamingo" in his excellent "Mixing Terms and Techniques" to illustrate a technique; I clicked on the highlighted link but got nothing but a definition describing a pink-feathered bird. BUT, considering the book was published in 2002, well before e-readers became ubiquitous, I can't really get too upset over a few broken links. As I wrote earlier, the bar resources and further reading sections in the back do have links that work including links to some of the better cocktail recipe sites. Perhaps the "Table of Contents" or even the "product description" could be amended to highlight these very desirable inclusions.

Dale DeGroff is the man who set the stage for the return of the great American art of the cocktail. He brought back so many lost cocktail treasures and laid the path for all of us to follow. This book is a great way to learn not only those recipes, but why freshness and quality count. You will learn the proper technique, and attitude and get an idea of what resources to look for and what to research. Cocktail history is extraordinarily important to learning to mix a great cocktail.The only things to watch out for are a few of his recipe modifications. The most egregious & disgusting is his Sazerac. I wish to make it a crime from here on out to ever make Dale DeGroff's version of The Sazerac. It is a horrid combination of Cognac, Rye Peychaud & Angostura bitters and absinthe and too much simple syrup. Either Cognac or Rye, and no Angostura, please. There are a few others that I don't remember off the top of my head, but otherwise it is a great book. I also disagree with his implying that measuring is less of a talent than free-pouring. Free-pouring accurately is possible, but is in my opinion best left for the likes of Mr. DeGroff, and no one else. I've encountered far too many who are insulted at the suggestion they measure over demonstrating their total lack of accuracy at the free-pour. A measured cocktail will always be the same & is made no slower. There are quite a few drinks that are easily destroyed by lack of absolute accuracy. Stick to measuring.The ingredients section could be a bit more in depth. For example, he doesn't really point out the differences among London Dry, Plymouth, Old Tom (it is indeed avaiable), and Genever or Holland Gin & what kind of cocktails they are used in.Mr. DeGroff has a refreshingly democratic approach to cocktails. He includes recipes that others might pooh-pooh as inferior or silly because they are for a more juvenile palate. Alas, they may be, but people do drink them & there's nothing wrong with that, as long as they're made well, besides a deliciously complex cocktail will easily rid one of a taste for the childishly simple and sweet.If you read this definitely read "Imbibe!" and "Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails".

It’s written nicely and has many good recipes. A must have for cocktail lovers

No vienen los cocteles divididos por categoria entonces tienes que estar buscando cuales se hacen con el destilado que te interesa, fuera de eso viene bien explicado y algunas historias de ciertos cocteles

Libro que no puede faltar en tu colección

Lovely

il libro è eccellente, molte ricette, belli gli aneddoti e le informazioni a contorno su alcuni dei drink presentati.E' tuttavia decisamente scocciante che mi sia arrivato con un bel graffio sulla copertina nonostante fosse nuovo...