Book Reviews
Around the World in 80 bars
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Author: Allan Gage Price: RRP £12.99 Pages: 191 |
Publisher: Hamlyn (15 Sep 2004) ISBN-10: 0600610969 ISBN-13: 978-0600610960 |
| Discover 80 of the World's Best Cocktails and the Bars That Made Them Famous. This book of cocktails offers you more than just a straight forward catalogue of drinks and bars, instead, it starts off with a brief introduction about the origins and progression of cocktails, including �The Prohibition Years� and �Recent trends�. Starting with London�s American Bar at The Savoy (naturally!), and complimented with some contemporary, colourful photography, the main body of the book takes you around some of the world�s best bars, introducing you to their signature cocktails. Each bar with its double-page spread sets the atmosphere and occasion in which each cocktail has been designed for, and also offers advice from finding the bar to prices. I guess it is kind of like a mixture between travel journals and an A-Z, but only with the good stuff left in! There is a mixture of familiar cocktails, like The White Lady (American Bar at The Savoy, London) and Mojito (La Bodeguita del Medio, Cuba), and less familiar cocktails like Parrot�s Head Punch (Le Select, St Barths), all accompanied with their own recipe and serving suggestion for you to try at home. To be honest, this is quite an obscure little book. I wonder who would buy it. A jet-set traveller? A cocktail nut? A cocktail novice? Well, I guess the answer would have to be all. It offers something for everyone; the photographs provide an element of temptation that sets the tone and individuality of each bar, it has enough information regarding the origins and histories of cocktails and the individual bars, and it has recipes for some of the greatest cocktails on this planet that would inspire both beginner and expert cocktail fans. The down side? I really don�t think it has one! It�s to the point, aesthetically pleasing, and encouraging. It makes a pleasant change to those hundreds of cocktail books on the market that are all un-distinguishable from each other, and because the cocktails are listed due to their infamous reputation, then we know they have to be good! Summary It is nice to have a book that is not aimed at either die-hard or beginner cocktail fans. This hybrid book is aimed at the rest of us in the middle, who do not want to course in cocktail making, nor the definitive guide to the best cocktails ever made, ever! No, instead we get a glimpse into the seductive and varied world of cocktails with a touch of history and geography on the way, adding substance and interest into an otherwise run-of-the-mill cocktail guide. Would make a perfect present for anyone remotely interested in the art and history of cocktail making.
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