How to Cocktail

August 19, 2019
With their trial-and-error approach for perfection, the America’s Test Kitchen cooks step away from the stove for this, their first cocktail manual. The book includes a broad spectrum of precise classic and updated recipes: Irish coffee is sampled at a variety of java to whiskey proportions and with three different types of sugar before landing on a four-to-one ratio sweetened with basic simple syrup; a more radical caffeinated concoction, turning up in a chapter of shaken beverages, is an espresso martini that substitutes rum and Bénédictine for the traditional vodka. Equally daring, among the stirred offerings is the new-fashioned gin and tonic, which employs a tonic syrup rather than the effervescent version to create a still and stiff quaff made for a rocks glass. For fans of vegetables, there’s a celery gimlet as well as the Alcachofa, which blends tequila with the artichoke-based liqueur Cynar. Party hosts will welcome the chapter of “big batch” recipes while teetotalers will appreciate the numerous nonalcoholic offerings including the Sicilian sojourn, made with tarragon and blood orange juice. The concluding chapters offer a vast assortment of homemade syrups, bitters, rim salts and sugars, liqueurs, and vermouths. Foolproof and high-proof, this thoroughly researched and easy to follow volume will steady the hand of any home mixologist.

November 1, 2019

The first cocktail book from America's Test Kitchen is a primer on mixology, beginning with an overview of base spirits and liqueurs, juices, syrups, and bitters. The editors recommend the bottles and tools that are essential to stock a liquor cabinet, as well as the strictly additional purchases. Two pages of Helpful Cocktail Lists focus on figuring out exactly what to make based on what's in your home bar: One-Bottle Cocktails, Three-Ingredient Cocktails, Low-Alcohol Cocktails, Nonalcoholic Cocktails, and Spirit-Only Cocktails. Chapters are separated by the way a drink is constructed--built in a glass, shaken (with instructions on how to master the shaker), muddled, blended, and batched for a crowd. The cocktails are predominantly classics, such as a Ramos gin fizz, hot toddy, mint julep, and sidecar, along with some original concoctions, including a kiwi blossom, which is made with cucumber and homemade Jasmine liqueur. An intriguing chapter offers recipes for DIY liqueurs and vermouths, and the book finishes with a chapter of cocktail party snacks. Little surprises, but the straightforward explanations and attractive photos make this a handy guide. VERDICT A thorough and helpful introduction to cocktail making from the perspective of the home cook.--Katy Hershberger, School Library Journal

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2019
Fledgling bartenders should run, not walk, to borrow the first cocktail-focused guide from America's Test Kitchen (ATK). Without a doubt, it's one of the most comprehensive introductions to a centuries-old art and science, beginning with nearly 10 critical principles of cocktailing, such as using higher-quality ingredients and always measuring (never just eyeballing it). And instead of categorizing the 100-plus drinks by type of spirit, the editors focus on the five ways drinks are made, with the assertion that technique is everything: built, stirred, shaken, muddled, and blended. Each recipe features a photograph and a long note (one of ATK's hallmarks) on why this recipe works (usually including historical tidbits, the contemporary embellishments, and creation), followed by the directions. Other chapters focus on drinks to make in big batches, syrups and shrubs, homemade liqueurs and vermouths, and particular attention to accompanying snacks, whether dips, mixes, or the perfect cheese plate. Pass the asparagus puffs?and another celery gimlet. Includes a resource guide and reference for conversions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)