Archive for the ‘Book(s)’ Category

Prognostication is tricky, but this one is a no-brainer: Jim Meehan’s PDT Cocktail Book is destined to become a must-have for every serious bartender in North America, quite possibly the world.

The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender’s Guide from the Celebrated Speakeasy; By Jim Meehan; Illustrations by Chris Gall; Sterling Epicure; $29.95; 368 pages

It’s a bold statement, we know. And by October, when the book comes out, readers may have forgotten that we’ve gone out on a limb. But if we’re correct, which we surely will be, we’ll be right there to say I told you so. Here’s why:

First, Jim Meehan is one of the world’s foremost authorities on cocktails. Full disclosure: I’ve had drinks with him a few times, at the back table of his famed speakeasy cocktail club, PDT (Please Don’t Tell) in New York City. Trust me, you’ve heard of it. It’s the one you get into through a phone booth in a hot dog shop.

Somebody told, at some point. Well, in fact, a lot of people, since PDT remains one of New York’s hottest bars and on a Saturday night, the scene in the hot dog shop can actually be quite desperately insane, filled with folks who seem to think their lives will cease to have meaning if they can’t get in.

Now, there are many faux-speakeasies which have opened up since. Some have even earned the name "speakcheesy." PDT isn’t one of those, since it distinguishes itself by having some of the very best cocktails we have ever had the pleasure to sample. Which brings me to my second point:

The cocktails at PDT are something very special, indeed. Better still, his book is going to reveal the recipes

For 3 cocktail recipes from The PDT Cocktail Book (Benton's Old Fashioned, French Maid and Little Bit Country) plus a recipe PDT's Benton's Bacon Infused Bourbon and housemade Ginger Beer, click here.

Aside from the bartenders of the world who will want to do PDT homage nights and make the drinks for their own customers, there are throngs of people who went to the bar one night, tried something great and wanted to reproduce it at home.

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I just received some recipes from Random House and one had such a cool photo that I had to share.

The recipe is for Cocktail Cubes, ice cubes filled with berries basically. Not sure that the idea is an original, but it's still a pretty neat looking effect. I also created a picture gallery featuring this recipe plus three others from the book On a Stick! by Matt Armendariz. Great photos and easy recipes perfect for a standing-around cocktail party.

Cocktail Cubes

Cocktail Cubes. A fun, easy and attractive way to garnish and cool your cocktail.

This is such a simple recipe: Fresh berries make their way into ice cube trays and are topped with fruit juice. The resulting colorful cocktail cubes can be dropped into any drink, whether boozy or virgin.
–Matt Armendariz

Ingredients:
20 cocktail picks
About 1/3 cup blackberries
About 1/3 cup blueberries
About 1/3 cup raspberries
About 2 cups all-natural fruit juice, flavor of your choice

Preparation:
1. Place 1 blackberry, 1 blueberry, and 1 raspberry into each section of an ice cube tray and then fill with fruit juice. Cover tray with plastic wrap; poke a cocktail pick through wrap into each section.

2. Freeze at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

3. Remove cubes from tray and serve in the drink of your choice. Cheers!

Serves 4.

Excerpted from On A Stick! by Matt Armendariz. Copyright © 2011 by Matt Armendariz. Excerpted by permission of Quirk Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission from the publisher.

The following is the last of three posts in a series of excerpts from the book The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion by Duane Swierczynski.

You’re Hosting a Summer Lawn Party and Don’t Want to Play Bartender
By Duane Swierczynski

The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion

PUNCHED-UP PIMM’S

You've just made the perfect summer garden party drink," says inventor and amateur mixologist Chris Holst. "And you won’t have to do it again for hours."

MIXOLOGY
1 cup Pimm’s No. 1
1 cup vodka
8 cups ginger ale
1 medium cucumber, sliced into rounds
1 orange (temple or valencia is better than navel), sliced into rounds

Freeze a block of ice—preferably in a decorative ring mold. Place the ring in the punch bowl, then pour the Pimm’s and vodka over the ice. Add the ginger ale, then the fruit and vegetable, and carry it outside.

Excerpted from The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion by By Duane Swierczynski, Copyright 2011 by Quirk Books, excerpted with permission of the publisher.

What's your trick or punch of choice when avoiding bartending duties at your own summer party?

The following is the second of three posts in a series of excerpts from the book The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion by Duane Swierczynski.

The Hottest Day of Summer
By Duane Swierczynski

The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion

Pineapple Martini

When the city streets feel like John Goodman’s armpits, this refreshing humidity-buster (courtesy of bartender Robert Greene) is your best bet. It’s slightly sweet but still dry enough to qualify as a Martini.

MIXOLOGY
1/4 cup crushed fresh pineapple
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 oz. premium vodka

Start by making some simple syrup: mix sugar and water, then boil and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Dump the pineapple into a cocktail shaker with ice, then add the vodka and syrup. Shake and strain into a frosted martini glass.

If you can have your manservants prepare this for you while you read on the veranda, all the better.

THE DRINK TO AVOID IN THIS SITUATION: Piña Coladas, if for no other reason than it conjures up that stupid song from the ‘70s.

Excerpted from The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion by By Duane Swierczynski, Copyright 2011 by Quirk Books, excerpted with permission of the publisher.

What would be your drink of choice on the hottest day of summer?

The following is the first of three posts in a series of excerpts from the book The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion by Duane Swierczynski.

You’re Watching Mad Men
By Duane Swierczynski

Vodka Gimlet

The advertising executives of AMC’s Mad Men have brought the cocktails of the swinging 1960s back into style. Don Draper’s drink of choice is the Old Fashioned; Joan Halloway relaxes with a Tom Collins; and Roger Sterling gravitates toward anything with vodka or gin.

But nothing epitomizes the 1960s more succinctly than Betty Draper’s signature beverage, the Vodka Gimlet. Give the lady some credit: If you had a philandering husband with a mysterious past, you’d drink a lot of gimlets, too.

MIXOLOGY
1-1/2 oz. vodka
3–4 lime slices
3/4 oz. lime juice

Pour vodka and lime juice into a mixing glass. Shake and strain into martini glass. Add 3 to 4 slices of lime. For extra flavor, garnish with mint leaves.

THE PERFECT DRINKING GAME FOR THIS SITUATION:
Turn on any episode of Mad Men—the first few seasons are currently available on DVD.

Sip your Vodka Gimlet whenever:
A cocktail is served
A cigarette is lit
Characters commit adultery
Characters reference a historical event
Don Draper has a flashback
Bert Cooper references his love of Japanese culture
Pete Campbell feels unappreciated
A female employee cries in the restroom

The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion

Finish your drink if:
A character discovers she is pregnant
A character makes a homophobic remark in the presence of Salvatore Romano
Don Draper rescues a client meeting with a brilliant idea
Betty Draper neglects her children
A character rides a John Deere tractor

Excerpted from The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion by By Duane Swierczynski, Copyright 2011 by Quirk Books, excerpted with permission of the publisher.

Have any rules you think would make a good addition to the Mad Men drinking game? (Seriously though, this is all in good fun, but please be sure to drink responsibly.)