The Essential Bar Book

A handsome and comprehensive bartending guide for professional and home bartenders that includes history, lore, and 115 recipes.

The Essential Bar Book is full of indispensable information about everything boozy that’s good to drink. This easy-to-navigate A-to-Z guide covers it all, from the tools of the trade to the history and mythology behind classic and modern drinks, and features 115 recipes for the world’s most important cocktails.Cocktail Recipes
2 Absinthe Frappé
4 Adonis
6 Airmail
8 Alabazam
9 Alaska
11 Amaretto Sour
13 Americano
19 Aviation 
23 Barbados Swizzle
24 Barbary Coast 
28 Bee’s Knees 
29 Bellini
31 Between the Sheets
32 Bijou
36 Black Velvet
37 Blood and Sand
39 Bloody Mary 
42 Bramble
44 Brandy Alexander 
46 Brandy Crusta 
48 Bronx 
49 Brooklyn 
54 Caipirinha 
58 Casino 
61 Champagne Cocktail 
66 Clover Club 
74 Corpse Reviver #2 
76 Cosmopolitan 
81 Cuba Libre
86 Daiquiri
87 Dark ’n’ Stormy 
89 Death in the Afternoon 
92 Dubonnet 
97 El Presidente 
102 Flame of Love
104 Fog Cutter 
107 French 75 
108 French Martini 
112 Gibson 
113 Gimlet
115 Gin Daisy 
116 Gin Fizz 
118 Gin Rickey 
121 Golden Cadillac 
123 Grasshopper 
126 Greyhound 
130 Harvey Wallbanger 
133 Hemingway Daiquiri
136 Horse’s Neck 
137 Hot Buttered Rum 
139 Hurricane 
143 Improved Whiskey Cocktail
151 Jack Rose 
152 Japanese Cocktail 
155 Kir Royale 
161 Last Word
165 Long Island Iced Tea 
171 Mai Tai 
173 Manhattan 
174 Margarita 
177 Martinez 
178 Martini 
181 Mexican Firing Squad 
183 Michelada 
185 Mint Julep 
187 Mississippi Punch 
189 Mojito 
191 Monkey Gland 
192 Morning Glory Fizz 
193 Moscow Mule 
199 Negroni 
200 Negroni Sbagliato 
202 New York Sour 
206 Old Cuban 
207 Old Fashioned 
208 Old Pal 
216 Painkiller 
217 Pan American Clipper 
219 Pegu Club
222 Philadelphia Fish House Punch 
224 Pimm’s Cup 
225 Piña Colada 
226 Pink Lady 
227 Pisco Sour 
229 Planter’s Punch 
233 Presbyterian 
240 Queen’s Park Swizzle 
242 Remember the Maine 
245 Rob Roy 
248 Rusty Nail 
253 Satan’s Whiskers 
255 Sazerac 
257 Scofflaw 
259 Scorpion Punch 
261 Seelbach 
264 Sherry Cobbler 
266 Sherry Flip 
269 Sidecar 
270 Singapore Sling 
276 Southside 
281 Stinger 
282 Stork Club 
290 Ti Punch 
292 Toddy (Hot)
294 Tom & Jerry 
296 Tom Collins 
297 Trident 
299 Tuxedo 
305 Vesper 
306 Vieux Carré 
312 Ward Eight 
315 Whiskey Smash 
316 Whiskey Sour 
317 White Lady 
324 ZombieA contributing editor to Wine Spectator, Jennifer Fielder writes WineSpectator’s biweekly food and wine pairing column “8 & $20” and covers wine collecting, auctions, Q&As, and design for the magazine. She was a co-author of Brooklyn Beer Shop's Beer Making Book, and has a degree in English from Yale University and a Grande Diplome from the French Culinary Institute in New York City.

PUNCH is a James Beard Award–winning media brand dedicated to drinks and drinking culture.HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

That cocktail renaissance has unleashed a tide of products on the market, both new and revived, is a good thing for discerning drinkers. But the ever-expanding mass of terms, classifications and specialized processes can be dizzying to even the most experienced among us. 

This book is designed to help make sense of today’s liquor shelves and bar menus, defining everything that savvy imbibers should need to know now. With an emphasis on the historical origins of ingredients, the definitions provided here in an A-to-Z format tackle everything from alcohol types to specialized liqueurs, equipment to instructions. Curious about that bottle of Old Tom Gin you found at your local market? Find the definition under “O,” then learn about how it compares to London dry gin by reading the “Gin” entry. 

Also included are recipes for 115 essential cocktails, the blocks on which contemporary bar programs are built. Whether you’re looking to order confidently at the bar or build out your liquor shelf at home, the terms and recipes provided here should give you everything you need to fluently speak “bartender.”
 
-------------------------------------------

 Amaretto Sour

For many people, the name of this drink conjures up bottled cocktail mixers and university bar crowds of a certain variety. Portland bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s higher-proof but feathery-light egg white version makes for a sophisticated take on the standard recipe. His version relies on a backbone of strong bourbon, an unusual addition that rounds out the fruit of a high-quality amaretto, a liqueur made from almonds and apricot pits. Egg white blends and buoys the stronger ingredients, creating a more sophisticated cocktail than most of the Amaretto Sours to come before it.

Serves 1
1½ ounces amaretto (preferably Lazzaroni) 
¾ ounce bourbon, cask proof (Booker’s is a good bet) 
1 ounce lemon juice 
1 teaspoon simple syrup, rich (2:1, sugar:water) 
½ ounce egg white 
Garnish: lemon peel and a brandied cherry
Glassware: rocks 

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and dry shake. Add ice and shake well. Strain over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon peel and a brandied cherry.