The Architecture of the Cocktail: Constructing the Perfect Cocktail from the Bottom Up

by Amy Zavatto, Melissa Wood (Illustrator)

Is it better for a martini to be shaken, not stirred? Does it matter which order you add the liquors to create a Long Island Iced Tea? How many ice cubes can you add to a margarita without compromising the flavor?The perfect home begins with a blueprint and a dream, and your perfect cocktail should start the same way! The Architecture of the Cocktail will reveal the answers to all your burning cocktail queries and more. Focusing on the precise measurements to help you craft the perfect cocktail as well as the recommended garnish and embellishments, you’ll no longer have to guess what the perfect cocktail should taste like.Laying out the exact measurements from the bottom of your glass to the top, you’ll discover the order which you should layer your liquors, the precise measurements needed, and even recommended brands. Not sure which stemware is appropriate? Consult the mini guide on identifying the correct stemware in the back of the book.          Featuring 75 different cocktails and recipes in a unique blueprint-inspired design (including specifications, notes, and embellishments), this is the perfect gift for the cocktail lover in your life. Don’t waste another minute on watered-down cocktails – become a cocktail master with this beautifully illustrated guide. Amy Zavatto writes about wine, spirits, and food for Imbibe, Foxnews.com, Details, Edible Manhattan, Wynn, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. She is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bartending, The Hedonist Guide to Eat NY, and co-author of The Renaissance Guide to Wine & Food Pairing with Tony DiDio.
Melissa Wood is an illustrator and architectural planner who pored over Charles Addams, James Thurber and Ludwig Bemelman's sketches as a child, dreaming to illustrate a book of her own. Her cool clients include Crate&Barrel, Garnet Hill, Trader Joe's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Crane & Co., and is a fav of a gal named Oprah.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2013

Reviews

[Cindy C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this book at SFMOMA. Love it since then. I used to be an everyday cocktail drinker. However, since having my very 1st baby, yes I m very exciting and expecting, I stopped drinking. I re-read this book, find more and more interesting things :)

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy only had around 145 pages, so if someone out there had a copy with 219 pages, please let me know what I missed.

This is a fun little collection of 75 cocktail recipes. Each entry comes with a little historical or related bit of background, a detailed drink recipe, and a 'blueprint' of drink design. Yes, literally a line drawing reflecting the drink's ingredients and proportions, drawn in white lines on a blue background. More fun than a straight recipe book, less content-rich than The Art of the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the Classics. Appealing to an engineering geek like myself.

[Justin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Looks to be decent enough recipes, but there’s nothing at all beyond basic recipes. Just basic illustrations of cocktails and recipes. Nothing about how to balance flavours or why, nothing about substitutes, nothing about how to classify drinks and riff on them.

Not architecture, just slapping together some prefabs.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really neat book, even for those who don't drink alcohol! Of course, those who do drink alcohol and are interested in making their own drinks would get the most out of the book, but I don't drink and I still enjoyed it!
Each featured drink gets a two-page spread, including an introduction giving some fun facts such as origin, pronunciation help, or descriptions of taste. Them, in the "Notes" section of the page, it has specific instructions on how to make each drink. On the second page, there's a drawing that really looks like blueprints in architecture! My favorite part about the book is that each ingredient has its own unique pattern, so you can see how much of it to use, and keep it straight with the other ingredients.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning and unique cocktail book that any cocktail lover will enjoy. I thought it was such a clever idea to show how to make the cocktails using architecture. There is a nice mix of famous cocktails and lesser known ones and each is accompanied by lovely picture and a small history/description.

[Honorata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and vivid descriptions with an interesting vibe - talking about coctails with the lingo and precision of an architect.