What do you think?
Rate this book
The Essential Bar Book: An A-to-Z Guide to Spirits, Cocktails, and Wine, with 115 Recipes for the World's Great Drinks
A handsome and comprehensive bartending guide for professional and home bartenders that includes history, lore, and 150 recipes.
What's the difference between and martini and a gibson? Does absinthe really cause insanity? Which type of glass should a moscow mule be served in? "The Bar Bible" answers all of these questions and more, with fascinating information about everything boozy that's good to drink. From author and "Wine Spectator"contributing editor Jennifer Fiedler, this book presents essential bartending information, from the tools of the trade to the history and mythology behind classic cocktails in an easy-to-navigate alphabetical guide.
What's the difference between and martini and a gibson? Does absinthe really cause insanity? Which type of glass should a moscow mule be served in? "The Bar Bible" answers all of these questions and more, with fascinating information about everything boozy that's good to drink. From author and "Wine Spectator"contributing editor Jennifer Fiedler, this book presents essential bartending information, from the tools of the trade to the history and mythology behind classic cocktails in an easy-to-navigate alphabetical guide.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2014
18 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 12, 2014
An essential books on drinking and impressing people at parties..... or just being that annoying jeopardy guy who is spilling his martini while screaming out "Who is Jerry Thomas".
From ingredient, to preparations, to slamming down arguments over what to serve in what glass (though I may need a first-hand test on a few of these) this little ebook will serve MOST of your needs.
So.... lets try this out.
A takes you to Absinthe....
the history... the flavors... all assortments of things you need and absolutely must have to take advantage of Absinthe..... and then my favorite, and yours too, the recipes.
The best part of this reference book is that it is all encompassing. Ingredients are explored extensively, justifying their particular necessity. These explanations also serve to help you fully take advantage of your home bar without spending a bundle. You now know exactly what is essential, and what will enhance your drinking experience.
BEST of all, stop looking like an idiot ordering a drink you heard off of Queer Eye for the straight Guy and then stumbling and looking down at your bar napkin when the bartender asks you what kind of scotch you want, or what age you prefer, etc. This book includes an extensive, over the top exploration on all things technical, including an overview of bar vocabulary. You will still look like a fool if you saw that episode of Family Guy where Brian orders a Stinger and a beer-back.... every.single.time.
Speaking of terminology.... It serves all purposes.
This book is first date pickup galore.... you: "look at those legs".... her: "HOW DARE YOU!!" you: "oh no no.. I meant the drip on the inside of your wine... I'm Ryan by the way"
Please note, the ARC on netgalley is an absolute disaster. You have to go through it, slowly because chapter selection is not activated, to really see what this baby has in it. For instance, I went to the table of contents. Looked up Whiskey. Struggled to find it in the ARC, and discovered that "Irish Whiskey" and "whiskey" contained ample information, but were separated by j-v. The downside to this is you have to go back and forth to get a full picture of the liquor in question, an issue, presumably that a hard copy will resolve. It also varied on the types of liquor I frequent, for example Powers.
There seems to be a large focus on beers here, too. This is all fine and good, but generally speaking the information pertaining to beer is rather pedestrian, and will be included on any typical bar menu. I'd rather see it focus extensively on liquors, but I guess it's a bar book.
A-Z drinking handbooks are a dime a dozen and I'll really have to hold this fellow before I can make an absolute judgement call. My Boston Handbook has served me well so the competition will be a battle.
From ingredient, to preparations, to slamming down arguments over what to serve in what glass (though I may need a first-hand test on a few of these) this little ebook will serve MOST of your needs.
So.... lets try this out.
A takes you to Absinthe....
the history... the flavors... all assortments of things you need and absolutely must have to take advantage of Absinthe..... and then my favorite, and yours too, the recipes.
The best part of this reference book is that it is all encompassing. Ingredients are explored extensively, justifying their particular necessity. These explanations also serve to help you fully take advantage of your home bar without spending a bundle. You now know exactly what is essential, and what will enhance your drinking experience.
BEST of all, stop looking like an idiot ordering a drink you heard off of Queer Eye for the straight Guy and then stumbling and looking down at your bar napkin when the bartender asks you what kind of scotch you want, or what age you prefer, etc. This book includes an extensive, over the top exploration on all things technical, including an overview of bar vocabulary. You will still look like a fool if you saw that episode of Family Guy where Brian orders a Stinger and a beer-back.... every.single.time.
Speaking of terminology.... It serves all purposes.
This book is first date pickup galore.... you: "look at those legs".... her: "HOW DARE YOU!!" you: "oh no no.. I meant the drip on the inside of your wine... I'm Ryan by the way"
Please note, the ARC on netgalley is an absolute disaster. You have to go through it, slowly because chapter selection is not activated, to really see what this baby has in it. For instance, I went to the table of contents. Looked up Whiskey. Struggled to find it in the ARC, and discovered that "Irish Whiskey" and "whiskey" contained ample information, but were separated by j-v. The downside to this is you have to go back and forth to get a full picture of the liquor in question, an issue, presumably that a hard copy will resolve. It also varied on the types of liquor I frequent, for example Powers.
There seems to be a large focus on beers here, too. This is all fine and good, but generally speaking the information pertaining to beer is rather pedestrian, and will be included on any typical bar menu. I'd rather see it focus extensively on liquors, but I guess it's a bar book.
A-Z drinking handbooks are a dime a dozen and I'll really have to hold this fellow before I can make an absolute judgement call. My Boston Handbook has served me well so the competition will be a battle.
July 6, 2018
This book is so cool! One it tells you about all the different types of alcohol and the ingredients used in making drinks. It gives you actual definitions. I love learning about mixed drinks. It seems there are so many that I dont know, Plus with each drink recipe, they talk about the history of the drink as well. They give their own suggestions on brands of alcohol to use with the drinks. It also talks about beer and the different types of beer. It explains the characteristics of each type. Also what cups are best used for each type of drink. It is more important than I thought.
October 18, 2020
I like this book because not only are there quite of recipes that I have tried and more I will. There’s also a learning element that helps a novice mixologist and I use that term loosely lol better understand the ingredients terminology better. The new learned knowledge has me thinking I can hold a mixology conversation with that best of them. Got my friends and family calling me their favorite #STARTENDER!
April 24, 2021
Hmpf... Not bad but wouldnt actually recommend it for the bar professionals. Its more like a beginners type of introduction into bar and beverage stuff...
November 29, 2021
Thorough, but focused as much on beer and wine as on hard liquor, which is disappointing. There are so many books already out there for those.
March 12, 2015
I find myself at a loss with this book. I wanted to like it, I wanted it to be a great book but it failed to meet my expectations. I feel like I am out of the target audience of this book. I am well past the legal drinking age and I am quite familiar with various types of alcohol and a wide variety of drinks. This book is intended more for complete novices who want to learn about drinks and liquors before going to bars and making fools of themselves. At that it is a great book. There are hundreds of definitions in this book as well as recipes for many great drinks. Someone who is newly of drinking age would find this book very useful. I intend to pass it along to my younger sister who is much closer to 21 than I am.
Aesthetically this book is very reminiscent of the 1920's. It uses an old fashioned font and has a very 'art deco' feel to it. The pages with definitions are white. The pages with recipes are black. Many of the pages that face each other are opposite colors. For me, this is a design flaw. It is very straining on the eyes to switch back and forth. If your eyes are better than mine this probably won't bother you.
If you are about to or recently turned 21 this is a good book for you. If you haven't ever bothered to learn much about alcohol and want to, you would find this book interesting. If, however, you are like me and studied up on your liquor types and terms many moons ago when you were finally old enough to drink, this book won't do you much good.
I received this book from blogging for books in exchange for an honest review.
Aesthetically this book is very reminiscent of the 1920's. It uses an old fashioned font and has a very 'art deco' feel to it. The pages with definitions are white. The pages with recipes are black. Many of the pages that face each other are opposite colors. For me, this is a design flaw. It is very straining on the eyes to switch back and forth. If your eyes are better than mine this probably won't bother you.
If you are about to or recently turned 21 this is a good book for you. If you haven't ever bothered to learn much about alcohol and want to, you would find this book interesting. If, however, you are like me and studied up on your liquor types and terms many moons ago when you were finally old enough to drink, this book won't do you much good.
I received this book from blogging for books in exchange for an honest review.
December 4, 2014
I received a free copy of The Essential Bar Book from Blogging for Books for review. I am not a sophisticated drinker - cheap wine and cocktail mixes have been the only things in my repertoire so far. My husband and I are preparing to turn our front room (currently the "dog room") into a more usable space: a bar! Of course, I will need to know what I need to stock it. This is a perfect book for beginners like me.
The definitions and recipes are arranged alphabetically, making it easy to flip through and find what you're looking for. The small size will make it easy to tuck into a drawer or on a shelf of a bar area.
This little book has a little bit of everything - dictionary, history of recipes (which is pretty fascinating), recipes themselves. What I love most about this book (and there is a lot that I love) are the stories behind each cocktail. Who thinks about where their Flame of Love originated? The story goes it was created for Dean Martin who was bored with regular martinis. Other things I love about this book is the compact size and that each recipe gives you the proper glassware to serve the cocktail in (something I would not even think about). I can't even say I wish there were photos included because that would have ruined the perfect size of this book.
The definitions and recipes are arranged alphabetically, making it easy to flip through and find what you're looking for. The small size will make it easy to tuck into a drawer or on a shelf of a bar area.
This little book has a little bit of everything - dictionary, history of recipes (which is pretty fascinating), recipes themselves. What I love most about this book (and there is a lot that I love) are the stories behind each cocktail. Who thinks about where their Flame of Love originated? The story goes it was created for Dean Martin who was bored with regular martinis. Other things I love about this book is the compact size and that each recipe gives you the proper glassware to serve the cocktail in (something I would not even think about). I can't even say I wish there were photos included because that would have ruined the perfect size of this book.
October 13, 2014
Here's to cocktails plus! Know how to make the different cocktails! What is absinthe? Do you know what glasses should be used for each drink? Do you know the mythology behind the drinks? Everything you wanted to know and more about the lore and history plus recipes for any bartender be it at home or at work .
I enjoyed the fun facts and information given by the author. I also learned how to make cocktails that I loved but didn't know how. This is a terrific book!
Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
I enjoyed the fun facts and information given by the author. I also learned how to make cocktails that I loved but didn't know how. This is a terrific book!
Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
November 15, 2014
The essential bar book is my first beverage book from blogging for books and it did not dissapoint at all.
Ii don’t drink much since a night gone wrong when I was newly 21 and spent hours getting smashed with my older brother and his friends. However I am older now and do enjoy a few drinks with my man and our close friends and family. This is a perfect book form your favorite drinker buddy! Below are the book synopsis and buying link as always!
Disclaimer: I received this book completely free from blogging for books for review purposes only!
Ii don’t drink much since a night gone wrong when I was newly 21 and spent hours getting smashed with my older brother and his friends. However I am older now and do enjoy a few drinks with my man and our close friends and family. This is a perfect book form your favorite drinker buddy! Below are the book synopsis and buying link as always!
Disclaimer: I received this book completely free from blogging for books for review purposes only!
July 20, 2017
This is such a beautifully designed book that immediately drew me to it by it's simplistic cover. I'm not much of a cocktail drinker but I've been wanting to learn a few drinks to order (and of course make at home!) - this book is a great start for my foray into cocktails. (I'll be careful, I promise!).
I would definitely recommend this book to all sorts (novice - experts); it has just enough information to not be overwhelming as other bar books I've read.
I would definitely recommend this book to all sorts (novice - experts); it has just enough information to not be overwhelming as other bar books I've read.
September 25, 2014
Wow! From A to Z this book has got you covered. I'm not sure if I could do justice of a review. The name of the spirit/drink/wine is given followed by the who, what, where, why, and when. How to prepare it, year made, company who made it, countries, color, flavor, components, and a good drink mix. How the drink is served and in which glassware to use can make anyone seem like an expert. Basically this is a good dictionary of drinks, recipes, and education.
September 6, 2014
This is an excellent reference book for home bartending. I enjoyed reading this book - it's well written, concise, clear and has a subtle sense of humor. Wonderful book. This would work really well as a reference book, along with a book with more cocktail recipes. Very nice read.
A wonderful addition to any home bar!
A wonderful addition to any home bar!
July 25, 2014
Much more encompassing then i would of originally thought. Perfect for anyone looking for specific information. Tons of definitions with recipes mixed in for good measure, make this definitely a reference book and very highly a coffee table book.
August 14, 2014
An encyclopedic guide to all things alcohol for beginners. Although not entirely inclusive (how could it be?), basic terminology and tools, types of alcohol, quirky origin stories, and recipes for signature drinks are included. Perfect for your coffee table or as a gift.
Net Galley Feedback
Net Galley Feedback
January 19, 2015
Best bar book I have. Alphabetical listing of ingredients, alcohols, drinks, with quality background on history of drinks. Decent description of processes as well. Truly helpful with outstanding recipes, especially the classic cocktails.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews