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Shake. Stir. Sip.: More than 50 Effortless Cocktails Made in Equal Parts
Some of the best cocktails are the easiest to make, and author Kara Newman figured out the secret using equal parts of the main ingredients and adding a dash of bitters or a splash of seltzer to gild the lily. Take the Cucumber Combine one part each vodka, lime juice, and lemonade; 2 cucumber slices; then garnish with a basil leaf! And beverages like this are a breeze to size up for parties just double, triple, or quadruple the proportions. This book contains 40 simple recipes, from two-ingredient sips like the Bamboo Cocktail to timeless classics like the ever-popular Negroni, proving that great, artisanal cocktails don't have to come from a bar."
- GenresCookbooksNonfictionBooze
130 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 20, 2016
13 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Kara Newman
16 books7 followersKara Newman is a spirits and cocktail writer based in New York. She is the Spirits Editor for Wine Enthusiast and her work appears in The New York Times, Saveur, The San Francisco Chronicle, Arrive, and Sommelier Journal, among other publications. Previously, she was the “High Spirits” cocktail columnist for Chile Pepper magazine.
In addition, Kara is the author of The Secret Financial Life of Food (Columbia University Press) and two cocktail books, Cocktails for a Crowd (pub date May 2013) and Spice & Ice, both from Chronicle Books.
In addition, Kara is the author of The Secret Financial Life of Food (Columbia University Press) and two cocktail books, Cocktails for a Crowd (pub date May 2013) and Spice & Ice, both from Chronicle Books.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 27, 2016
This is a review of the hardcover edition (ISBN 9781452152479) because the Goodreads entry for that ISBN has a different title, the incorrect photographer, and no publisher's blurb.
This book attracted my attention because it was featured in an email about a Chronicle Books blog article. I clicked on the link, read the article, and was almost instantly convinced that there were people in my life who needed this book in theirs. Unfortunately, it was out of stock for what seemed like a month.
When the books finally arrived, all but one copy got packed away with the rest of the 2016 Christmas presents. The remaining copy got set aside for me to read to determine whether I needed this book in my life, despite all the cocktail books I already owned. The publisher’s blurb, which mimics the flyleaf to the book, does an excellent job of explaining the concept of the book – it is all about equinox cocktails. The recipe chapters are dedicated to cocktails made by mixing equal parts of two ingredients, three ingredients, four ingredients, and five or more ingredients. And because a “part” can be anything from a jigger to an oatmeal canister, these recipes are easily scaleable for parties.
The introductory material about stocking a bar, bartending tips and techniques, and party planning tips seemed to be just the right breadth and depth for a book of this kind. I appreciated the brand recommendations along with the descriptions of the recommended types of spirits - and was pleased to see that I actually had some in my house! I thought it was terrific that the author was relatively conservative as to what was on her “must have” list, although not quite down to the bare bones of a twelve bottle bar. I would have liked to have seen some drawings or photos accompany the different descriptions of the cocktail glasses; I’m solid on the standards, but am clueless as to what a “Nick and Nora” glass looks like. The recipe for brandied cherries using dried cherries looks like something that I would want to try – after I work down the surplus of preserved cherries in my fridge. The difference between bottled cocktails (spirit forward) and pitcher/punch bowl cocktails (juice and/or fizz) seems intuitive, although I could never quite put my finger on why I would do one and not the other.
The recipes themselves are each accompanied by a gorgeous photograph of the finished drink in the suggested serving glass with the suggested garnish. Each recipe has a headnote with additional information about the cocktail, about the era or location it hails from, or about the bartender(s) who influenced it. The recipes are written in paragraph form, but in very short concise sentences, so it is very clear what needs to be done. The type of glass to be used is specified in the recipe itself, such as “In an ice filled rocks glass, combine…” or “strain into a chilled martini glass…” The ingredients list is down the right side of the page, listed in order of usage. Most of the time, the type of ice (cubes or crushed) is the first item listed, but a few recipes require something to be done before the ice is added to the mixing glass or shaker. Suggested garnishes always come last. Ingredients are actually measured out for a single cocktail in both ounces and milliliters. Some recipes have variations on them, which usually simply call for substituting one ingredient for another.
The variety of recipes is very impressive, and the majority of them can be made with the basic twelve bottle bar. There are classic cocktails, such as the Negroni, Rob Roy, Rum Punch, the highballs, and the sours. But there are also obscure Prohibition era cocktails that have been revived, and new cocktails that have been created. There are a shocking number of recipes that call for different colors of Chartreuse, but only two that call for Cynar and one that calls for crème de violette. There are about five cocktails that call for amari (not including Campari, Cynar, and Aperol), and four cocktails that call for maraschino liqueur. But it may just be a sign of the times that these otherwise obscure liqueurs are staging a comeback.
I am still undecided as to whether I need to add this little book to my collection. Because it was so much fun, I read it really quickly and did not truly appreciate how many of the cocktails that I could execute given the current contents of my liquor cabinet or how many of them I would actually order in a bar if given the option. I also need to assess how useful this book will be for my dinner parties, when most of the guests drink either red wine or diet Coke.
I have yet to try any recipes from this book. When I do, I will wait until I sober up before updating this book review.
UPDATE #1: I tried five gin-based cocktails over the course of about two weeks from this book: the Sunflower, the Last Word, the Corpse Reviver No. 2, the Negroni, and the 50-50 Martini. The Last Word was an odd combination that included green Chartreuse and Maraschino liqueur, and just wasn't a joy to sip. But that is the only one of the five that I wouldn't try again.
However, notwithstanding my lack of ice and garnishes, the equinox cocktails were a breeze to mix because, once the ingredients were assembled, there really was no thinking involved. The same measurement was used for each main ingredient – be it a one-half ounce measure or a can of Quaker oatmeal. The author aimed to create recipes for single serve cocktails with about three to four ounces of liquor in them, but rounding the measurement off to the nearest ounce didn’t seem to do any damage to the overall balance of the ingredients in the cocktail. Of the five gin-based cocktails that I tried, only one was something that I would not want to try again. And that is a pretty good track record.
The full details of my recipe testing the gin based cocktails are in my blog, The Newfield Street Kitchen.
UPDATE #2: I recipe tested the family of sours – the daiquiri, the margarita, the sidecar, and the whiskey sour – over the course of another two weeks.
I found that they were very easy to make from fairly readily available ingredients. With the exception of the margarita, the formula used in the book (one part sweet, one part sour, two parts spirit) resulted in a relatively well-balanced cocktail that I would make again. I had to tinker with the margarita recipe because it was too sour, almost to the point that it was undrinkable. However, once I added an additional half part of sweet, the cocktail fell into balance again and was very pleasant. I will admit that the sourness of the margarita could have been the fault of the lime juice that I used rather than the fault of the recipe. The recipe was probably designed for standard store bought lime juice, which I had been using without incident for my other cocktails; when I made my margarita, I used a brand new bottle of organic not-from-concentrate lime juice from Whole Foods, which is undoubtably more sour than standard stuff.
The full details of my recipe testing the sours cocktails are in my blog, The Newfield Street Kitchen.
UPDATE #3 - Because I had such success with the recipes that I had tested from the book, I decided to recipe test the two variations on the Negroni - the Boulevardier and the Old Pal - as well as the the Americano as part of an experiment to determine whether I should keep a bottle of Campari on hand.
Despite being equinox cocktails, the Boulevardier tasted like bourbon (which I enjoy) and the Old Pal tasted like Campari (which I do not enjoy). It could have been because the bourbon that I used in the Boulevardier had a very strong taste to it, while the rye that I used in the Old Pal was a more mild one. I've never had a proper one of either mixed at a bar so I don't know what they are "supposed" to taste like. The Americano was a well-balanced cocktail and didn't taste strongly of either the red vermouth or the Campari.
The full details of my recipe testing the three Campari-based cocktails are in my blog, The Newfield Street Kitchen.
This book attracted my attention because it was featured in an email about a Chronicle Books blog article. I clicked on the link, read the article, and was almost instantly convinced that there were people in my life who needed this book in theirs. Unfortunately, it was out of stock for what seemed like a month.
When the books finally arrived, all but one copy got packed away with the rest of the 2016 Christmas presents. The remaining copy got set aside for me to read to determine whether I needed this book in my life, despite all the cocktail books I already owned. The publisher’s blurb, which mimics the flyleaf to the book, does an excellent job of explaining the concept of the book – it is all about equinox cocktails. The recipe chapters are dedicated to cocktails made by mixing equal parts of two ingredients, three ingredients, four ingredients, and five or more ingredients. And because a “part” can be anything from a jigger to an oatmeal canister, these recipes are easily scaleable for parties.
The introductory material about stocking a bar, bartending tips and techniques, and party planning tips seemed to be just the right breadth and depth for a book of this kind. I appreciated the brand recommendations along with the descriptions of the recommended types of spirits - and was pleased to see that I actually had some in my house! I thought it was terrific that the author was relatively conservative as to what was on her “must have” list, although not quite down to the bare bones of a twelve bottle bar. I would have liked to have seen some drawings or photos accompany the different descriptions of the cocktail glasses; I’m solid on the standards, but am clueless as to what a “Nick and Nora” glass looks like. The recipe for brandied cherries using dried cherries looks like something that I would want to try – after I work down the surplus of preserved cherries in my fridge. The difference between bottled cocktails (spirit forward) and pitcher/punch bowl cocktails (juice and/or fizz) seems intuitive, although I could never quite put my finger on why I would do one and not the other.
The recipes themselves are each accompanied by a gorgeous photograph of the finished drink in the suggested serving glass with the suggested garnish. Each recipe has a headnote with additional information about the cocktail, about the era or location it hails from, or about the bartender(s) who influenced it. The recipes are written in paragraph form, but in very short concise sentences, so it is very clear what needs to be done. The type of glass to be used is specified in the recipe itself, such as “In an ice filled rocks glass, combine…” or “strain into a chilled martini glass…” The ingredients list is down the right side of the page, listed in order of usage. Most of the time, the type of ice (cubes or crushed) is the first item listed, but a few recipes require something to be done before the ice is added to the mixing glass or shaker. Suggested garnishes always come last. Ingredients are actually measured out for a single cocktail in both ounces and milliliters. Some recipes have variations on them, which usually simply call for substituting one ingredient for another.
The variety of recipes is very impressive, and the majority of them can be made with the basic twelve bottle bar. There are classic cocktails, such as the Negroni, Rob Roy, Rum Punch, the highballs, and the sours. But there are also obscure Prohibition era cocktails that have been revived, and new cocktails that have been created. There are a shocking number of recipes that call for different colors of Chartreuse, but only two that call for Cynar and one that calls for crème de violette. There are about five cocktails that call for amari (not including Campari, Cynar, and Aperol), and four cocktails that call for maraschino liqueur. But it may just be a sign of the times that these otherwise obscure liqueurs are staging a comeback.
I am still undecided as to whether I need to add this little book to my collection. Because it was so much fun, I read it really quickly and did not truly appreciate how many of the cocktails that I could execute given the current contents of my liquor cabinet or how many of them I would actually order in a bar if given the option. I also need to assess how useful this book will be for my dinner parties, when most of the guests drink either red wine or diet Coke.
I have yet to try any recipes from this book. When I do, I will wait until I sober up before updating this book review.
UPDATE #1: I tried five gin-based cocktails over the course of about two weeks from this book: the Sunflower, the Last Word, the Corpse Reviver No. 2, the Negroni, and the 50-50 Martini. The Last Word was an odd combination that included green Chartreuse and Maraschino liqueur, and just wasn't a joy to sip. But that is the only one of the five that I wouldn't try again.
However, notwithstanding my lack of ice and garnishes, the equinox cocktails were a breeze to mix because, once the ingredients were assembled, there really was no thinking involved. The same measurement was used for each main ingredient – be it a one-half ounce measure or a can of Quaker oatmeal. The author aimed to create recipes for single serve cocktails with about three to four ounces of liquor in them, but rounding the measurement off to the nearest ounce didn’t seem to do any damage to the overall balance of the ingredients in the cocktail. Of the five gin-based cocktails that I tried, only one was something that I would not want to try again. And that is a pretty good track record.
The full details of my recipe testing the gin based cocktails are in my blog, The Newfield Street Kitchen.
UPDATE #2: I recipe tested the family of sours – the daiquiri, the margarita, the sidecar, and the whiskey sour – over the course of another two weeks.
I found that they were very easy to make from fairly readily available ingredients. With the exception of the margarita, the formula used in the book (one part sweet, one part sour, two parts spirit) resulted in a relatively well-balanced cocktail that I would make again. I had to tinker with the margarita recipe because it was too sour, almost to the point that it was undrinkable. However, once I added an additional half part of sweet, the cocktail fell into balance again and was very pleasant. I will admit that the sourness of the margarita could have been the fault of the lime juice that I used rather than the fault of the recipe. The recipe was probably designed for standard store bought lime juice, which I had been using without incident for my other cocktails; when I made my margarita, I used a brand new bottle of organic not-from-concentrate lime juice from Whole Foods, which is undoubtably more sour than standard stuff.
The full details of my recipe testing the sours cocktails are in my blog, The Newfield Street Kitchen.
UPDATE #3 - Because I had such success with the recipes that I had tested from the book, I decided to recipe test the two variations on the Negroni - the Boulevardier and the Old Pal - as well as the the Americano as part of an experiment to determine whether I should keep a bottle of Campari on hand.
Despite being equinox cocktails, the Boulevardier tasted like bourbon (which I enjoy) and the Old Pal tasted like Campari (which I do not enjoy). It could have been because the bourbon that I used in the Boulevardier had a very strong taste to it, while the rye that I used in the Old Pal was a more mild one. I've never had a proper one of either mixed at a bar so I don't know what they are "supposed" to taste like. The Americano was a well-balanced cocktail and didn't taste strongly of either the red vermouth or the Campari.
The full details of my recipe testing the three Campari-based cocktails are in my blog, The Newfield Street Kitchen.
December 31, 2016
This is a pretty book cocktail book and I like the idea of the drinks being in equal parts as that certainly beats measuring. However, if you are a fan of sweeter, fruiter, more "easy drinking" cocktails I don't think this is the book for you. There are no mojitos, lemon drops, margaritas, or mai tais.
May 19, 2019
A good guide to equal parts drinks with just enough history involved to keep it interesting.
December 31, 2018
While I know most of the recipes in this book, I thought it would make a great starter book. It is also simply put together starting with drinks with two ingredients (well base liquors) and moving on from there. I appreciated the variations provided and thought she explained each recipe well.
October 6, 2016
Just an excellent little book to add to my "mixologist" library!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews