The Southern Foodways Alliance Guide to Cocktails

by Sara Camp Milam, Jerry Slater, Southern Foodways Alliance (Contributor)

The South's relationship with drinking is complicated. Although religious and legal mandates discourage the sale and consumption of alcohol, the region has a robust drinking culture. As the home of NASCAR, a sport that arose from the high-speed antics of bootleggers, and Tennessee Williams, a man notorious for both his literary genius and his propensity to imbibe, the Bible Belt has a booze-soaked background. In the recipes and essays in The Southern Foodways Alliance Guide to Cocktails, Jerry Slater and Sara Camp Milam and their cocktail cabinet of contributors bridge the gaps between the culture, history, and practice of drinking in the South.

Nearly one hundred easy-to-follow recipes instruct the home bartender how to create memorable drinks from everyday ingredients, whether they be light tipples or potent bell ringers. Milam and Slater organize their historical how-to by drink family, starting with day-drinking classics suitable for brunches and tailgating, such as the Michelada and the Ruby Slipper. Variations on the French 75, lovingly lauded by food writer Kat Kinsman, and various juleps, cobblers, and shandies are also covered, as are strong finishes such as the Sazerac and the Vieux Carre. A final set of recipes focuses on the punch bowl, with instructions on how to mix such shareable libations as Chatham Artillery Punch and Watermelon Sangria. Milam and Slater also share information on essential tools and glassware to stock the home bar with, as well as mixing and garnishing techniques.

In addition, the book contains fifteen fun and informative essays on drink culture, including a profile of white whiskey whisperer Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton by popular historian Mark Essig, a piece on the kitschy pleasure of collecting figurative decanters by syndicated Ask a Mexican! columnist Gustavo Arellano, and an essay by the dean of cocktail history, David Wondrich, on "The Future of Southern Drinking."

Lest we drink on an empty stomach, recipes for cocktail bites are provided by multiple James Beard Award nominee Vishwesh Bhatt. The Oxford, Mississippi-based Snackbar chef shares recipes for Benedictine Spread, Catfish Rillettes, Deviled Pickled Eggs, Deviled Ham, Okra Chaat, Pickled Shrimp, Shrimp Toast, Snackbar Pimento Cheese, Sweet Potato Biscuits with Pear Jam, and Spicy, Crunchy Black-Eyed Peas.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Cookbooks

216 pages, Hardcover

Published October 5, 2017

Reviews

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice cover on this one. Perfect representation of the content found within. Good composition and title work as well.

I gotta say I kind of LOVED this book. I'm not a huge drinker, but when I do indulge, I like to try cocktails seeped in tradition and history. There is just something about knowing you are drinking a little piece of history that makes it go down smoother.



Not only was this book chocked full of drink recipes you also get a brief history, background, and tips for each drink recipe. The recipes are well laid out and easy to follow, and there is a nice array of photographs sprinkled throughout. The book opens with three introductory chapters (List of Sidebars, Preface, Introduction) and then we dive into the drink recipes with them being divided into the following sections (Day Drinking. Shake It Up, Top with Bubbles, Juleps, Cobblers, and Their Kin, Have Fun with Your Drink, Stirred and Boozy, Spirits, Enhanced, Potent Prescriptions, Strong Finishes, Enough to Go Around). After the drink recipes, we then have the following extra chapters that offer us, even more, information for your drinking pleasure (Vishwesh Bhatt’s Cocktail Bites (food recipes), Tools, Techniques, Glassware, Drink Categories).


Here are just a few examples of the many drink recipes you will find within...

-- Brandy Milk Punch
-- Michelada
-- Gunshop Fizz
-- Ruby Slipper
-- Seersucker
-- Seelbach Cocktail
-- Snake-Bit Sprout
-- Ticonderoga Cup
-- Absinthe Frappé
-- The Moviegoer
-- I’m Your Huckleberry
-- Canebrake Cooler
-- Li’l Liza Jane
-- Spaghetti Western
-- Cab Calloway
-- Watermelon Sangria
-- Twelfth Night Punch

A few of the "foodie" recipes you will find within...

-- Catfish Rillettes
-- Deviled Ham
-- Pickled Shrimp
-- Snackbar Pimento Cheese
-- Sweet Potato, Ham, and Cheese Biscuits

[January Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have! Delicious cocktail recipes and information! Excellent format. I highly recommend this book!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Sara Camp Milam, Jerry Slater, and University of Georgia Press for the privilege to read The Southern Foodways Alliance Guide to Cocktails early released for an honest review;

I admit when I picked up this book I was expecting the normal overview and recipe collection of the most popular Southern Cocktails floating around most bars and restaurants these days, but instead I was treated to a well-aged, well-versed, historical, down-home Southern class and flare that left me wanting more with every turn of the page once I opened it.

This book is sinful divine and it will leave you wanting to try drink after drink in every section. Each chapter starts with the history, creation, and background for the type of cocktails that will be discussed therein. Each of the pages is well laid out, starting with another miniature of specific information/history/story per-drink, with a lot of breathing room in it's spacing, pictures that divinely to die for, ingredients always include whether you'll need garnishing, ice service, and what kind of glass you should be serving it in.

I don't pick up many books for my bar collection, but you can bet I'll be getting myself one! (And likely buying a few copies for likeminded friends for upcoming birthday's or Christmas!)

[Ciara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this cocktail book! There are tons of great personal anecdotes that accompany the recipes in this book along with historical background and folklore. While I don't think I would care as much about the history of any food recipe, cocktails history has a certain allure. The effects of prohibition, slavery, and trade on the cocktail industry is really quite fascinating.

This is a book you turn to for the perfect way to make the classics, and for variations on those. I see myself looking to these recipes when I'm having a dinner party and want to add a touch of class, not when I am looking for fruity blender concoctions to make at the beach.

My only wish would have been for the authors to add some color around what the end product tastes like. You need to infer based on the ingredients what the outcome would be if you hadn't tried the cocktail yet. A quick sentence on the taste or even some bullet points (fruity, tart, etc.) in the overall key where they have glass, ice, etc. listed would have been great!

[angeleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the University of Georgia Press, and the editors for the opportunity to review this advanced reader copy.

There are definite great and not-so-great aspects of this cocktail recipe book. I love the idea of the book - approaching cocktails, bartenders, and bars from a cultural heritage perspective. I love the history described in this book. There are some unique cocktail recipes included. Quite a few of the recipes are standards, though, that you could find in any cocktail book or with a Google search. I always want to see a photo of the finished drink and this book does not offer that for most of the cocktails. Overall, the book is worth reading through if you have an interest in craft cocktails and/or Southern culture.

[Ashley Hite · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Southern Foodways Alliance Guide to Cocktails is a sparkling collection of traditional cocktails, new concoctions and old favorites with a modern southern spin. The recipes include a description of each drink along with the easy to follow recipe. The photographs of the cocktails that have been included are beautiful and make you thirsty just looking at them. These recipes are sure to make your next cocktail soiree a true southern sensation.

[Adam Schweigert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little cocktail book. Accessible enough for beginning mixologists but filled with stories and ideas that will appeal to even more experienced hands. Oh and the snacks all look really amazing and are a nice, unexpected addition.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library and it was so good I bought a copy. This is a must-read for southern tipplers.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I voluntarily read this advanced readers copy of this book. There are about one hundred easy to follow recipes for you to follow and try at least one time. There is a collections of other essays on drink culture for you too. You will very much enjoy this book.