The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails

spirits and cocktailsThis worthy tome isn’t a cocktail recipe book, and I would venture to say The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails is for the serious cocktail drinker. By that I don’t mean those who drink a lot of mixed alcoholic drinks but rather those who want to know and understand every element that helps to make those beverages so popular.

This well-researched and executed volume is a treasure. It’s a cocktail dictionary. It’s a spirits lexicon. It’s a mixology almanac. It’s a true drinks companion – and many of us will welcome the company. Alcohol of every kind has played a part in nearly every society since the start of recorded history, but it is only recently that it has been the subject of serious study. The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails is the first major reference work to cover the subject from a global perspective. It offers an in-depth overview of the world of spirits and cocktails in an accessible fashion.

The birth of cocktails

The Companion covers drinks, processes, and techniques from around the world. It provides clear historical context, and spirit production including fermentation, distillation, and ageing. It covers the birth of cocktails and cocktail bars and their continued popularity. There are passages on key cocktails and influential mixologists and their celebrated venues. There are entries to transport us from Manhattan to the Caribbean via the exotic East and Europe.

The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails is engaging and often amusing, and above all it is a delightful education and will be welcomed by us not-so-serious serious drinkers.

The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails
Editor: David Wondrich; Co-Editor: Noah Rothbaum
Published by: OUP USA
Price: £45.00
ISBN-13:‎ 978-0199311132