#15 in Cocktails & mixed drinks books
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Reddit mentions of Craft Cocktails at Home: Offbeat Techniques, Contemporary Crowd-Pleasers, and Classics Hacked with Science
Sentiment score: 5
Reddit mentions: 5
We found 5 Reddit mentions of Craft Cocktails at Home: Offbeat Techniques, Contemporary Crowd-Pleasers, and Classics Hacked with Science. Here are the top ones.
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| Height | 9 Inches |
| Length | 6 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Weight | 0.95 Pounds |
| Width | 0.58 Inches |
I refer to the Flavor Bible frequently. It is a compendium of flavors that pair well together.
There isn't a particular book that I can think of that focuses on cocktail creation, but I enjoy Kevin Liu's discussion of balance in Craft Cocktails at Home and Gary Regan's discussion of drink families in The Joy of Mixology. I would start there and then move onto other books.
In terms of process, it's very situation-based. Modifying current recipes can be fun and a good jumping off point. Start by trying to make your own signature Last Word variation. Classically it would be equal parts gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice. I do something with equal parts rose green tea-infused gin, Liquore Strega, pear liqueur, lemon juice and chamomile-citrus bitters.
You can also think about what certain drinks have in common and try something in the same style i.e. Sidecars and Margaritas are both spirit, sweet, and sour while Manhattans and Negronis are both spirit, sweet, and bitter. The history of drink making is so long that it is highly unlikely that you'll be making something that doesn't at least slightly resemble an extant drink, whether or not you ever figure it out.
The key to a good cocktail is balance. Sweet, sour, and bitterness all help to mellow each other out. Bitters are great for this because the addition of even a small amount of bitter flavor will dull the perception of sweet and sour so that any extremes are rounded out. Sweet does the same to sour and bitter while sour does the same to the other two, though both to a lesser extent than bitterness.
Again, I highly recommend the Flavor Bible. With it you can take a spirit, see what flavors you can pick out and see what will pair well with them. Then find ingredients that can bring that flavor to the table. You can then check out the pairings for that flavor and see if the two lists have any overlap.
The more classic recipes you become familiar with, the more you'll be able to see patterns in what general drink formulas work.
Be sure to straw taste as you go to correct any issues with balance early on in the process. You should do this anyway with drinks you already know the recipes for, but it's especially important when creating so that you can tell what each ingredient is bringing to the table.
Another approach, once you have an idea of ingredients to mix, taste each on its own to get an idea of how it might play with the others and also the intensity of flavor to give you an idea of what proportions you might aim to balance intensities.
Have at least part of an idea in mind before you start pouring. Cocktails are an ephemeral art, so you won't have to live with your mistakes for long if you make a bad drink, but don't go wasting good liquor chasing after a completely unformed thought (at least not at this point).
That should be enough to get you started. Let me know if you'd like additional reading recommendations.
Source: I run the bar, train the bartenders, and write the drink menu for a successful bar/restaurant with a focus on craft cocktails.
Dude, that's fantastic news. This comment immediately got me subscribed for updates.
Some other source recommendations off the top of my head...
Tiki drinks:
General cocktails:
...that's... not a bad list to get started. Good luck! I'll be interested to follow along with development.
First, I go to the local vinegar and oil store and buy a bunch of amber 8oz screw top glass bottles like these. Then, I'll get my 750ml bottle of Carpano or Amontillado and pour it into 3 8oz bottles. I'll then use something like this to seal all 3. You just spray into the bottle for a second or two, the argon is heavier than O2 so it blows all of the O2 out. You then just seal tightly, label (I use a label printer) and refrigerate. Since they're smaller bottles they become a lot easier to store in the fridge. I don't use the argon every time I open the bottle because I'm only oxidizing a third of the whole and I can usually go through that in the 6-9mo it lasts. If it goes bad, I dump a few oz and crack open a fresh new 8oz bottle, the waste is minimal.
I wish I could claim this as my own invention but I got it from Craft Cocktails at Home which is full of great info like this.
I am 100% all for the pursuit of knowledge behind the bar. I believe it's a great way to show initiative to get behind a craft bar, elevate your cocktail game, and just to learn something cool. Feel free to message me if you have questions on where to get started, what to do after you've read some of these books, what to expect when you're working your way up, etc. I'd be more than happy to lend some helpful advice!
Here are some of the books I'd recommend:
"The Bar Book" by Jeffrey Morgenthaler
I'd start here if you're interested in and are brand new to craft cocktails. Morgenthaler's Bar Book is threaded with great insight on what and why certain techniques are used behind the bar and is riddled with beautiful photography.
"Imbibe!" by Dave Wondrich
Hands down, the first book you should read if you want to get into the lore behind craft drinks. It opens up with the story of our great forefather, Jeffrey Thomas, and then continues to discuss the various eras of bartending and what they represent, as well as the drinks within those eras.
"Craft Cocktails at Home" by Kevin Liu
If Bar Book is your high school Geometry, Liu's, "Craftcocktails at Home" is your college Linear Algebra class. Provides you with hard science on what exactly going on in the glass if we shake VS stir or the happenings in an egg-based drink. Awesome read.
"How's Your Drink" by Eric Felten
Felten runs through history and entertains with stories behind some of the biggest drinks in cocktails. Did you know the Vesper (a vodka/gin Martini hybrid of sorts) was created in a Jame's Bond book and was named after the sultry villain? That President Theodore Roosevelt loved himself a good mint julep and even had his own mint bed to supply himself plenty when he wanted one? Fun read.
"Drunken Botanist" by Amy Stewart
Alcohol is derived from things. This is the best book that talks about those things. Agave, Juniper, Barley, Cinchona Bark. Understand the drink from a Botanist's point of view.
"Bitters" by Brad Thomas Parsons
Bitters are an incredible way to add both aromatics and flavor into a cocktail. This book will help you not only understand what they are and what they do, but will kickstart your own bitter brewing process if desired. Homemade Orange Bitters kick ass.
Barsmarts
Last but not least, Barsmarts is a great online tool to help rundown the basis of what we with cocktails. It goes through the various spirits, a brief look at cocktail history, and even has a "drink builder". Definitely worth the $30.
How does Liquid Intelligence compare to The Cocktail Lab? In TCL, all that equipment but then using lots of essences and almond milk (for orgeat) made the whole thing suspect to me.
Edit: Just realized I got The Cocktail Lab mixed up with Craft Cocktails at Home. That's the one I feel takes a lot of shortcuts. Looking at The Cocktail Lab, yeah, it's super geeky.