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The Best Cocktail Recipe Book of 2024
Martinis and cosmopolitans might be delicious, but there are so many more cocktails just waiting to be made. With a quality cocktail recipe book, soon enough, you'll be impressing your friends and family with unique concoctions! To help you get started, we've tested and shortlisted the best cocktail recipe books of 2024. After some tipsy taste-testing, we concluded that The Essential Bar Book for Home Mixologists is the best cocktail recipe book for amateurs and enthusiasts! For more options, we've gathered other alternatives on this list as well as a buying guide to help you make the best decision. So what are you waiting for? Time to get mixing!
Our Top Picks For Cocktail Recipe Books
View all ContentsThe Best Cocktail Recipe Books
Best Overall
The Essential Bar Book for Home Mixologists by Amy Traynor is designed specifically for amateurs or home bartenders. It is very easy to understand and includes all the information you will need to master delicious recipes from the comfort of your home. The book highlights the importance of flavors, choosing the right glass, and even garnish. It will be ideal for beginners as it includes all the tools, techniques, ingredients, and other essentials you will need to keep your home bar stocked and impress your family and guests.
A total of 70 recipes are included ranging from both classic and contemporary cocktails. The drinks range from gin and whiskey to rum, tailored to all preferences and tastes. Due to the experience of the author and the large number of unique recipes and techniques included, we chose this cocktail recipe book as our top pick.
Pros
- Easy language ideal for beginners
- A large number of easy and versatile recipes
- Ideal for decorating bar
Cons
- Not available as an ebook
Ideal for Non-alcoholic Drinks
The Art of Mixology by Parragon Books is another one of our favorite cocktail recipe books because it is designed for all expertise levels including beginners, intermediates, and experts. It includes both traditional and contemporary recipes, which makes them ideal for different occasions like parties, dates, holidays, and different celebrations. This cocktail recipe book even includes non-alcoholic drink recipes as well like Ginger Fizz, Sober Sunday, or LongBoat so that it can cater to a wider audience.
There are a total of 200 recipes to choose from, including unique drinks that will make you stand out from other bartenders. The alcoholic drink recipes range from gin, vodka, and whiskey to rum and brandy. The cover is extremely stylish and will be a good addition to your coffee table or bar area. A hardcover option is also available if you are feeling extra fancy.
Pros
- Compact and easy-to-understand language
- Includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic recipes
- The aesthetic cover makes it a suitable decoration
Cons
- A bit complicated for beginners
Most Comprehensive
If you are looking for a classic cocktail recipe book, you should consider Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails by David Kaplan. The book is based on real recipes from the award-winning bar Death & Co. Death & Co has been an industry award winner several times because it houses some of the best bar staff, which means that it is the birthplace of some of the most iconic drinks in the world.
This book is very extensive because it comes with 500 recipes along with a comprehensive history of cocktails. This includes the theory and philosophy behind drink making along with step-by-step instructions for practicing bartending techniques. Despite being long, it is not boring because it includes bright and evocative illustrations along with infographics and charts.
Pros
- Written by a bartender and bar owner
- Covers bartending techniques and the history of cocktails
- Kindle, hardcover, and spiral-bound options are available
Cons
- May not be suitable for beginners
Easy to Understand
The Home Bartender by Shane Carly is a cocktail recipe book that utilizes simple terminology so even beginners can understand it easily. This book focuses on the notion that you do not need to spend a lot on expensive liquor and bar tools to create the perfect drink. As long as you have a few quality ingredients along with a select few recipes, you can learn the art of bartending. It includes a total of 175 recipes which include non-alcoholic drinks as well.
Drink recommendations for different occasions are provided and a few necessary tools are listed. Additionally, the book also includes resources that will provide guidance about where to buy bartending essentials. It is 368 pages long, which may seem a bit too extensive to some people, but it includes basic recipes as well for absolute beginners.
Pros
- Simple terminology suitable for beginners
- Includes detailed descriptions of recipes
- Important bartending tools are listed
Cons
- The non-alcoholic section is very limited
Ideal for Inventing Cocktails
Last but not least, the Cocktail Codex by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, and David Kaplan is another one of the most famous cocktail recipe books. This is because it is written by experts who are very experienced in the bartending field. They have adopted a very simple approach by stating that you just need to know the six root recipes, and the rest is just improvisation. This means that instead of learning a range of different recipes, you just need to memorize a few basic ones. Once you understand the science behind each of these recipes, you can understand what you are doing wrong and fix your mistakes easily.
The authors encourage trying new things and using your own drinks as well. What sets this book apart from others is that instead of just listing down recipes, it tries to teach you the art of bartending by encouraging creativity.
Pros
- Written by experienced authors
- Encourages creativity, imagination, and improvisation
- Aesthetic cover for decorating the bar area
Cons
- Not designed for beginners
A Buyer’s Guide to Cocktail Recipe Books
Cocktail recipe books are one of the best ways to start if you are planning to become a bartender. They are designed to help you learn the art of bartending without having to memorize recipes including the quantities of ingredients. This brief buyer’s guide is designed to provide you with all the information you will need to purchase one for yourself.
Features to Look for in a Cocktail Recipe Book
Since there is a wide variety of books available in the market, it can become difficult to choose one. It goes without saying that you need to analyze your specific needs before investing in one. We have highlighted a few important features that you should consider when browsing cocktail recipe books.
Suited to your expertise level
It is important to make sure that the cocktail recipe book you are planning to purchase matches your expertise level. If you are a complete beginner and you purchase a book with advanced terminology, you won’t be able to benefit from it. Advanced books assume that you already know what cocktail smokers and cocktail mixers are. But if you’re a beginner, it will take you a long time to search for the meaning of every word, so it is better to start with a book that uses easy-to-understand terminology.
Inspiring
The important thing to remember is that cocktail recipe books should not just include recipes. You can easily find a lot of recipes on the internet as well, so you may wonder why you need to invest in a book. Most cocktail recipe books are designed to include cocktails that have a connection to the history of cocktails along with tips that you may not find on the internet. The information provided on the web is all over the place and you cannot expect to learn the art of mixing drinks just by watching YouTube videos or reading bartending blogs.
Aesthetically-pleasing
A lot of people like to display their cocktail recipe books either on their at-home bar or on their coffee tables. For this reason, it is important that the covers of these books are aesthetically pleasing and meet the decor of your house. Look for hardcovers as they have a more artsy and vintage feel. Even though these are more expensive than paperbacks, they will be worth the investment as they will serve as both cocktail recipe books and decorative pieces.
Written by experienced authors
It is easy to tell the difference between a book that has been written by an experienced individual versus someone who only has surface knowledge on the topic. When you purchase a book that has been written by experts, you will be able to learn from their experiences and apply their knowledge to your own life. If the author has opened their own bar, for example, it means that they are more aware of the world of bartending than someone who has just learned techniques from the internet. The best authors are those who encourage you to improvise and start trusting your gut rather than memorizing ingredients, their quantities, and their techniques.
Illustrations
Any cocktail recipe book that consists of just text can get boring because these books are not just recipe books, but they are meant to inspire. Look for books with colorful illustrations along with infographics so that they can be used as coffee table decorations as well. Make sure the pages are high quality because they can make all the difference when it comes to reading the book and grasping its content.
People Also Asked
Will a cocktail recipe book make me a bartender?
A cocktail recipe book will not make you a bartender unless you end up working behind a bar. But, these books can turn you into a mixologist. A mixologist is someone who studies the history of mixing drinks and does not hesitate to create new drinks after gaining enough knowledge about the different techniques and ingredients.
Can I find cocktail recipe books that contain non-alcoholic drinks?
Not all cocktail recipe books contain non-alcoholic drinks, but you will find some authors who include a list of non-alcoholic drinks as well to cater to a larger audience.
Do I really need to buy professional equipment to make cocktails?
Having the right equipment and tools at hand will not only make your job easier and faster, but will also ensure more efficiency, which will be appreciated by customers. A lot of people judge the quality of a bar and the expertise of the bartenders by the tools they are using.
