Best Overall
The Essential Bar Book For Home Mixologists
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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!
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.
Top Picks
- Best Overall: The Essential Bar Book For Home Mixologists
- Ideal For Non-Alcoholic Drinks: The Art Of Mixology
- Most Comprehensive: Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails
- Easy To Understand: The Home Bartender
- Ideal For Inventing Cocktails: Cocktail Codex
Reviews
Ideal for Non-alcoholic Drinks
The Art Of Mixology
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Most Comprehensive
Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails
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Easy to Understand
The Home Bartender
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Ideal for Inventing Cocktails
Cocktail Codex
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FAQs
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.