Reddit reviews Jerry Thomas' Bartenders Guide: How To Mix Drinks 1862 Reprint: A Bon Vivant's Companion

Don't go to bartending school. They are an absolute rip off. I'm looking to start bartending as well. If you'd like someone to practice making drinks with, I'm down.

If you're looking to start in craft cocktails, try getting work as a barback. At least that's what I hear. I haven't found a job, but I am only passively looking. You can get a package of cheap, basic gear like a boston and spoon (because you stir more cocktails than you'd think) at total wine for like $30.

Here are my resources:

Online:

http://www.reddit.com/r/cocktails/
http://www.bartendingblueprint.com/
http://www.adventuresincocktails.com/
Other various Youtube channels like Art of Cocktail.

Books:

The Bar Book

The Essential Cocktail

MUST HAVE The Savoy Cocktail Book

Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide

Jerry Thomas' Bartenders Guide

http://www.amazon.com/Savoy-Cocktail-Book-Harry-Craddock/dp/1862057729/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413281098&sr=8-1&keywords=savoy+cocktail+book

http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Spirits-and-Forgotten-Cocktails/dp/B00BBFZCYM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413281148&sr=8-3&keywords=vintage+cocktails+and+forgotten+spirits

http://www.amazon.com/Jerry-Thomas-Bartenders-Guide-Companion/dp/1440453268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413281264&sr=8-1&keywords=jerry+thomas'+bartenders+guide+how+to+mix+drinks+1862+reprint+a+bon+vivant's+companion

http://www.amazon.com/Imbibe-Absinthe-Cocktail-Professor-American/dp/0399172610/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413281403&sr=8-2&keywords=imbibe+david+wondrich

http://amazon.com/The-PDT-Cocktail-Book-Bartenders/dp/1402779232/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413281591&sr=8-1&keywords=pdt+cocktail+book

Also Bar Smarts offers an online course for $29. https://barsmarts.com/

My library falls into two categories: Books of the Era, for contemporary recipes, sources, and insight; and Modern, for dissection, history, and expansions upon classic cocktails. Both have two mainstays that I bring with me to every convention:

Books of the Era:

The Mixicologist by C.F. Lawlor

How to Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas. I have both the 1862 and the 1876 reprinted editions.

Modern:

Bitters by Ed Anderson

Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh