Reddit reviews The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks

Sounds like you should read David Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks if you haven't already. Amazing, classic book from 1948, more cocktail theory than recipe book. He breaks down drinks by type, talks a lot about ratios, proportions, then "rolling your own" when you know what you/your guests like. Get it. Worth it.

Here are a few must haves-

• A good shaker (I like this one.)
  
• Lots of ice. Plan a day ahead. Nothing will kill your mixing session like running out if ice.
  
• Fresh lemons and limes. No exceptions. Ever.
  
• A good jigger. You can't eyeball everything. Some recipes call for as little as 1/4 oz.
  
• Some simple syrup. You can make it in your microwave. Heat equal parts sugar and water to a simmer. When the mix turns clear, your good to go. Cool it in the fridge, stick it in a bottle and serve.
  
• Good, fresh vermouth. If your vermouth has been out on a shelf for a year, pitch it. Go buy fresh bottles and store them in the fridge.
  
• Cointreau. Don't skimp on this one. Shitty triple sec makes shitty cocktails. This is crucial for Sidecars, Margaritas, and countless other classics.
  
  The two books should help you get started:
  
  
• Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails
  
• The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks
  
  Bang for your buck bottles:
  
  
• Cruzan Estate Light Rum
  
• Appleton Estates Gold Jamaican Rum
  
• Myers Dark Jamaican Rum
  
• Beefeater Gin
  
• Old Grandad Bourbon
  
• Elijah Craig 12 year Bourbon
  
• Famous Grouse Blended Scotch
  
• Sauza Hornitos Tequila
  
• Lairds Applejack (Apple Brandy- substitute for Calvados)
  
• Boyd and Blair Vodka (about $30 bucks a bottle, but its the best vodka on earth.)
  
  One Recipe for you to try:
  
  The Scofflaw
  
  
• 1 1/2 oz Rye or Bourbon
  
• 1 oz dry vermouth
  
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
  
• 3/4 oz real pomegranate grenadine. (DO NOT USE ROSE'S!!!)
  
  Shake over ice and strain. Garnish with lemon peel.

Dear Refined Chef,
The drinks on your site are disgusting. Please read some David Embury or Gary Regan and then get back to us. We want to like you, and we applaud you for your efforts, but you are trying to get us to drink equal parts of grenadine, peppermint schnapps, and vodka. Your instructions for making a Pimm's Cup neglects to mention the cucumber and lemon wheels, (though they are pictured) and the addition of soda. Your fourth of July drink was just a disaster.

Your other drinks range from the cloying [blackberry martini] (http://www.refinedchef.com/recipes/drinks-and-cocktails/a-blackberry-martini.php) to the surreal wild blueberry daquiri, in which you suggest rimming a glass with egg white and fine table salt before filling it with blended soda water, blueberries, and coconut cream, rum optional.

I will admit, it's not all bad, as I was able to find the classic Mary Pickford, though I found your instructions to be lacking. You list "house-made grenadine" among the ingredients, but you don't bother to specify how one would go about making grenadine. You could at least link to Morgenthaler or something. It is obvious that you copied the ingredient list from a bar menu without even bothering to consider its nuances.

In short, please strive to become more refined before you go cheffin' around here.

Love,
Joe

Now I had never really had a mixed drink until a few months ago when I finally broke down, went to the local ABC store (North Carolina only sells alcohol at county "Alcoholic Beverage Control" stores), bought myself a bunch of stuff, got a couple of books on bartending and mixed drinks (including the classic; I'm not a complete savage), and started mixing drinks.

My go-to is a whiskey sour, though I admit I put a little more simple syrup in it than a bartender would. (And yes, there are those who would murder me in my sleep for ruining good Kentucky bourbon this way; sue me.) I'm also fond of amaretto sours (as is my wife)--and there is a locally produced amaretto which is the best amaretto I've ever had in my life. It makes Disaronno taste like sweetened piss water--though note Disaronno no longer calls itself "amaretto" on the bottle. (It's only sold in a few counties around Raleigh, so I'd understand if you flew in with an extra suitcase so you could take a few bottles home with you on the return trip.)

I'm also partial to anything with tequila in it. (And I mean clear 100% agave tequila; anything else is crap.) It's also the only spirit I can sip or shoot. Yes, I am tequila's bitch; if given a chance it will put its boot on the back of my neck and spank me into next week.

Though I also admit to being partial to two ounces of vodka, 1/4 ounce of pickled beat juice, a couple of small pieces of red beats, and a splash of olive brine. (Shake over ice, serve in chilled martini glass.) Dunno what it's called, but it's pretty tasty--and works well if you soak a little rosemary in the vodka for an hour beforehand.

It might not be what you're looking for as it was first written before prohibition, but The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is a fabulous read.

You can also do a variation with Yellow Chartreuse.

• 1.25oz Yellow Chartreuse
  
  
• 1oz Velvet Falernum
  
  
• 0.75oz lemon juice
  
  
• 1oz orange juice
  
  Garnish w/orange or lemon peel.
  
  I think I found this in Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks next to the Green Chartreuse Swizzle. I typically make the yellow version because I don't keep pineapple juice around as much as OJ. I'll have to try a mint sprig garnish sometime... At any rate, it's a little sweet, but once the ice dilutes it a bit more it's a nice spring/summer drink imo.

This one?


https://smile.amazon.com/Fine-Art-Mixing-Drinks/dp/1603111646/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=David+A.+Embury&qid=1573085757&s=books&sr=1-1

David Embury "The Fine Art of Mixing Cocktails"

Required reading for my barstaff. Seriously.

Read this book by David Embury. He's an alcoholic, and we love him for it.

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David Embury