Reddit reviews The Savoy Cocktail Book
We found 6 Reddit comments about The Savoy Cocktail Book. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Reddit reviews The Savoy Cocktail BookWe found 6 Reddit comments about The Savoy Cocktail Book. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
This post came at a perfect time for me: last week my friend and I had a cocktail taste test. We decided to focus on the Aviation.
The point was to make the same cocktail using two different recipes. I have tons of books, but I decided to pit the recipe from from the reference book Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide. It is the recipe I've been using to "impress" friends for the last two months. That recipe goes like this:
2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
1/4 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz. creme de violette
It was good. Refreshing. Unique tart bite. A floral cooling sensation. But it was missing something, it tasted more bitter than I was used to at the bars I went to.
But then I got the Death and Co. book for Christmas, and man is it great. So I decided to use their recipe to go against the one I was using, and it goes like this:
2 oz. Plymouth gin
1/2 oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur
1/2 teaspoon creme yvette
3/4 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
This recipe seems very different. And guess what? The Death and Co. recipe was MILES better than the one I was using before. Everything blended together so well! It tasted fantastic. It just goes to show how different measurements and the simple addition of simple syrup go a long way.
I hope to try this test out with different cocktails soon. OP, where did you get your recipe?
Also, I checked the Savoy Cocktail book, and here is there recipe:
1/3 lemon juice
2/3 dry gin
2 dashes maraschino
!!
That's it! No violette anything! Even Esquire doesn't use any creme de violette.
I found a very interesting blog post (from a post in /r/cocktails actually) of the history of the Aviation that is worth a read.
Here are some pics of our lab:
http://imgur.com/a/cvMUV
The point is to play around with the same recipe until you really feel it is outstanding.
EDIT: Shameless plug: https://obedientingredients.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/cocktail-measurements-matter-the-aviation/
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
Good post. Though I have a copy, it's nice to see some of it online... because have you SEEN the Amazon listing? lol.
continued
Homemade Soda by Andrew Schloss
Mix Shake Stir: Recipes from Danny Meyer's Acclaimed New York City Restaurants compiled by Danny Meyer
Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2010 by Jim Murray
And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis
Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide, Revised by Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron
Great Beer Guide: 500 Classic Brews by Michael Jackson
Old Mr. Boston DeLuxe Official Bartender's Guide 4th Edition
The Seasonal Cocktail Companion: 100 Recipes and Projects for Four Seasons of Drinking by Maggie Savarino
The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks by Dale Degroff
Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History by Mark Spivak
Bottom Row:
The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil
Absinthe, Sip of Seduction: A Contemporary Guide by Betina Wittels & Robert Hermesch
The Complete Bartender: Art of Mixing Plain and Fancy Drinks by Albert Barnes (Espresso Book Machine Reprint)
Michael Jackson's Beer Companion by Michael Jackson
The Drunken Botanist: The Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks by Amy Stewart
Food & Wine Cocktails 2013 edited by Jim Meehan
Food & Wine Cocktails 2012 edited by Jim Meehan
Food & Wine Cocktails 2011 edited by Jim Meehan
The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to be a Master Bartender, with 500 Recipes by Dale DeGroff
Cocktail Techniques by Kazuo Uyeda
Shake, Stir, Pour: Fresh Homegrown Cocktails by Katie Loeb
Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis by Kingsley Amis
Tequila: A Traditional Art of Mexico edited by Alberto Ruy Sanchez & Magarita de Orellana
The New York Times Book of Wine: More than 30 Years of Vintage Writing edited by Howard G. Goldberg (pre-release copy)
The Northern California Craft Beer Guide by Ken Weaver
A Field Guide to Hendrick's Gin
The Oxford Companion to Beer edited by Garrett Oliver
The Book of Gin: A Spirited World History from Alchemists' Stills and Colonial Outposts to Gin Palaces, Bathtub Gin, and Artisanal Cocktails by Richard Barnett (pre-release copy)
Modern American Drinks: How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups, Cocktails, and Fancy Mixed Drinks by George J. Kappeler (Espresso Book Machine Printing)
Edible Cocktails: From Garden to Glass - Seasonal Cocktails with a Fresh Twist by Natalie Bovis
Straight Up or On the Rocks: The Story of the American Cocktail by William Grimes
Brewed Awakening: Behind the Beers and Brewers Leading the World's Craft Brewing Revolution by Joshua M. Bernstein
The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock
Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiast's Guide to Brewing Craft Beer at Home by Sam Calagione
Wine for Dummies by Ed McCarthy & Mary Ewing-Mulligan
Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass by Randy Mosher
Not Pictured:
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee
Craft Cocktails at Home: Offbeat Techniques, Contemporary Crowd-Pleasers, and Classics Hacked with Science by Kevin Liu
Beachbum Berry Remixed by Jeff Berry
How's Your Drink?: Cocktails, Culture, and the Art of Drinking Well by Eric Felten
Let me know if you have any questions about any of the books.
They teach you the "easy way", and by easy way I mean using sour mix and taking shortcuts like that. There are plenty of good resources online and amazing cocktail books you can buy that have the original recipes for classic cocktails, as well as the proper way to do things behind the bar.
Learn from reputable sources and from good bartenders. If you're interested here's a couple good reads:
As far as knowledge goes, you can learn a lot from reading and studying. For me personally, I love this kind of stuff and I'm constantly trying to learn as much as I can so I could hardly say it feels like actual studying. As for technical skills, learn from people better than you. No matter how good you get, there is always someone out there you can learn from. A lot of how I work I've picked up from watching great bartenders, everything from small stuff like the way I carry a bottle to the way I move behind the bar has come from watching, learning and implementing it into how I bartend.
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/