Book Review: Cocktails Made Simple: Easy & Delicious Recipes for the Home Bartender by Brian Weber, Amin Benny

Cocktails Made Simple: Easy & Delicious Recipes for the Home Bartender by Brian Weber and Amin Benny is a recipe book to help readers craft forty iconic cocktails in the comforts of their own home. From finding the right glass to a flaming peel finish, learn how to build a functional home bar using cost-effective tips on the essential tools to mix with—and familiar alternatives to make the most of what is on hand. The book includes information on the art of crafting cocktails with terms to know and tools of the trade., how to stock your home bar and enhance everyday ingredients using simple techniques, and traditional cocktails categorized by spirit complete with a brief history of each drink and tasty twists.

Cocktails Made Simple is a great book for helping readers learn how to make the best drinks possible at home. I like that while the proper tools are listed, and explained- substitutions are suggested so that those of us that rarely need a tool can still make some of the more complicated drinks without going out and buying more equipment. I also liked the detailed information on all the possible ingredients, included recommending brands. As someone that is not a big drinker (preferring one quality drink I know I like rather than trying something in question) there are some things I have never tried, or at least variations I have not tried, so knowing some information on the drinks before diving in was very helpful.  Similar, seeing the drink ingredients and percentages made it easier to decide on which I might enjoy most, and be most eager to try. I found the instructions and related information to be very accessible. I liked the illustrations that detail the creation of each drink as well. It felt very easy to follow, and the tone was encouraging. My husband and I tend to stick with the same comfortable drinks, but now I think I might add a few new things to my repertoire. There is a trip to the store and some tasty cocktails in my near future. 

Cocktails Made Simple is a well organized and accessible guide for readers that want to expand their knowledge of cocktails for themselves, or to entertain and wow their friends. 

Book Review: Drink Me: Curious Cocktails from Wonderland by Nick Perry, Paul Rosser

Drink Me: Curious Cocktails from Wonderland by Nick Perry and Paul Rosser offers readers a selection of twenty cocktails inspired by Alice in Wonderland as well as some cocktail bars that you might want to visit. Every page of this beautifully designed book includes charming illustrations for the completed madcap drinks .Drink Me! also includes definitive list of the "most curious cocktail bars" you need to visit, and the best ingredients to use with each recipe. 

Drink Me: Curious Cocktails from Wonderland starts off with a helpful guide to spirits, including how they are made and their variety of flavors. Tools and terminology is also explained, which will make cocktail making for novices like myself have an easier time successfully creating tasty cocktails. I am not a big drinker, and rarely experiment, but the combination of literature, whimsy, and alcohol made me want to try out this book. I like that everything is laid out and explained, so I have no surprises once I get started making the recipes. Not all of the recipes help appeal to me, in fact the idea of an "Off With Her Head" made me cringe because of the flavors it was described as having, but very next recipe (The Golden Afternoon) sounded very tasty. Like any recipe book, some results might take some practice and others are hits right off the bat. The batch recipes were the most interesting to me, since simple syrups and liqueurs can be used in a wide variety of recipes. I think this is a great way for novices to explore drink making, and those already experienced to expand their repertoire. An ideal book for those planning a themed dinner or cocktail party, or that simply want to learn to make these drinks and those like them.