Building Your Cocktail and Spirit Vocabulary
Lynn House Shares her Favorite Mixology & Spirits Industry Books
Greetings Heaven Hill Family. This time of social distancing with additional time at home is allowing time to develop and learn new skill sets and explore other facets of the spirits industry. Many times when I am in market, I will joke about how I speak fluent mixologist. I am often asked “what are your favorite cocktail books?” or “what should I read if I want to learn more about cocktail creation?” and most recently “I am studying for my Certified Specialist of Spirits Certification, what are some great resources?” To address these questions and more I thought I would share with you my favorite books related to the spirit’s industry – many of which I am re-reading now as a brush up. To make things simpler, I am breaking down my selections into four categories: history, technique, recipes, flavor.
History
- How’s Your Drink? Cocktails, Culture and the Art of Drinking Well by Eric Felton
- Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktails to Whiskey Smash, A Salute in Stories and Drinks by Dave Wondrich
- Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
- Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits by Jason Wilson
Technique
- The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan
- Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail by David Arnold
Recipes
- The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock
- The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury
- The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Should Know to be a Master Bartender by Dale DeGroff
- The Modern Mixologist: Contemporary Classic Cocktails by Tony Abou-Ganim
- The Essential Bartender’s Guide: How to Make Truly Great Cocktails by Robert Hess
Flavor
- What to Drink with What you Eat by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
- The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
There is a plethora of books one can read to increase your knowledge about cocktails and spirits. However, this selection of books have had the greatest influence in my career. Happy reading, happy learning. Cheers!
