The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks

by David A. Embury

Book Overview

New introductions by Audrey Saunders and Robert Hess This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1603111646
• ISBN13: 9781603111645
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Mud Puddle Books, Inc.
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Master Bartender Approves

As a certified Master Bartender and (purist), I am honored to recommend Mr. Embury's book, and recommend it indeed on several levels. The details and attitude are all there. This is basic and pure mixology. I have used this book as text to train over forty bartenders, some I'm sure have served you well. I have three copies and will probably buy what more I can find, only to give them away and share in the invaluable knowledge therein.Read this book, and may you never more suffer an intolorable, insipid cocktail again.

The best cocktail guide ever written

Judging by Mr. Embury's prose, he would be a load of fun to sit down and have a drink with. Or better yet, have him do the mixing. This book is entertaining, comprehensive, and clearly written. It tells how to mix drinks, the history of the cocktail, descriptions of various liquors, liquers, mixers; and contains literally hundreds of recipes. Best of all, it shows you a few basic prinicples so you can "roll your own," as the author suggests, and frees you to experiment.

An Enduring Classic

This book is nothing short of wonderful. My 1961 Dolphin Handbook edition is a perennial delight to read, its nearly 400 pages crammed with fascinating and sometimes hilarious information about what Embury calls a fine art. I love a writer with an opinion who knows what he's talking about, and Embury delivers not only the "how" but the "why" -- not only the recipes but also the basic principals of this art. Forty years have passed and an updated version or re-release of the book would be welcome. In the meantime I'll treasure the copy I have.

It's surely time this book was reissued

We have a lot for which to thank David Embury in this very entertaining book. With its help we managed not to make mistakes with our purchases of spirits. Embury introduced us to one of the most enjoyable of all long drinks--the Collins family. Who wants a gin and tonic (though I must admit I still enjoy these) when you can have a Tom Collins?And Embury is so right to include "tons of ice" in each recipe. It's amazing the difference plenty of ice makes to a drink. I always swirled an ice cube in the alcohol (and then discarded the ice cube) before mixing the drink. The mixer used also makes a lot of difference. So many of these (tonic water and ginger ales in particular) are far too sweet. (Anyone would think they were aimed at children!) Certainly nobody will want to mix a bottled lemonade with gin (or any other alcohol) after trying Embury's Collins recipes. When we moved house four years ago and were sorting through our books, we found that our copy of this book was literally falling apart. There wasn't one page attached to another--though the book still had its cover. My husband wanted to throw it away (we didn't have money to spare for alcohol these days anyway) but I said "No". He's recently started brewing his own spirits. They're not the equal of anything recommended by Embury, but they're nowhere near as bad as I'd feared. The brandy he produced for my Christmas pudding and Christmas mince pies certainly tasted like brandy and was even reasonably drinkable on its own. It will, he declared, improve with age. Certainly I've tasted commercially produced brandies a LOT harsher. But I wonder what Embury would think of all this home distilled liquor? Maybe if his publisher decides to reissue the book Embury could update it to include home distilling kits.Guess who is glad we didn't throw away this book? :-)

A Mixologist's Friend

Anyone who has the slightest interest in becoming a serious mixologist should have this book as a reference source. Besides the usual recipes for drinks and cocktails, Mr. Embury inserts his strong opinions on how the drinks should be made, how they taste, and why they are mixed in the manner suggested. The explanations of how the different alcohols are made is interesting and the glassware chapter is helpful if you want to throw a classy party. The section on liquers is especially handy and excellent. My Dad gave me this book years ago. He was a well known mixologist and I think he used this book as a text. I know I do. This book is highly recommended.