Two weeks from today is Thanksgiving (hard to believe!) and we all know what that means; an invasion of family and friends. Of course, there is always the one who makes you cock your head and say to yourself, “Why do I subject myself to this each and every year?” If you are like me, you are looking frantically for your glass as you think this and hoping it is filled with mind numbing yumminess.   Today “The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks” by Dale Degroff came across our desk and we have been flipping through and developing a mighty thirst.

 

The photography is spectacular but what really has us going is the history  and stories behind the cocktails. You have to love a book that includes the following quip “What lasts longer, a bottle of Angostura bitters or your marriage?” For our money the story behind The Monkey Gland Cocktail (Victorian Viagra anyone?) has to be one of the more disturbing stories we have come across in a loooong time.  And believe me, we know disturbing.

 

The book not only gives you the history and the recipes behind some legendary cocktails, but also the correct glass to serve them in, tools every well stocked bar needs, and resources for those hard to find items. 

 

So when your Aunt Gladys and Uncle Alfred ring that doorbell in two weeks, why not meet them with a little something from the book in a frosty glass? It just might make everyone a little more festive. 

 

Cheers Dahlings!