Book Review: The Joy of Mixology
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:59 amThe Joy of Mixology, Regan, Gary. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2003. Introduction, Contents Tables and Charts, Glossary, Index, Illustrated, pp. 386.
This is more than your normal recipe book, it is a textbook for bartenders. The reader here will find chapters on the history of cocktails, how to be a bartender, equiping the bar and of course recipes. The book is well written with a humor that only Gary Regan can put onto paper. It is an enjoyable read on many levels.
The chapter titled "The Bartender: Do you have what it takes" should be a must read for every person hired to work behind the bar. The book lays out some very good guidelines for managing the responsibilities of the job and deals with other difficult situations that may arise (customers who have too much or unwanted advances by customers).
Historians will be impressed with the fact the book starts off with a history of the cocktail and that history is about 50 pages of the book. Regan surely has a deep appreciation for history and it shows. This knowledge is also useful information for a bartender and it is only appropriate that the book starts with this knowledge.
This book is a very good book for a personal bourbon library. It will add to the reads knowledge and appreciation of his local bartender.
Mike Veach
This is more than your normal recipe book, it is a textbook for bartenders. The reader here will find chapters on the history of cocktails, how to be a bartender, equiping the bar and of course recipes. The book is well written with a humor that only Gary Regan can put onto paper. It is an enjoyable read on many levels.
The chapter titled "The Bartender: Do you have what it takes" should be a must read for every person hired to work behind the bar. The book lays out some very good guidelines for managing the responsibilities of the job and deals with other difficult situations that may arise (customers who have too much or unwanted advances by customers).
Historians will be impressed with the fact the book starts off with a history of the cocktail and that history is about 50 pages of the book. Regan surely has a deep appreciation for history and it shows. This knowledge is also useful information for a bartender and it is only appropriate that the book starts with this knowledge.
This book is a very good book for a personal bourbon library. It will add to the reads knowledge and appreciation of his local bartender.
Mike Veach