Bartender's Bible: 1001 Mixed Drinks and Everything You Need to Know to Set Up Your Bar by Gary Regan, (none)

From the Publisher

Now you can with this indispensable handbook, the most thorough'and thoroughly accessible'bartending guide ever created for both professional and home use. Encyclopedic in scope and filled with clear, simple instructions, The Bartender's Bible includes information on:

• Stocking and equipping a bar'from liquors and mixers to condiments, garnishes, and equipment

• Shot-by-shot recipes for over 1,000 cocktails and mixed drinks from bourbon to rum to whiskey

• Wine drinks

• Beer drinks

• Nonalcoholic drinks

• Special category drinks'tropical, classics, aperitifs, cordials, hot drinks, and party punches

• Anecdotes and histories of favorite potables

• And more!

If you've ever wondered whether to shake or stir a proper Martini, or what to do with those dusty bottles of flavored liqueurs,The Bartender's Bibleis the only book you need!

A bartender, as a rule, is a person who enjoys the company of others, endeavors to solve problems, listens to the woes of the world, sympathizes with the mistreated, laughs with the comedians, cheers up the down at heart, and generally controls the atmosphere at his or her bar. A bartender is the manager of moods, the master of mixology.

Certain scenarios are played out over and over again in bars everywhere. The questions are basically the same; only the details vary: What's in a true Singapore Sling? How long has the Martini been around? What's the difference between a Fix and a Fizz? A reference book is as necessary to a bartender as ice.

— from The Bartender'sBible

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• Read an Excerpt

Read an Excerpt

BLOODY MARY

I have heard only two explanations for the name of this drink. One is that it was named after Mary 1 of England, a sixteenthcentury queen who was nicknamed Bloody Mary because of the number of people that she had put to death. It is quite certain that nobody drank vodka and tomato juice before Mary got her epithet, so 1 prefer this explanation to the one that gives credit to the character in the 1949 musical South Pacific who was designated bloody because her teeth were stained red from chewing betel nuts.

Of course, given the way English royalty used to have people killed, it is somewhat surprising that we don't have a whole lineage of drinks named Bloody Ethelred, Bloody Henry, Bloody Richard, and Bloody Harold. I imagine that the Brits only gave the title to Mary because such behavior was unbecoming to a female.

As to who first concocted the Bloody Mary, well, many different people have taken credit, but it is usually credited to a bartender at Harry's New York Bar in Paris during the 1920s. His name was Fernand Petiot.

You may want to make a batch of Bloody Marys if you are throwing a brunch or a breakfast party. If so, make the tomato juice mixture without the vodka. That way the mix won't separate, and nondrinkers can help themselves to Virgin Marys.

Variations on the Bloody Mary include the Bloody Bull (above), Bloody Maria (page 141), and Clamato Cocktail (page 163).

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, pepper, salt, celery seed, Worcestershire, and Tabasco. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass almost filled with ice cubes. Garnish with the celery and the lime wedge.

MARTINI

The martini is one of the simplest of drinks — smooth, dry, lightly perfumed (depending on which gin you prefer) — and it is a classic aperitif. The martini bespeaks an air of sophistication; it is an acquired taste that can be altered to suit the individual. It may be the classic cocktail.

However, the martini also seems to give a drinker a chance to boast of his or her individuality. Some say that one should merely introduce the bottle of vermouth to the gin, very politely of course: "Mr. Gin, allow me to introduce Mr. Vermouth. Don't shake hands now; you will never mix." Showman bartenders will keep the vermouth in an atomizer and merely spray the glass lightly before adding chilled gin. Others will keep their olives soaking in the vermouth, negating the need for any extra in the mixing glass. James Bond preferred his martini shaken, not stirred, but that can "bruise" the gin. Bruise the gin? I imagine that one can bruise an olive, but, personally, I don't believe that gin can be bruised. There seems to be no end of special treatments required for some people's martinis. They'll easily choose between straight up or on the rocks, and generally the choice between a twist and an olive won't challenge them too much. But then the peculiarities begin: They'll want the martini straight up with a glass of ice cubes on the side, two olives put in the glass before the drink is poured in, or the twist must be rubbed around the rim of the glass, waved twice over the top, and then thrown away. No request is too bizarre.

Of course, these days, you can make a martini with any white liquor at all — rum, tequila, gin, or vodka. The martini offers true freedom of choice: It might just be the very symbol of America. Put three cocktail onions into the drink, instead of the olive or twist, and it becomes a Gibson. Use a dash ofScotch instead of the vermouth, and you have a Silver Bullet. Use sake, and you have a Sakétini, and, of course, if you make a martini with Scotch instead of gin and sweet vermouth instead of dry, the drink becomes a Rob Roy.

Variations on the Martini include the Fino Martini (page 61), Rum Martini (page 114), Sakétini (page 79), Silver Bullet (page 79), Tequila Martini (page 153), Vodka Martini (page 178), Rob Roy (page 133), and the Gibson (page 62).

In a mixing glass half-filled with ice cubes, combine the gin and vermouth. Stir well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist or the olive.