The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender, with 500 Recipes Hardcover – October 15, 2002

A great book for amateurs and professionals. All the basics are covered, and it is easy to utilize.

I was so excited about getting this book. I don't know much about cocktails (hey, I'm in California where most people stick with wine), so I wanted to experiment a bit. This book is great. It has tons of recipes (tons!) and gives variations with lovely explanations throughout the book. There is just the right amount of trivia and side-stories and wonderful explanations about the different kinds of glasses to use for cocktails, differences among types of alcohol (e.g. different kinds of whiskeys, scotch vs whiskey, etc). It is an entertaining read in addition to being an informative cocktail cook. Highly recommended!

`The Craft of the Cocktail' is a massively informative referance that I would have maimed for over thirty years ago when I was first started walking the slats behind the wood. I can't wait to try the new recipes at the pub and in my home.Elegant! Scholarly! Humorous! Easy read!As a Hall of Fame bartender, I have studied my profession in Britain, France and the US and have over four thousand Beverage/Literature books going back to 1821. `The Craft of the Cocktail' fits honorably among the top five cocktail volumes on my shelves. It is a treasure that I now study and revere. The historical information is accurate and the barroom philosphy uplifting.Serious and aspiring bartenders, if you acquire only one cocktail-making book in your career this definitely should be it.Dale DeGroff is one of the very few people in the saloon business worldwide who could have delivered such an important and complete work. He is an unusual and rare talent and is truly what a professional bartender should be. His playful anecdotes and story telling abilities show he is definitely one of us.Come to the Fox & Hounds in St. Louis to imbibe and discuss this joyous book. If we are very lucky, Mr. DeGroff and some of his mentors might join us in a discussion about the history of our industry.#N.B: Pay attention Cocktail Nation, this is a monumental work!

I'm a novice and very casual bartender. I picked this up because it has generally good reviews.I really enjoy the trivia and background information, and the personal stories are mostly entertaining. The history and variations of the most common cocktails are a highlight for me. I was expecting some of this, but the amount of background information on bar tools and spirits was a pleasant surprise!A few things keep it from being a 5-star purchase, but I whole-heartedly recommend the item anyway - if you don't mind the following:-Cocktails are organized alphabetically (not by primary spirit/ingredient) and there isn't an index that flags all, e.g., vodka based cocktails. So, you have to hunt and peck at first. I use page flags for reference works and I just grabbed them and started flagging the recipes I wanted to remember - no big deal.-The instructions given for each cocktail vary in detail. After reading through the whole book and seeing the author's explanation of "building" a cocktail, I didn't think any cocktail recipe was unclear...but another novice might find that bothersome. This isn't straight forwardly a step-by-step guide to making all the cocktails included.I was looking for more than just a recipe book, so these two issues don't break the deal for me. I found reading through the book and the recipes very enjoyable. I've got a list of drinks that I want to try at our local lounge, and I can refine the few drinks that I currently make at home.If you're looking for a book that's as much a personal history of making cocktails as a list of recipes, you won't be disappointed. I'm sure that I can now put together a decent bar and start figuring out which spirits and drinks I like - and more importantly, I have the foundation for exploring my own variations and recipes. Considering the title and the concept of the book, I think it was well executed and I am not disappointed with my purchase.4.5/5

I have 5 cocktail books that all have 4+ ratings on amazon (Joy of Mixology, Modern Mixologist etc.) and this is easily my favorite. It has many of the classics like the Daiquiri and Margarita, but they are amazing! Dale's mixes are the best I've tried and my guests absolutely rave about "my" bartending skills. If you follow the directions in this book (which means using FRESH ingredients), then you will have happy guests too. He gives plenty of explanation, including some flashy things like flaming orange peels and the blazer (often called the blue blazer, and you can see Dale performing this one on Youtube). Covers all the basics too, like tools and glassware and the basics of each liquor. If you were just beginning and wanted to learn the right way the first time, this is a great book!The one downside is the index is not good enough in my opinion. There isn't a way of looking up drinks by ingredient. I love this book so much though, I'm creating my own ingredient index, and may make it public someday. There aren't a ton of pictures, but there are lots of great drinks.If you like cream based drinks or liquers (like Kahlua) try the Island Rose. His version of the frozen Daiquiri, Margarita and Cosmopolitan are top notch- the best out of the books I have. I enjoy my other books too, but given only one book, my choice would be easy. He also gives the history of various liquors and drinks and includes a number of drinks from nearly a century ago. There's a reason Dale is called the King of Cocktails, and this book does a good job sharing his expertise.