Meehan's Bartender Manual: [A Cocktail Reference and Recipe Book] Hardcover – October 17, 2017

Released in 2017, this is the second book we’ve featured of Meehan’s (the first being the essential ’PDT Cocktail Book’.)We began 2022 by abstaining from alcohol for the month of January. However, we also pledged to expand and improve our mixology skills during the year.This exhaustive collection of text contains a wealth of information for the professional and home bar enthusiast alike. Within the pages, you’ll find history, essential hospitality industry information, expert advice, techniques and 100 recipes for classic cocktails. Not only did working through this book elevate our skills but it expanded our palate as we explored spirits we were less familiar with (rum and tequila, in particular). The book is gorgeously designed and features simple, beautiful photographs of every drink, as well as wonderful illustrations throughout. Here are the cocktails we made:• Old Friend - Created by the author himself in 2012 for the Chef’s Club in Aspen, Colorado, this cocktail feels like a timeless classic! It features one of our favorite spirits, Campari! This bitter crimson-hued liqueur is definitely an acquired taste but we love it so much we will drink it by itself with a splash of soda. Here, it’s shaken with gin, grapefruit juice and St. Germain (an elderflower liqueur) before garnishing with a lemon twist.• Martinez - Dating back to 1884, the “recipe” from O.H. Byron’s ‘The Modern Bartenders Guide’ simply stated, “same as a Manhattan, only you substitute gin for whiskey.”Here, the drink receives an upgrade - combining Old Tom gin, vermouth, maraschino liqueur and a couple dashes of bitters. Garnish with an orange twist and imbibe!• Five Island Flamingo - This cocktail allowed us the opportunity to explore rum as the featured spirit. As it turns out, there are far more (better) options than that bottle of Malibu we choked down after our senior prom. This delicate creation features white rum, grapefruit soda and lime juice. With minimal ingredients, quality is key - as there’s nothing for them to hide behind.• East India Negroni - This twist on the classic subs Banks 5-Island rum for the gin and Lustau East India Solera sherry for the sweet Vermouth. Although interesting, we ultimately preferred the classic over the remake - not unlike the movie ‘Footloose’ (or ‘Dirty Dancing’).• Tommy’s Margarita - Created in the late 80’s by second-generation owner Julio Bermejo of Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, this recipe trades triple sec for agave syrup. Using the best quality reposado tequila is crucial - as there’s nothing, aside from lime juice and the agave syrup, for it to hide behind. If your only exposure to margs are the 3 for 1 blended concoctions at your local Tex-Mex joint, give this sophisticated, yet simple, version a try.

I’ve had this book on my wishlist for about a year, since it was released. I wish I pulled the trigger earlier.This isn’t for everyone. It’s a pretty boring casual read for most people, and even the geekiest of home bartenders won’t find it particularly useful. But if you actually work behind a craft bar, or manage or own one, this is hands-down the best bar book of the 21st century, even surpassing David Wondrich’s Imbibe! As a bartender with a history BA working in craft establishments for several years, this is right up my alley.There’s about two hundred pages of recipes; a little under half the book. The photos are gorgeous and they’re a healthy mix of classics and Meehan originals, but this isn’t a recipe book.The introduction starts off with a wonderful history of cocktails and also a very detailed historiography of cocktail literature. Meehan writes like a true historian here, relating how pop culture, politics, and changing demographics have affected the history of cocktails.As an added bonus, every few pages have a snippet of insight from industry heavyweights - sommeliers, bartenders, distillers, brewers, historians, artists, etc - think Aubrey Saunders, Garret Oliver, Dale DeGraff, David Wondrich, etc. Some may disagree with some of Meehan’s ideas, as do I. But nonetheless this is a seminal piece of work for our industry.Besides the menus and history/historiography, Meehan touches on menu development, bar setup (mise en place), bar/restaurant design, descriptions of spirits, service standards, cocktail building techniques, and basically anything you can think of. He states in the introduction that you cannot learn how to tend bar from a book, but if you want a head start you really should own and read this one.

I am extremely impressed by the entirety of this cocktail book. It has a heavy focus on the logistical and technical aspects of not just making drinks, but opening, setting up, and operating a bar efficiently. The included architectural plans of successful bars and the explanation and analysis of their use of design and space is something you don't see in almost any other cocktail book. The section on drink making technique is handled in an almost tactical narrative. It using the fictional placement of a very large order of 11 or so cocktails requiring every method of drink creation to explain how a bar with two bartenders would most efficiently split the work and create the ensuing drinks so that everything was finished at around the same time while maintaining the quality of every single drink.The photography is stunning, the layout is very intuitive, and the physical binding and quality of printing are all top notch. Each recipe comes with a photograph, the history of the drink, and recommendations on quality of spirits/ingredients to use.I will say, that if you're just looking for a straight recipe book or an introductory cocktail book to get your feet wet, this may be a bit intense. It really is aimed more towards folks who are already, or are interested in becoming, involved in the cocktail/hospitality industry, or cocktail enthusiasts who are in pretty deep. This is not a generalist manual as it goes into very detailed specifics and theory as well as philosophy of being in the service industry.This is not a criticism at all and I think that this is one of Meehan's Bartender Manual's greatest strengths which makes it stand out from the crowd, but that said just be aware if that doesn't sound like something you're into. I'd absolutely recommend this book and am very pleased with this purchase. I already had high expectations when I pre-ordered this since PDT's cocktail book (also by Jim Meehan) was amazing, but this is a book with a different purpose that I think elevates even past it.