The gentleman's guide to cocktails, Alfred Tong
More than 150 varieties of cocktails, movie proposals and places to try them
[leer en español]
"Nothing will make you look stupider than ordering a shaken, not mixed Martini, but it will be fun!"
Seriously, I am not an expert in drinks, I am incapable of poeticizing about wine, and the nuances of a cocktail (even though I'm working on it!) go completely unnoticed, the only thing I know is if it is appetizing or not when I drink it! So this book on cocktails has been very welcome to my collection of gastronomic books and I have on the list to elaborate and test some of the more than 150 varieties of cocktails that it proposes.
The book and author
It has a super easy format to carry in your bag and read wherever you want or relaxed, stretched out in a corner of the house that you most want.
It is composed of few pages, but with a very practical and didactic content regarding the subject. With very minimalist illustrations, in a very nice colour combination in matte tones, by illustrator Jack Hughes.
It is the first book by Alfred Tong, a journalist who writes for important names in the fashion scene. Hence, the illustrations fit perfectly with the author's sophisticated way of structuring the book and writing! The book is organized into ten chapters, divided into three parts, in addition to the introduction, a brief note about the author and illustrator, and an index with the cocktail recipes in alphabetical order.
The first part deals with the technique and everyone involved in the preparation of the cocktail.
The second part emphasizes the cultural part of the drink, dealing with cinematographic and literary aspects. Which is vitally important considering that the most successful period for cocktails coincided with the golden age of Hollywood, around the 1940s and 1940s. Besides the movies you mention, I especially like the chapter on semiotics and style, this that the cocktail speaks for you!
The third part is very interesting because it mentions bars and cocktails that are closely linked and the importance that the seduction of both has in a successful final experience. Describe the stages of meeting a couple, proposing a cocktail at each moment. In addition to leaving some tips in case you want to invite friends and organize your own cocktail party.
Movies and Books Mentioned
El Padrino II,
About the cocktails I want to try
My favorite drinks are Caipirinha and Agua de Valencia (which is included in the book as Valencia), but I would like to try Banana Daiquiri and Martini with oysters, like in the Mad Men series… The Banana Daiquiri does not seem very complicated, as we can see in the preparation Steve The Bartender. After the Chocolate martini and to take advantage of the season, the Watermelon man.
Where to drink the best cocktails,
Bars mentioned in the book,
California: Amato’s Restaurant, Trader Vics,
Havana: La Bodeguita del Medio,
London: American Bar
Luxemburgo: Belle Epoque (Hôtel Métropole)
New Orleans: Fairmont Hotel
New York: King Cole Bar
Paris: Hemingway Bar, Harry’s New York Bar,
San Juan/Puerto Rico: The Caribe Hilton
Singapore, Long Bar
Venice: Harry’s Bar,
The restaurant featured in the martini with others scene from Mad Men, is the Oyster Bar NY.
Proposals in Barcelona,
Hamingway BCN, Eixample,
La llibrería, Les Corts,
Las mejores coctelerías de Barcelona, por Timeout,
Las 7 mejores coctelerías de Barcelona, por Comer – Lavanguardia.
DATA SHEET
ISBN: 9781742704104 | Year of publication 2012 | editor Hardie Grant London | Author Alfred Tong | Ilustraciones Jack Hughes | Pages 144 | Measures18X14 | Original edition in English, hard cover
[it may interest you]
Get the book in Hardie Grant,
Some of his illustrations in Jack Hughes,
Do a cocktail workshop in Slow Factory, Barcelona