Monday, January 9, 2012

Review # 100: SEE MIX DRINK- A Refreshingly Simple Guide to Crafting the World's Most Popular Cocktails by Brian D. Murphy


Description:
     SEE MIX DRINK is an easy-to-use full-color guide to mixing some of the world's best drinks and cocktails using well-known spirits like Brandy, Champagne, Gin, Rum, Tequila, Vodka, Whiskey, and Liqueurs. Each drink recipe is broken down into short text/diagram sections that note the cocktail pronunciation, the cocktail "snapshot", ingredients, description, best occasion for drinking, time required, proportions, calories, and text/visual instructions. There is also a guide to bar essentials, a guide to popular spirits, and a color-coded index broken down by name and calorie count per drink. This is the D.I.Y. guide to mixology, for beginners through pros!
Review:

     I may not imbibe any alcoholic beverages myself, but there are plenty of people who enjoy a cocktail or a relaxing mixed drink, so I definitely see the allure of a book like this one. The book format is great, with full-color photos, illustrations, and diagrams, paired with concise text instructions. I like how Brian D. Murphy separated drink types based on what types of spirits were being used, and then alphabetically; this made it very easy to find specific drinks without having to constantly flip through the sections - as did the two indexes. And, according to my family, the drinks are quite good, especially the Dark & Stormy! I only wish that there had been a few more basic drinks, because I noticed that there was a large amount of ingredients that a home bar wouldn't necessarily stock; but with a little time and effort, one could mix a drink at a time until they have everything they need to prepare every drink in the book - and there are a lot. This book will have any person, no matter the experience, mixing and creating drinks like a pro mixologist. I recommend this book to adults (21+) who want to improve their mixing skills and serve up some awesome drinks.

Rating: On the Run (4.5/5)

*** I received this book from the publisher (Little, Brown and Company) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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