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| Artisanal Cocktails: Drinks Inspired by the Seasons from the Bar at Cyrus | 
 enlarge | Author: Scott Beattie
Creator: Sara Remington
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.58
You Save: $9.37 (38%)
New (28) Used (8) from $15.26
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 55144
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 150
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 8.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 1580089216
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.874
EAN: 9781580089210
ASIN: 1580089216
Publication Date: November 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 6 | | NEXT » |
 Creme de la Creme January 7, 2009
The Creme de la Creme of Cocktail Books. A must for anyone that appreciates stylish cocktails prepared with the freshest natural local ingredients.
 Beautiful but not as useful as hoped for the home mixologist December 30, 2008
This book is fun to read, and full of inspiring photographs, and I have no doubt that Cyrus's bar is wonderful; I want to go. But as someone who makes many home-infused vodkas and has half a dozen cocktail books, I don't find the book as useful as I'd expected. The takes on classics like the mint julep and the negroni don't add much. Other recipes call for blood orange-infused vodka and lemon-infused vodka, and then include blood orange juice and lemon juice. There's duplication of effort that's fine when you have all the infused vodkas handy, but there's no need for them most of the time. The organization of the book is also unhelpful, put together like something you're supposed to read like a book rather than refer to. Grouping simple syrups, foam techniques, and other basics instead of scattering them through the text would have made it more user friendly over time. All in all, there aren't that many recipes. If breadth had been added to take this beyond a reproduction of Cyrus's cocktail menu and make it an expansive playbook and playground of fanciful libations, it could have been a classic. I hope he'll revise this into that book.
Inspirational Cocktail Book December 16, 2008
This book is extremely approachable considering the caliber of cocktail recipes it contains. The photography is perfect, Scott Beatie's description of ingredients as well as the introduction of the farmers and spirit producers is charming. Even if you are not inclined to make some of the more esoteric of the cocktails, a reading of this books will provide you an appreciation of the alchemy of a beautifully constructed cocktail. A lovely gift for those who appreciate fine dining and all that goes with it.
Nice read, but useless December 8, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Before my review, I need to establish some credibility. I have been making classic cocktails as a hobby for several years now. I have made all the drinks in Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails and am presently working my way through Beachbum Berry's tiki books. My liquor cabinet has about 60 different bottles of booze (not counting various syrups, bitters, and other mixers) and grows at a steady rate of 2 to 3 new ingredients per month. I routinely order products I cannot find in my state. I blog about cocktails, participate in forums and discussion panels about cocktails, and even get promotional bottles of alcohol in the mail. (Actually, I received a promotional copy of the book in question.) I regularly host cocktail parties and I frequently make my own syrups, liqueurs, etc. I certainly don't consider myself the same caliber mixologist as the book author, but think it is fair to say I am undaunted by complicated drink recipes or esoteric ingredients. I'm on the aggressive side of amateur hobbyist.
Now, about the book: all the drinks are all lovely, and they look delicious. The photography was gorgeous, and the reading was relatively interesting. Were I visiting Cyrus, I would be happy to order any of these cocktails. But with that said, I will probably never make any of the cocktails in this book. I'm simply not interested in visiting a florist for a bouquet of edible flowers, or traveling a hundred miles to track down Rangpur limes or any other extremely perishable single-use ingredient for the purpose of making one cocktail that will be consumed inside of 10 minutes. If you happen to live somewhere that Meyer lemons, dianthus and borage flowers, olallieberries, and verbana leaves are readily available, more power to you. Maybe this book is for you. For the rest of us, this is a book that will spend its life on the coffee table, or under it, but not at the bar.
It's not just about recipes, it's about techniques November 20, 2008
Beattie's drinks take the hyper-local approach: The ones he makes at the bar at Cyrus largely come from ingredients sourced from neighbors' gardens and citrus trees. Those recipes are included in the book. But what if you don't live in California? That's when the technique tips come in handy. Beattie gives instruction on how to make spiced syrups, candied citrus peels, foams, rims, and pickled fruits and vegetables. You won't find those in other cocktail books. Not only does this book with its recipes instruct people to make the ultimate West Coast cocktails, its advice will help people around the country develop hyper-local drinks with different local produce sourced wherever they are.
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