Side Dish for Jan. 26, 2011

Consider cocktails both classic, creative

The Advocate’s Food staff thinks 2012 should be a year of celebrations — not only of the major holidays, but also the obscure and quirky. That means that during the year we will feature stories about obvious observations, such as Mardi Gras, the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, and about just-for-fun party opportunities, such as Yorkshire Pudding Day or the first day of spring.
When entertaining family and friends, successful hosts know a party menu isn’t complete without deciding what drinks will be served. And considering the number of drinks books that have crossed my desk in recent months, serving both classic and creative libations must be enjoying a revival. Some books take the topic quite seriously; others have a more laid-back, fun attitude. Here are three to consider for your home library:
“The Ultimate Cocktail Book” by Bill Reveall and Neil Mersh (Hamlyn, $17.95, softcover) is a good reference book for making cocktails for a party in any season. The 208-page book offers a quick introduction to the history of cocktails, explains what equipment is needed to make the alcoholic concoctions and offers a few bartender’s tips. The most important: don’t skimp on ice.
“The Ultimate Cocktail Book” also includes expert tips on decorating cocktails, suggestions on throwing a cocktail party, and how to estimate quantities. The recipes are divided into five chapters: The Classics, Strictly Spirits, Tall Drinks, Exotic Cocktails; and Alcohol-free Cocktails.
This is an attractive book, with plenty of full-color photographs illustrating garnishing and many of the prepared drinks. Here’s one of its recipes:

“The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion: 151 Cocktails That Will Freshen Your Breath, Impress a Hot Date, Cure a Hangover, and More!” by Duane Swierczynski (Quirk Books, $14.95, hardcover) takes a fun look at mixing cocktails. Its sense of humor seems geared mainly for male readers, although women will like the recipes, too.
The author describes his book as “the MacGyver of booze books: a truly handy tool that can bail you out of virtually any social situation with only a bottle of Absolut, some chewing gum, and six inches of string.”
The little, 240-page book is illustrated with black-and-white drawings. It opens with info on the main spirits for building mixed drinks, mixers and garnishes, hardware to use, and the proper technique for mixing drinks. The recipes are divided into 11 chapters from The Perfect Set-Up to The Perfect Hangover Cure.
Here’s a recipe for what is probably the only nonalcoholic drink in the book. It is from the chapter on The Drink for Major Life Events and is suggested for serving after First Holy Communion/Bar or Bat Mitzah.

Susy Atkins has written a book about homemade drinks, those made from scratch with fresh, in-season ingredients. “How to Make your Own Drinks: Create Your Own Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Drinks From Fruit Cordials to After-Dinner Liqueurs” (Mitchell Beazley/Octopus, $16.99, hardcover) is for the ultimate do-it-yourselfer.
Nicely illustrated with full-color photos by Noel Murphy, the 159-page book looks at how to “make drinks out of fresh, natural (and often free) ingredients, just as we do when cooking food,” the author writers.
Atkins, the author of 10 books about wine and drinks, is a columnist for the Sunday Telegraph in the United Kingdom. That means that some of the fresh ingredients she suggests using aren’t easily available in south Louisiana — green and pink gooseberries, nettles, rhubarb, wild damsons (a variety of purple plum).
But, she does offer lots of good information on how to get started; how to make, store and age drinks that involve fermentation; how to troubleshoot problems involving fermentation; how to jazz up your homemade drinks for gift-giving; and tips on entertaining.
The recipes — for both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks — are divided into 10 chapters, ranging from Floral Drinks to Festive Drinks for Entertaining. Among them are Strawberry Wine, Lemon Cordial, Rice and Raisin Wine, Ginger Beer, Cucumber Gin, Cherry Brandy and Parsnip Wine. Here’s her recipe for Masala Chai.