Behold! Here is my round-up of all the cocktails and spirits books (plus a few others) that were released in 2017. This year, beyond the annual deluge of whisky books, there are books aping the bartender lifestyle (Drink Like a Bartender, Straight Up), more narrative books (I Hear She's a Real Bitch, By the Smoke and the Smell), and recipe books seeking to simplify the process (3 Ingredient Cocktails, The Imbible, Road Soda) rather than reveal the secrets of complex drinks from top bars.
All in all, another great year for reading about drinking.
The links below are to Amazon.com and if you order from there I get a little percentage from the affiliate program. However if you want to be even more awesome, you can buy my book on the Gin & Tonic too!
Cocktail/Bartender Lifestyle Books
The Drinkable Globe: The Indispensable Guide to the Wide World of Booze by Jeff Cioletti
Distillery Cats: Profiles in Courage of the World's Most Spirited Mousers by Brad Thomas Parsons
The Art of the Bar Cart: Styling & Recipes by Vanessa Dina, Ashley Rose Conway
The Bar Cart Bible: Everything You Need to Stock Your Home Bar and Make Delicious Classic Cocktails
Drink Like a Bartender by Thea Engst and Lauren Vigdor
The Cocktail Competition Handbook by Andy Ives
Straight Up: Where to drink & what to drink on every continent by Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley
Meehan's Bartender Manual by Jim Meehan
History Books
Muskets and Applejack: Spirits, Soldiers, and the Civil War by Mark Will-Weber
B.A.S.T.A.R.D.S.: Bars And Saloons, Taverns And Random Drink Stories (Volume 1) by Brian F. Rea
Bay Area Cocktails: A History of Culture, Community and Craft by Shanna Farrell
Bumbershoots: Abridged by Dominic C Pennock
Single Cocktail Books
The Bloody Mary Book: Reinventing a Classic Cocktail by Ellen Brown
The Bloody Mary: The Lore and Legend of a Cocktail Classic, with Recipes for Brunch and Beyond by Brian Bartels
Gin Tonica: 40 recipes for Spanish-style gin and tonic cocktails by David T Smith
Whiskey and Whisky Books
Moonshine Mixology: 60 Recipes for Flavoring Spirits & Making Cocktails by Cory Straub
The Way of Whisky: A Journey Around Japanese Whisky by Dave Broom
The Bourbon Bartender: 50 Cocktails to Celebrate the American Spirit by Jane Danger and Alla Lapushchik
Canadian Whisky, Second Edition: The New Portable Expert by Davin de Kergommeaux
Rum Books
The Curious Bartender's Rum Revolution by Tristan Stephenson
Rum Curious: The Indispensable Tasting Guide to the World's Spirit by Fred Minnick
Spirit of the Cane by Jared McDaniel Brown and Anistatia Renard Miller
Other Spirits
Mezcal: The History, Craft & Cocktails of the World's Ultimate Artisanal Spirit by Emma Janzen
AKVAVIT - Rediscovering a Nordic Spirit by Sune Risum-Urth and Rasmus Poulsgaard
Dr. Adam Elmegirab’s Book of Bitters: The bitter and twisted history of one of the cocktail world’s most fascinating ingredients by Adam Elmegirab
Brand Books
Hennessy: A Toast to the World's Preeminent Spirit by Glenn O'Brien
Fever Tree: The Art of Mixing: Recipes from the world's leading bars by Fever Tree
Brewdog: Craft Beer for the People by Richard Taylor with James Watt and Martin Dickie
Recipe-Focussed Books
The Imbible: A Cocktail Guide for Beginning and Home Bartenders by Micah LeMon
Let's Get Monster Smashed: Horror Movie Drinks for a Killer Time by Jon Chaiet and Marc Chaiet
Code Name: Cocktail by Vicky Sweat & Karen McBurnie
The Modern Cocktail: Innovation + Flavour by Matt Whiley
Road Soda: Recipes and techniques for making great cocktails, anywhere by Kara Newman
The Poptail Manual: Over 90 Delicious Frozen Cocktails by Kathy Kordalis
The Cocktail Guide to the Galaxy: A Universe of Unique Cocktails from the Celebrated Doctor Who Bar by Andy Heidel
Cooking with Cocktails: 100 Spirited Recipes by Kristy Gardner
The Classic & Craft Cocktail Recipe Book: The Definitive Guide to Mixing Perfect Cocktails from Aviation to Zombie by Clair McLafferty
Boston Cocktails: Drunk & Told by Frederic Yarm
Beach Cocktails: Favorite Surfside Sips and Bar Snacks
A Spot at the Bar: Welcome to the Everleigh: The Art of Good Drinking in Three Hundred Recipes by Michael Madrusan and Zara Young
The Wildcrafted Cocktail: Make Your Own Foraged Syrups, Bitters, Infusions, and Garnishes; Includes Recipes for 45 One-of-a-Kind Mixed Drinks by Ellen Zachos
The Cocktail Hour (L’Heure du Cocktail): 224 recipes Collected by Marcel Requien Presented by Lucien Farnoux-Reynaud
3 Ingredient Cocktails: An Opinionated Guide to the Most Enduring Drinks in the Cocktail Canon by Robert Simonson
Cocktail Chameleon by Mark Addison
Prosecco Cocktails: 40 tantalizing recipes for everyone's favourite sparkler by Laura Gladwin
New York Cocktails by Amanda Schuster
Good Together: Drink & Feast with Mr Lyan & Friends by Ryan Chetiyawardana
Narrative Booze Books
The Angels' Share by James Markert
Breakfast Tea & Bourbon by Pete Bissonette
Pure Heart: A Spirited Tale of Grace, Grit, and Whiskey by Troylyn Ball and Bret Witter
I Hear She's a Real Bitch by Jen Agg
By the Smoke and the Smell: My Search for the Rare and Sublime on the Spirits Trail by Thad Vogler
Wine Books
Note: I don't really cover wine books and these are just a few of them that came out this year. These are merely the ones that showed up in my mailbox.
The Complete Bordeaux by Stephen Brook
Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste by Bianca Bosker
The Dirty Guide to Wine: Following Flavor from Ground to Glass by Alice Feiring
The New Wine Rules: A Genuinely Helpful Guide to Everything You Need to Know by Jon Bonne
Champagne: The Essential Guide to the Wines, Producers, and Terroirs of the Iconic Region by Peter Liem
Larousse Wine
Beer and Cider Books
Note: Same as wine, this isn't my primary focus but here are a few books.
Best Beers: the indispensable guide to the world’s beers by Tim Webb and Stephen Beaumont
Modern Cider: Simple Recipes to Make Your Own Ciders, Perries, Cysers, Shrubs, Fruit Wines, Vinegars, and More by Emma Christensen
Food, and Miscellaneous Related Books
Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating by Charles Spence
Miracle Cure: The Creation of Antibiotics and the Birth of Modern Medicine by William Rosen
Popular: The Power of Likability in a Status-Obsessed World by Mitch Prinstein
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories by Laura Shapiro
The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St Clair
Not Enough Books For Ya?
Here are all the books published in the last three years as well.
More Than 40 Drink Books Published in 2014 for Reading or Gifting
All the Cocktails & Spirits Books Published in 2015, For Reading or Gifting
All the Cocktails and Spirits Books Published in 2016 for Reading or Gifting
Aqua Vitae as a terminology comes from the "alchemico-medical" background – the medical alchemists separating a pure essence of the universal life force (supposedly) from wine. The name refers to the method (distillates were called waters) and (supposed) healthy life-giving impacts to the person who drinks it. It first referred to wine-based spirits but came to mean distillates of all sorts (and is the base of the words for aquavit, eau de vie, and whiskey) but then words like whiskey, brandy, etc came to dominate as spirits differentiated. A thing to note here is that this terminology and technology was from Southern Italy and spread up north in Europe toward the UK and Scandinavia, and eastward into Germany, Poland, and Russia. The technology of distillation of aqua vitae followed the path of knowledge with travelling monks. 
