Category: london

All the Cocktail and Spirits Books Released in 2018, In Consideration for Gifting or Reading

It's the annual Alcademics drink book round-up! These are all the cocktails and spirits books that I know about published in 2018, with a couple of wine and beer books thrown in for good measure. It's over 60 books in total. Read them yourself or give 'em as gifts.

This year there appear to be less overall history books, and more women-centric books, whether history or not. Cocktail recipe books are all quite specific, with several that focus on theory and technique; and these overlap with books designed with the professional bartender in mind.

Get to reading.

Cocktail/Recipe Books

Julep: Southern Cocktails Refashioned by Alba Huerta and Marah Stets

The One-Bottle Cocktail: More than 80 Recipes with Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit by Maggie Hoffman

Tequila Beyond Sunrise: Over 40 tequila and mezcal-based cocktails from around the world by Jesse Estes

Finding Mezcal: A Journey into the Liquid Soul of Mexico, with 40 Cocktails by Ron Cooper and Chantal Martineau

Wild Mocktails and Healthy Cocktails: Home-grown and foraged low-sugar recipes from the Midnight Apothecary by Lottie Muir

Infused Booze: Over 60 Batched Spririts and Liqueurs to Make at Home by Kathy Kordalis

Session Cocktails: Low-Alcohol Drinks for Any Occasion by Drew Lazor and Editors of PUNCH

The Cocktail Garden: Botanical Cocktails for Every Season by Ed Loveday and Adriana Picker

Booze & Vinyl: A Spirited Guide to Great Music and Mixed Drinks by André Darlington and Tenaya Darlington

Doctor's Orders: Over 50 inventive cocktails to cure, revive & enliven by Chris Edwards and Dave Tregenza

Cocktail Italiano: The Definitive Guide to Aperitivo: Drinks, Nibbles, and Tales of the Italian Riviera by Annette Joseph

Clean + Dirty Drinking: 100+ Recipes for Making Delicious Elixirs, With or Without Booze by Gabriella Mlynarczyk

Are You There God? It's Me, Margarita: More Cocktails with a Literary Twist (A Tequila Mockingbird Book) by Tim Federle

The Art & Craft of Coffee Cocktails: Over 80 recipes for mixing coffee and liquor by Jason Clark

Aperitif: A Spirited Guide to the Drinks, History and Culture of the Aperitif by Kate Hawkings

The Joy of Mixology, Revised and Updated Edition: The Consummate Guide to the Bartender's Craft by Gary Regan

The Dead Rabbit Mixology & Mayhem: The Story of John Morrissey and the World’s Best Cocktail Menu by Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry

Nightcap: More than 40 Cocktails to Close Out Any Evening by Kara Newman

Be Your Own Bartender: A Surefire Guide to Finding (and Making) Your Perfect Cocktail by Carey Jones and John McCarthy

Cocktail Codex: Fundamentals, Formulas, Evolutions by Alex Day and Nick Fauchald

Winter Drinks: 70 Essential Cold-Weather Cocktails by Editors of PUNCH

Tequila: Shake, Muddle, Stir: Over 40 of the Best Cocktails for Tequila and Mezcal Lovers by Dan Jones

Pickle Juice: A Revolutionary Approach to Making Better Tasting Cocktails and Drinks by Florence Cherruault

The Mini Bar: 100 Essential Cocktail Recipes; 8 Notebook Set by Editors of PUNCH

The Curious Bartender Volume II: The New Testament of Cocktails by Tristan Stephenson

Glamorous Cocktails: Fashionable mixes from iconic London bars by William Yeoward

Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails by Amy Zavatto

Rock Cocktails: 50 rock 'n' roll drinks recipes―from Gin Lizzy to Guns 'n' Rosés

Northern Hospitality with The Portland Hunt + Alpine Club: A Celebration of Cocktails, Cooking, and Coming Together by Andrew Volk and Briana Volk

The Aviary Cocktail Book by Grant Achatz, Micah Melton, Nick Kokonas, Allen and Sarah Hemberger.

The Cocktail Companion: A Guide to Cocktail History, Culture, Trivia and Favorite Drinks by Cheryl Charming

Drink London (London Guides) by Euan Ferguson

Beachbum Berry's Sippin' Safari: Tenth Anniversary Expanded Edition by Jeff Beachbum Berry

Wine Books

Wild Winemaking: Easy & Adventurous Recipes Going Beyond Grapes, Including Apple Champagne, Ginger–Green Tea Sake, Key Lime–Cayenne Wine, and 142 More by Richard W. Bender

Ten Grapes to Know: The Ten and Done Wine Guide by Catherine Fallis

Wine Food: New Adventures in Drinking and Cooking by Dana Frank and Andrea Slonecker

The Sommelier's Atlas of Taste: A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe by Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay

Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails by Amy Zavatto

Spirit Books, Misc.

The Connoisseur’s Guide to Worldwide Spirits: Selecting and Savoring Whiskey, Vodka, Scotch, Rum, Tequila . . . and Everything Else (An Expert’s Guide … and Savoring Every Spirit in the World) by Richard Carleton Hacker

Tabletop Distilling: How to Make Spirits, Essences, and Essential Oils with Small Stills by Kai Möller

The Gin Dictionary by David T. Smith

The Book of Vermouth: A Bartender and a Winemaker Celebrate the World's Greatest Aperitif by Shaun Byrne and Gilles Lapalus

The Curious Bartender's Guide to Gin: How to appreciate gin from still to serve by Tristan Stephenson

Women-Centric Drink Books

Craft Cocktails by Val: Drinks Inspired by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Drinking Like Ladies: 75 modern cocktails from the world's leading female bartenders; Includes toasts to extraordinary women in history by Misty Kalkofen and Kirsten Amann

Liberated Spirits: Two Women Who Battled Over Prohibition by Hugh Ambrose and John Schuttler

A Woman's Drink: Bold Recipes for Bold Women by Natalka Burian

Movers and Shakers: Women Making Waves in Spirits, Beer & Wine by Hope Ewing

Free the Tipple: Kickass Cocktails Inspired by Iconic Women
by Jennifer Croll (Author), Kelly Shami (Illustrator)

History Books

A Short History of Drunkenness: How, Why, Where, and When Humankind Has Gotten Merry from the Stone Age to the Present by Mark Forsyth

A Thousand Thirsty Beaches: Smuggling Alcohol from Cuba to the South during Prohibition by Lisa Lindquist Dorr

Moonshine: A Celebration of America's Original Rebel Spirit by John Schlimm

A Drinkable Feast: A Cocktail Companion to 1920s Paris by Philip Greene

Beer, Mead, Cider

Mead: The Libations, Legends, and Lore of History's Oldest Drink by Fred Minnick

Will Travel for Beer: 101 Remarkable Journeys Every Beer Lover Should Experience by Stephen Beaumont

Beer: 150 Awesome Facts About Your Favorite Brew by Caroline West

Ciderology: From History and Heritage to the Craft Cider Revolution by Gabe Cook

The Craft Beer Dictionary: An A-Z of craft beer, from hop to glass by Richard Croasdale

Kitchen Brewing: A New, Easier and Quicker Way to Home Brew by Jakob Nielsen and Mikael Zetterberg

Bar, Drinking Culture, and Professional Books

Bars, Taverns, and Dives New Yorkers Love: Where to Go, What to Drink by John Tebeau

Drinking Distilled: A User's Manual by Jeffrey Morgenthaler

I'm Just Here for the Drinks: A Guide to Spirits, Drinking and More Than 100 Extraordinary Cocktails by Sother Teague

Hungover: The Morning After and One Man's Quest for the Cure by Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall

Allergen Awareness: A Chef's Perspective by Myron Keith Norman

Batched & Bottled by Max Venning

The Cocktail Bar: Notes for an Owner & Operator by Chall Gray

Whiskey Books

From Dram to Manhattan: Around the world in 40 whisky cocktails from Scotch to Bourbon by Jesse Estes

Hacking Whiskey: Smoking, Blending, Fat Washing, and Other Whiskey Experiments by Aaron Goldfarb

The Bourbon Bible by Eric Zandona

Whiskey America by Dominic Roskrow

Single Malt: A Guide to the Whiskies of Scotland: Includes Profiles, Ratings, and Tasting Notes for More Than 330 Expressions by Clay Risen

World's Best Whiskies:750 Unmissable Drams from Tain to Tokyo by Dominic Roskrow

Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America by Brian F. Haara

Not enough books for you? Check out:

All the drink books that came out in 2017

All the Cocktails and Spirits Books Published in 2016 for Reading or Gifting

All the Cocktails & Spirits Books Published in 2015, For Reading or Gifting

More Than 40 Drink Books Published in 2014 for Reading or Gifting

November 23, 2018
A Tribute to Harry Craddock on the 50th Anniversary of his Death

In January I flew to London for an event to celebrate the life and career of Harry Craddock, author of the Savoy Cocktail Book. The event was sponsored by Plymouth Gin, which is mentioned by name many times throughout the Savoy.

The tour was attended by Plymouth's distiller Sean Harrison, the top London bartenders, and a few special folks flown in from around Europe. Just a few of the bartenders presernt were Ago Perrone, Alex Kratena, Esther Medina, Gareth Evans, Geoffrey Cannilao, Stuart McCluskey, and Nick Strangeway. They helped bring over Erik Ellestad from San Francisco; probably the only person to make every cocktail in the Savoy.

American Bar head bartender Erik Lorincz came up with the idea initially, and he was joined by former Savoy head bartenders Peter Dorelli, Salim Khoury, and Victor Gower. Gower had actually met Craddock. To study Craddock's life, they enlisted Anistatia Miller, co-author of the just-released book The Deans of Drink that is about both Craddock and Harry Johnson. Max Warner, on his last day as brand ambassador for Plymouth, helped lead the show.

We began at the recently-discovered grave site of Harry Craddock. Craddock died at age 87 in 1963, unfortunately poor despite a life of fame as a bartender. We toasted to him, took a picture, then piled in to vintage cars from around 1930 (when the Savoy came out) to hit a few spots where Craddock worked.

trip photo

Craddock was born in 1875 in England, but moved to the US in 1897. He worked there at some of the most popular bars including the Holland House, Hoffman House, and Knickerbocker. He was said to have mixed the last pre-Prohibition cocktail in the USA.

He left the US after Prohibition and never returned, though he may have made drinks off the coast of New York on a boat (where it was legal) for millionaires at one time.

The American Bar at the Savoy Hotel

In the early 1900s, despite having "American Bars" (usually denoting the use of ice and serving the fashionable cocktails of the US), the drinking scene was reportedly quite bad. So Craddock's entrance onto the London cocktail scene was a big deal, and everyone loved his American accent.

The Savoy had two female bartenders on staff, including the famous Ada Coleman, creator of the Hanky Panky cocktail. According to Miller, Craddock basically got Colemand and another female bartender booted from their positions at the bar, as he didn't believe woman should be doing that job. (They didn't have Speed Rack in 1921.) Craddock took the Head Bartender position in 1925.

American Bar. Photo from website.

Craddock became super famous in his job at the Savoy. In 1927, Madam Tussaud's even had his figure in the famous wax museum. That same year, the American Bar at the Savoy was redorated in the Art Deco style. When the did this renovation, Craddock was permitted to bury a cocktail shaker containing his creation the White Lady cocktail in the walls of the bar.

Though the bar has been renovated since then, the shaker has never been found.

In 1928, the hotel announced that Craddock had collected 2000 cocktail recipes, both originals and ones from other places. Over 1000 of these were published in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930.

The Cafe Royal

Craddock never worked at the Cafe Royal, but it did play a part in his history. The Grill Room there had just been restored to its former glory – the room is a hall or mirrors with gold frames and accents, and red furniture. They specialize in champagne and caviar. According the the website:

It is in this very room that Oscar Wilde fell in love with Lord Alfred Douglas, Aubrey Beardsley debated with Whistler, David Bowie retired Ziggy Stardust and Mick Jagger, the Beatles and Elizabeth Taylor danced the night away.

Grill Room at Cafe Royal. At right, Erik Lorincz and Peter Dorelli make a cocktail.

They do not mention that it was from this bar that the Cafe Royal Cocktail Book was launched in 1937. (The book is significant in that it is the first cocktail book anywhere to include a bunch of recipes with tequila- and Margarita by another name is found in its pages.) The book was not actually a list of original recipes invented at the bar, but was a book of recipes from the United Kingdom Bartenders Guild.

Craddock was the co-founder and first president of the guild, along with Cafe Royal's head bartender. Thus our visit.

The Dorchester

While Craddock was still employed at the Savoy, luxury hotel The Dorchester was renovated in 1938, and they asked Craddock to bury a cocktail shaker with drinks in the walls there also. In this shaker, Craddock put vials containing a Martini, Manhattan, and White Lady, along with recipes and a scroll. When the bar was rebuilt in 1979, they found this shaker and its contents.

The next year, Craddock left the Savoy after nearly 20 years and went to work at The Dorchester.

Though previously there hadn't been much evidence that Craddock had actually worked at the Dorchester, former Savoy bartender Salim Khoury was given a letter written by Craddock to one of his favorite Savoy customers (who didn't live in London) informing him of his move to the new hotel.

Since this hotel was recent and built of reinforced concrete, it became one of London's safest buildings during the Second World War. Though we don't know for sure that he served them, Winston Churchill stayed at the Dorchester and so did Dwight D Eisenhower. Given Churchill's fondness for booze, the two probably got together.

Though Craddock worked at the Dorchester until 1947, he still opened one more bar; a place called Brown's Hotel in 1951.

A Third Burial

Though our town didn't visit that spot, we returned to the Savoy for a final moment. Cocktails were mixed up and poured into vials. The vials were put into a shaker and sealed. And that shaker was buried in a wall in the Savoy Hotel in tribute to Harry Craddock.

As Max Warner said, Craddock didn't get a grand funeral, but he certainly deserves a grand day of remembrance.

Thank you to Erik, Anistatia, Max, everyone else who helped put on the day, and to Plymouth Gin for making it all happen.

March 15, 2013

Category: london

All the Cocktail and Spirits Books Released in 2018, In Consideration for Gifting or Reading

A Tribute to Harry Craddock on the 50th Anniversary of his Death