Best Liquor, Spirits & Mixed Drinks
Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine will help you make sense of it all in a unique infographic wine book. Designed by the creators of WineFolly.com, which has won Wine Blogger of the Year from the International Wine & Spirits Competition, this book combines sleek, modern information design with data visualization and gives readers pragmatic answers to all their wine questions, including: “A magically vivid wine guide for our information age—cuts through the complexity of wine like a Champagne saber.”-- Mark Oldman , renowned wine expert and author of Oldman’s Guide to Outsmarting Wine. – Geoff Kruth , MS, President Guildsomm.com. "With clever graphics, Madeline has created a wine navigator that effortlessly guides new wine lovers to a better understanding of the taste, origins and geography of wine." Court of Masters, Certified Sommelier (Level 2) 40 Under 40, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, 2015-2016 Wine Blogger of the Year, International Wine and Spirits Competition, 2013-14 Top Wine Writer, Quora, 2012.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The page that explains how to write useful personal wine notes, for example, instantly organizes the way you do your evaluations of wine."
"Wine Folly does not only provide data about several kinds of wines but also explanes the art of wine tasting and evaluation."
"It talks about how to taste wine how to “eye” the wine, how to compare it, and, really breaks down the wine experience for anybody who aspires to be a wine connoisseur."
"VERY NICE coffee table book !"
"Great book and I've learned a lot about wines so far."
"This wine book is phenomenal!"
"Having the book in hand now allows me to provide visuals for every aspect of wine discussion."
"Perfect if you need a basic overview of wine."
Ultimate Bar Book is the first and only guide to classic and new drink recipes. She is the author of Sangria (0-8118-4290-8), Paradise on Ice (0-8118-3302-X), and Party Shots (0-8118-3950-8), all from Chronicle Books.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Looks nice, and has a ton of recipes!"
"it is fill of information and recipes."
"This book is amazing!!"
"Husband loves it, lots of recipes, small and compact, you can take traveling."
"Great for a new home."
"Great gift for your mixologist friend.Looks very impressive inside as well."
"Great book for the bar enthusiast."
"Have already made several drinks from this one that my wife really likes."
Death & Co is the most important, influential, and oft-imitated bar to emerge from the contemporary craft cocktail movement. This book extends Death & Co’s reach even farther.” --Dale Degroff, author of T he Craft of the Cocktail “Death & Co changed the way we drink in America. There is a real art, a real passion behind everything they do, and this book will act as a. timeless reference for anyone interested in cocktails.” --Daniel Humm, chef/co-owner of Eleven Madison Park and Co-Author of I Love New York. This book is a one-stop shop for anyone interested in cocktails and the bars that serve them, and it’s a brilliant read, to boot.” --Gaz Regan, author of the Joy of Mixology.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Make the drink experiments in the tasting and evaluating cocktails chapter."
"I've been trying to create a good selection of my own cocktails for a number of years, but I'm always looking for new ideas on both mixing and technique."
"Really enjoy mixing cocktails for friends in my home bar."
"Full of helpful info as well as wonderful drink recipes."
"Very nice book of cocktail recipes."
"We enjoy it so much, that I got a copy for my brother, who worked as a bartender, to share new ideas to classic cocktails."
"Really great book!"
"Excellent compendium of spirits and cocktails."
Best Drinks & Beverages
The book also includes information on the many health benefits of kombucha, fascinating details of the drink’s history, and recipes for delicious foods and drinks you can make with kombucha (including some irresistible cocktails! “Deep-rooted insight into the history, science, and how-to of this ancient brew ... a critical addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in good food.”. — Jennifer McGruther, author of The Nourished Kitchen. “On top of walking you through the kombucha fermentation process, The Big Book also includes a whopping 286 flavor combinations along with the history of the drink, information on health benefits, and much more. Expert brewers Hannah Crum and Alex LaGory reveal how easy, inexpensive, and safe it is to make your own delicious kombucha, with instructions for batch and continuous brewing.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It is a good book in particular for those new to brewing and contains everything from the history of this delicious elixir, to brewing ingredients, tips, flavoring and using your Kombucha in cooking. In the past I have found the many books go too far one way -such as things to use your Kombucha in, or the other way -very basic tips, and do not strike the happy medium that allows the book to be an all around guide. The tea guide was also very detailed and useful -talking about types of blends you should and should not use, and acceptable quantities before they become too much for the balanced of the Kombucha, The sugar guide was equally as useful; as was the equipment guide, as I now know I should not have used that cheesecloth as a cover when in a pinch (allows contaminates to get in your brew). For me the advanced guide was so helpful -how to flavor, as we are currently experimenting with secondary fermentation using cascade hobs, and carbonation, as striking that right balance has been an admitted challenge; and other books have simply not been detailed enough, leaving me having to turn to good old Google -this book solves that! The remainder of this book is a guide to flavors one could experiment with, drinks one can use this in -such as cocktails and shrubs -both of which are hands down amazing with the addition of Kombucha! The book ends with more of the Kombucha story; but most usefully a very detailed guide to components of Kombucha, specific health concerns and how the consumption of Kombucha might help; further reading guides and a brew log, which is very useful for new brewers."
"This big (383 page), bold and beautiful book is full of a wealth of first-hand information on all aspects of Kombucha that Hannah and her partner Alex LaGory have curated over their years of involvement with the Kombucha sub-culture. From the history and science of Kombucha to straightforward guidelines on the many aspects of brewing, decanting and flavoring this healthful fermented tea, Hannah and Alex cram an awful lot of really useful information into this book."
"One thing missing from the book is best place to buy it, I found it though. First flavors I did were strawberry lemonade, blueberry lemonade and cherry lemonade."
"I read another review that had my exact mindset when I started brewing my own kombucha: There's plenty of information on the internet, why do I need a book?"
"My kombucha was pretty scary looking, scary enough that I could see other buyers thinking it was covered in mold, but after looking at the pictures in this book, I was able to figure out my kombucha was very yeasty and figure out it was probably due to using too many tea bags when brewing."
Best Alcoholic Beverages
Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine will help you make sense of it all in a unique infographic wine book. Designed by the creators of WineFolly.com, which has won Wine Blogger of the Year from the International Wine & Spirits Competition, this book combines sleek, modern information design with data visualization and gives readers pragmatic answers to all their wine questions, including: “A magically vivid wine guide for our information age—cuts through the complexity of wine like a Champagne saber.”-- Mark Oldman , renowned wine expert and author of Oldman’s Guide to Outsmarting Wine. – Geoff Kruth , MS, President Guildsomm.com. "With clever graphics, Madeline has created a wine navigator that effortlessly guides new wine lovers to a better understanding of the taste, origins and geography of wine." Court of Masters, Certified Sommelier (Level 2) 40 Under 40, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, 2015-2016 Wine Blogger of the Year, International Wine and Spirits Competition, 2013-14 Top Wine Writer, Quora, 2012.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The page that explains how to write useful personal wine notes, for example, instantly organizes the way you do your evaluations of wine."
"Wine Folly does not only provide data about several kinds of wines but also explanes the art of wine tasting and evaluation."
"It talks about how to taste wine how to “eye” the wine, how to compare it, and, really breaks down the wine experience for anybody who aspires to be a wine connoisseur."
"VERY NICE coffee table book !"
"Great book and I've learned a lot about wines so far."
"This wine book is phenomenal!"
"Having the book in hand now allows me to provide visuals for every aspect of wine discussion."
"Perfect if you need a basic overview of wine."
Best Wine & Collecting
Announcing the completely revised and updated edition of The Wine Bible , the perennial bestselling wine book praised as “The most informative and entertaining book I’ve ever seen on the subject” (Danny Meyer), “A guide that has all the answers” (Bobby Flay), “Astounding” (Thomas Keller), and “A magnificent masterpiece of wine writing” (Kevin Zraly). “MacNeil’s writing style is engaging and conversational, and if you want to know anything about wine her book is the place to start” – Forbes.com. Karen MacNeil is the only U.S. winner of every major wine award in the English language, including the James Beard Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year (2004). She is the host of Wine, Food and Friends with Karen MacNeil (PBS nationally); a writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Town & Country ; and chairman emeritus of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Honestly, for the price (under $15 w/ Prime 2 day shipping) this resource should be in every persons collection if they are the least bit interested in wine, even if it just sits on a lonely coffee table. I highly recommend this section for anyone just seriously getting into wine or working around wine. It begins diving into the complex world of wine regions and never seems to decide on how it wants to take on this overwhelming task."
"I was so thrilled to get this newly revised version of The Wine Bible and Karen MacNeil did a wonderful updated version."
"The definitive wine book, although MacNeil's writing can be a bit unhelpful at times ("you don't drink this wine, the wine drinks you"."
"Well written book on wine without being pedantic."
"Reads like a digest."
"The Wine Bible has lots of wonderful information about wines."
"My only reservation is about hoe outdated some of the statistics might be."
"'classic' wine guide."
Best Beer
Nancie McDermott, experienced cook, teacher, and author of the best-selling cookbook Real Thai , presents this collection of 70 delicious recipes that focus on easy-to-find ingredients and quick cooking methods to whip up traditional Thai. Nancie McDermott is a food writer and cooking teacher specializing in the cuisine of Thailand, where she spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you a) are cooking for your Thai grandmother or b) want to exactly re-create the meal you enjoyed at that noodle shop in Bangkok and are willing and able to go to all the related trouble, this book is not for you. The author readily admits when and where she alters the original recipes to save time or because a traditional ingredient is very difficult to find in the US. I certainly cannot, and being able to create Thai food at home with a minimum of difficulty is more important to me at this stage of my life (busy with a toddler who has very little patience to wait for dinner). By the way, I have tried four recipes so far from this book - the massaman, green chicken, and red shrimp curries, and the Chiang Mai noodles."
"Apparently this cookbook has a lot of history written in it: about the author's experiences, the country, info about certain ingredients and preparation methods native to Thailand."
"I bought the book hoping to experience a bit of Thai at home without Hrs in the kitchen."
"Great book with truly very easy recipes."
"I have made several recipes for friends and they raved about it so much that I decided to buy another book as a present."
"Wow!"
"Fast easy recipes with common ingredients and or substitutions."
"Everything I've made from this book (and I've made a lot of the recipes) tastes absolutely delicious and restaurant quality."