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(More customer reviews)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.
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Artisanal Cocktails: Drinks Inspired by the Seasons from the Bar at CyrusA lush, full-color collection of 50 cocktail recipes using organic, sustainable produce, handcrafted ingredients, and local artisanal spirits, from the bar manager at the award-winning Cyrus restaurant.Inspired by the bounty of Sonoma County's organic farms and local distilleries, Scott Beattie shakes up the cocktail world with his extreme twists on classic bar fare. In ARTISANAL COCKTAILS, Beattie reveals his intense attention to detail and technique with a collection of visually stunning and astonishingly tasty drinks made with top-shelf spirits, fresh-squeezed juices, and just-picked herbs and flowers. In creatively named recipes such as Meyer Beautiful (My, You're Beautiful), Hot Indian Date, and the Grapes of Roth, Beattie combines flavors and aesthetics as meticulously as a chef to produce party-worthy concoctions guests won't soon forget. "Scott Beattie of Healdsburg's Cyrus restaurant turns cocktail creation into an extreme sport." —Linda Murphy, San Francisco Chronicle"The most extreme practitioner of this cocktailian focus on fresh and local ingredients is Cyrus's Scott Beattie. The drinks Beattie makes with this bounty are uniformly gorgeous. And Beattie's virgin versions of several drinks are so good that you barely miss the booze." —Gourmet"This jewel box of a restaurant features an outstanding bar that showcases an innovative seasonal cocktail list overseen by mixologist Scott Beattie—his Manhattan made with vanilla-infused bourbon is a perfect counterpoint to a day of wine tasting." —Bon AppétitReviews & AwardsIACP International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Awards, Wine, Beer & Spirits Category Finalist"Scott Beattie is a virtuoso among drink designers"—Playboy "Artisanal Cocktails turns bartending into a culinary art form"—Men's Journal "Try something new this year from Artisanal Cocktails....More than just a collection of drinks recipes, the book is full of tips and secrets for making syrups and garnishes as well as techniques for decorating the rim of your crystal."—Metropolitan Home "Artisanal Cocktails is shaping up to become the indispensable cookbook of farm-to-glass cocktails."—New York Times "Beattie confers an innovative flair to classic bar fare in this collection of 50 recipes with gorgeous full-color photos...Beattie's recipes will appeal to the adventurous soul who desires to explore a new approach to cocktail making."—Library Journal "Beattie's book is a giant leap for cocktail-kind...The beauty of this book goes way beyond the petal-porn of its edible-flower garnishes. Working through a few of Beattie's recipes will give you new skills and techniques, so even if you don't have access to pineapple guavas, you will look at the produce section in a fresh light."—Gourmet"The drinks are stunning to look at….Served with ice and a single, restrained slice of orange, the Painful Punch, as Mr. Beattie calls it, is simple, elegant and delicious....it is one of several excellent recipes in Mr. Beattie's book."—The Wall Street Journal's Weekend Journal "Beattie...has created a cocktail book worthy of a chef"—Marin Magazine "Beattie is as adept with the classics as he is with his own modern creations."—San Francisco Magazine
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