"Forgotten Cocktails" – those were the words that grabbed my attention while I was looking through some new books to add to my reading list. The hardcover book was interesting. Unlike most cocktail books, where the cover is plain or features some cocktails, this one has a background similar to leather-bound books of the 1920s, framing a picture of a bar scene of the same era: a few top hat-wearing gentlemen standing over a bar counter tended by (what I assume to be) the barte

Ask any regular cocktail drinker, or aspiring home bartender and they’re probably (passingly) familiar with bitters – at least the big names like Angostura and Peychaud’s, or possibly a few specialty blends with trendy ingredients like chocolate and yuzu. It's something we all know, but almost all of us know surprisingly little about. Especially when you consider the taste-altering impact just a few small drops of bitters can have. That is, unless you’re someone like Dr. Adam

Cocktails of Asia is a great primer for those who want to find out the origin stories behind many notable cocktail bars in Asia, as well as the people behind those bars.

The unassuming cover doesn't say much about its content, but Ten Cocktails by Alice Lascelles is a simple book that's all about 10 classic cocktails any bartender or barfly would be familiar with. These include the Gin and Tonic, Martini, Sazerac, Corpse Reviver No2, Negroni, Punch, Daiquiri, Old Fashioned, White Russian, and the Bloody Mary. While we may all be familiar with the recipes and the flavors, how many of us know the history or even the cultural significance of dri