TITLE: Shaken and Stirred
AUTHOR: William Hamilton
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins 2004, 228 Pages
COST : $17.95 US
TYPE: Reference / Recipes
REVIEWED BY: Chris Carlsson, SpiritsReview.com

William Hamilton was the original writer for the drinks articles in the Style section of the Sunday New YorK Times. He has since, sadly, moved on to other things, (he did this shortly after the publication of this book) but our hat is off to him for leaving at the top of his form. The book is mainly a compilation of his columns- all of which start with a 1 1/2 page, usually amusing and very visually evocative writing about the history of a particular cocktail along with the venue: be it a bar, restaurant elsewhere, and the personalities involved (usually colorful) where he enjoyed it.

These tales are followed, of course, by the recipe (in good detail unlike some books).

The book has approximately 60 recipes so it is not strictly one of those cookbook type bar books with 100’s if not 1000’s of recipes. It does, however, compensate with quality and wonderful writing. This book is more of a cocktail book, rather than a martini book, in focus as opposed to our next review.

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