TITLE: How’s Your Drink?
SUBTITLE: Cocktails, Culture and the Art of Drinking Well
AUTHOR: Eric Felten
PUBLISHER: Agate Surrey, 205 pages
TYPE: Drinks recipes and history, social commentary
COST: $10.98
REVIEWED BY: Chris Carlsson, SpiritsReview.com

 There is now, we are happy to announce, a paperback/softcover edition of Eric’s book! Although we would have prefered a spiral bound ( or better yet a spiral bound printed on gin proof paper) version – we can now all happily put up our much thumbed hardcover editions and put this one at risk for alcohol based patination instead.
Nicely printed with what appears to be a relatively spill proof cover , this softcover edition is only marginally smaller so you don’t have to worry about being able to read it.

I have read hundreds of books on drink (and much to my wife’s dismay, have most of them in my library). Every so often, you find a good book on mixing drinks, but most are soulless compendiums of recipes from other books and endlessly repetitive with little insight or inspiration. Other times, you find a good book on the history of one type of libation or another, other times again one finds a social history. Almost never does one find all these elements in one book in equal measure. This is that “almost never” book.

Eric Felten combines all these elements with style, prose, twists and a wry sense of humor and insight into almost every element (or should I say cocktail) and makes each one a delight in the immediate sense and food for thought and experimentation for later. Not only does it supply a wonderful palette of cocktail recipes, but great stories to go with them and clues for research after it – be it the book or a party, is all over.

A must read for any serious cocktailian or student of drink.

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