10,000 Drinks: 27 Years' Worth of Cocktails! Recipes and Tips for 10,000 Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Mixed Drinks, Eye-Openers, Party

When the title says it is 10000 drinks, it isn't lying. It is a big honkin book. seriously. I wasn't the biggest fan of how the drinks were organized, but i am willing to overlook that because of all the information that is in it. I highly recommend the book.

As an avid home bartender, I frequently find myself answering requests for "Can you make X?" I have several excellent bar tending resources, but I often find they lack recipes for "popular" drinks. This book has it all... finding it can be tricky though, because of the clever (or frustrating) way in which the recipes are organized. The book is divided into 20 or so major sections, such as "Tall drinks", "Cocktails", and "Shots and Shooters". Some of the major sections refer to a particular ingredient ("Champagne Drinks") while others refer to the way the drink is made ("Depth charges"). The author's stated purpose is that the book be used for browsing and discovering, rather than merely as a reference. I find this to be a pretty ingenious way of breaking things down. The big problem comes into play when you know the name of a drink, but not what's in it. The book lacks a major index by drink name. Rather, the index is broken down by ingredients (e.g., vodka, whiskey, etc.) If you know one of the ingredients (drinks may appear in more than place in the index) then you're okay. But, if you remember having something at your favorite bar but don't know any of the ingredients, then you'll have a harder time finding it. My test was to locate a Manhattan in the book. It doesn't appear in the index under Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Rye, or Vermouth, but only under the "Whiskey" heading. All in all, I think the book is great, and has just about everything under the sun. It's an excellent addition to any home bar. Only reason not five stars is that the index could be better.

This sucker is a BEAST! It's a huge, comprehensive compendium, the bible of booze. For you business or your home (and particularly your home!) - every bar needs one of these. Last night I went out to buy liquor & supplies - and tonight I'm gonna experiment! Thanks for an excellent book.