Esquire Drinks: An Opinionated & Irreverent Guide to Drinking with 250 Drink Recipes

There's a lot to admire about this book. Not only the beautiful photography and layout, or the history and analysis accompanying the recipes for a wide variety of drinks, but also (as befits a men's magazine like "Esquire") a commitment to adult, manly drinking: solid rum or whisky-based drinks, for example, instead of the colorful fruit-infused or hypersweet collations available in trendy bars and restaurants. All of that makes "Esquire Drinks" a great book to read end-to-end, as well as to use as a reference for particular recipes. What really made this volume enjoyable and memorable for me -- so much so that I hastened to buy a copy once I had to return my borrowed one -- is the distinctive editorial voice in which the book is written. A lot of the credit, of course, is due to author David Wondrich. But this sort of hard-boiled, slangy, intelligent-but-not-full-of-itself prose has a long history on the pages of Esquire: compare, if you can find a copy, the captions accompanying the classic menswear illustrations in Woody Hochswender's essential "Men In Style." It really reinforces the idea that drinking can be a pleasure for the adult male, worlds away from the excesses of frat house or party bar. Plus, copy that good is always entertaining to read. That makes "Esquire Drinks" worth reading even if none of the drinks it describes ever cross your lips.

David Wondrich is funny, informative, clever, and knows how to piece words together to paint an elaborate picture in your mind. The pages are slick, colorful and filled with well thought out graphic details that would make a graphic artist drool. Most bartenders--in the real world--will only make about 25 of the 250 cocktails in the book, but that doesn't matter because the researched history makes up for it. Also the square shape of the book is oh-so-cool. Cheryl Charming misscharming.com

I am a fairly serious student of mixology (not to be confused with an actual mixologist). I have become interested in great-but-bygone cocktails. This book is a very funny look at just these. It is not, to quote [...], a "Wad-o-Drinks" book (that would be the Bartender's Best Friend by Mardee Reagen--also a really good book). But since most of those drinks are quite undrinkable, that's okay. It is also perhaps not as comprehensive as some the historical cocktail books (e.g. the Waldorf Astoria & Savoy cocktail books), but it more than makes up for this in being an entertaining read. Remember "Rule 313: Never order a drink named after a part of the anatomy normally covered by underwear".

wondrich strikes just the right tone throughout, and is knowledgeable without being pedantic. his writing has a delightful self-mocking noirish pungency that really works. and the stylish art deco layout is a triumph. a keeper.

As titled, Esquire Drinks is INDEED a bar guide with pedigree. Every decade or two, Esquire Magazine takes a stab at the current state of drinks and soirees. As such, Esquire Drinks owes more in its lineage to the magazine of the 30s and 40s (and it's 1949 progenitor, Esquire's Handbook for Hosts) than what it would become later - especially in the 60s-80s. While the Esquire Drink Book of 1956 was essentially a revision of the earlier work, and the Esquire Party Book of 1965 was just plain awful, Esquire Drinks is an entirely new vision - as befits our newish millenium. That said, it maintains the wonderful haughty and judgemental Esquire "voice" of old. As such, it happily trashes much of the wrongheaded "Martini" headset of today whereby virtually all drinks are fruity and sweet with alcohol disguised. Author Wondrich trods imperiously where other guides oft fear to tread. If this sounds intimidating or pedantic, it really isn't. David Wondrich is a hell of a writer and instills great humor and panache in this lovely book. He also cares very deeply about all of the aspects heretofore touched upon... the history, the research, the Esquire connection, and the DRINKS. The drinks are old and new, and some are culled anew from Esquire magazines of the past, but all of the drinks carry the CHARACTER of classic cocktails and related libations. In other words, be prepared to experience subtle and sophisticated drinks and tippling at the hands of this book. Visually, Esquire Drinks owes much to advances in printing arts today. It is a carnival of color on coated stock and would certainly make for pleasant perusal on any cocktail table - providing inspiration and impetus for many an evening's advancement.