Section 9—The Bibulous Bibliography—2005-present

This list of cocktail-related books is a work in progress, so please do let us know if you have additional resources or information we should include. After each entry are known sources of the work, for many of the older ones free downloadable copies, and commentary from Dinah on her research experience with this resource. For sources prior to 1950 we've attempted to locate confirmation of the book's definite existence at that time, usually through Library of Congress Copyright records, contemporary reviews or advertising, or similar sources from the year of publication.

Section 1: 1861 and before (Gothic Age of Cocktail Drinking)

Section 2: 1862–1894 (Golden Age of Cocktail Drinking)

Section 3: 1895–1919 (Old School of Bartending)

Section 4: 1920-1933 (Prohibition)

Section 5: 1934–1951 (Years of Reform)

Section 6: 1952–1968 (Era of the Rat Pack)

Section 7: 1969–1989 (Dark Age of Cocktail Drinking)

Section 8: 1990–2004 (Revival of Cocktail Drinking)

2005–present (Era of Old School Innovation)

2005. Wondrich, David. Killer Cocktails: An intoxicating guide to sophisticated drinking. New York: Harper Resource.

Available from Amazon.

2007. Berry, Jeff. Beachbum Berry's Sippin' Safari. San Jose, CA: Club Tiki Press.

Available from Amazon.

2007. Wondrich, David. Imbibe!: From absinthe cocktail to whiskey smash, a salute in stories and drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, pioneer of the American bar. New York: Perigee.

See updated edition in 2015 below.

2008. DeGroff, Dale. The Essential Cocktail: The art of mixing perfect drinks. New York: Clarkson, Potter.

Available from Amazon.

2008. Hess, Robert. Essential Bartender's Guide: How to create truly great cocktails. New York: Mud Puddle Books.

Available from Cocktail Kingdom and from Amazon.

2009. Berry, Jeff. Beach Bum Berry Remixed. San Jose, CA: Club Tiki Press.

Available from Amazon.

2009. Haigh, Ted. Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie 100 rediscovered recipes and the stories behind them. Deluxe edition, revised and expanded.. Beverly, MA: Quarry Books.

Available from Amazon.

2010. Uyeda, Kazuo. Cocktail Techniques (first English language edition). New York: Mud Puddle Books.

Available from Cocktail Kingdom and from Amazon.

2010. Wondrich, David. Punch: The delights (and dangers) of the flowing bowl. New York: Perigee.

Available from Amazon.

2011. Meehan, Jim. The PDT Cocktail Book: The complete bartender's guide from the celebrated speakeasy. New York: Sterling Epicure.

Available from Cocktail Kingdom and from Amazon.

2011. Parsons, Brad Thomas. Bitters: A spirited history of a classic cure-all, with cocktails, recipes, and formulas. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

Available from Amazon.

2012. Estes, Tomas. The Tequila Ambassador. London: Odd Firm of Sin, Ltd.

Available from Difford's Guide.

2012. Rudetski, Deborah. Cocktails by Le Forvm. ?Paris?: Chêne.

Available from Amazon.

2013. Berry, Jeff. Beachbum Berry's Potions of the Caribbean: 500 years of tropical drinks and the people behind them. New York: Cocktail Kingdom.

Available from Cocktail Kingdom and from Amazon.

2013. Conigliaro, Tony. The Cocktail Lab: Unraveling the mysteries of flavor and aroma in drink, with recipes. (Published in the UK in 2012 as Drinks with metric measurements). Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.

Available from Amazon.

2013. Eighmey, Rae Katherine. Soda Shop Salvation: Recipes and stories from the sweeter side of Prohibition. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society.

Available from Amazon.

2013. Sanders, Dinah. The Art of the Shim: Low-alcohol cocktails to keep you level. San Francisco: S&G.

Available from Amazon and other places.

2013. Stephenson, Tristan. The Curious Bartender: The artistry and alchemy of creating the perfect cocktail. London: Ryland Peters & Small.

Available from Amazon.

2013. Stewart, Amy. The Drunken Botanist: The plants that create the world's great drinks. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books.

Available from Amazon.

2013. Stolte, Dave. Home Bar Basics (and Not-So-Basics). (Second Edition). Murrieta, CA: Wexler of California.

Available from the author.

2014. Arnold, Dave. Liquid Intelligence: The art and science of the perfect cocktail. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., inc.

Available from Amazon.

2014. Dietsch, Michael. Shrubs: An old fashioned drink for modern times. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press.

Available from Amazon.

2014. Kaplan, David & Nick Fauchald.Death & Co: Modern classic cocktails, with more than 500 recipes. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

Available from Amazon.

2014. Morgenthaler, Jeffrey. The Bar Book: Elements of cocktail technique. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Available from Cocktail Kingdom and from Amazon.

2014. Simonson, Robert. The Old-Fashioned: The story of the world's first classic cocktail, with recipes and lore. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.

Available from Cocktail Kingdom and from Amazon.

2015. Clarke, Paul. The Cocktail Chronicles: Navigating the cocktail renaissance with jigger, shaker & glass. Nashville, TN : Spring House Press.

Available from Cocktail Kingdom and from Amazon.

2015. Wondrich, David. Imbibe!: From absinthe cocktail to whiskey smash, a salute in stories and drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, pioneer of the American bar; Revised Updated Edition. New York: Perigee.

Available from Amazon.

 

Thanks to the following for their helpful bibliographies, collections of resources, or other assistance: the Internet Archive (donate here to support their wonderful work!); librarians everywhere but especially Marvin Taylor and Kelly Turner; David Wondrich, whose work is a constant inspiration and whose source notes in the 2015 edition of his book Imbibe provide valuable context for many works, in addition to the other notes he has kindly permitted me to share here; Lowell Edmunds, whose page "Pre-1910 Bartender's Manuals and Other Books Containing Cocktail Recipes: A Bibliography" was indispensable; Anistatia Miller, Jared Brown, and Exposition Universelle des Vins et Spiritueux, whose comments as well as collection have proven most helpful; Andrew "the Alchemist" Willett, for his "Books on Drink: A History (with ratings)" page as well as his posts; Joerg Meyer, for his unfailing enthusiasm as well as his rare mixology book list; Rabelais fine books on food & drink, for their detailed catalog notes; Erik Ellestad for his uniquely thorough experimentation with the Savoy Cocktail Book and general knowledge of measurements and substitutions; Jeffrey Masson, for his Boothby knowledge; the Difford's Guide team, for their balanced judgment; Paul Clarke, for his good will and hard work on behalf of his fellow drink nerds; Marcovaldo Dionysos, for his ready wit and extensive book list; John C. Burton, for kindly sharing his extensive bibliography and knowing more about "Cocktail Bill" Boothby than anyone.

If you are the author of a book listed above and you have an Amazon Associates account, please drop us an email with an improved link to replace our code with yours. Maintaining this page is work and referral fees help us keep it up, but for your own book you are more deserving of that tip!

 

Sadly some books once held by libraries have been stolen from us all. Library thieves suffer in an even lower circle of Hell than vile people who sneak out of bars without paying, those who snap their fingers to get the bartender's attention, and non-tippers. If you, in your youthful foolishness, committed such a sin, in order to be absolved you must put that book in a well-padded envelope and slip it into the book drop to return it to our common resources.