Alcohol 101

With unlimited wit and wisdom, Ray Foley, publisher of Bartending magazine, pours out a round of excellent information and drink recipes to satisfy even the most snobbish of bar-flies.

This book contains a discussion on the basics, from getting the right tools and glasses to setting up your home bar. In-depth but easy to follow advice on glassware, how to cut fruit twists and wedges and how to open champagne start this segment. There is an excellent guide included about different levels of bar (from basic to complete) along with price ranges, so you know what you are getting yourself into. This is extremely useful so you don't start out with creme de cacao or vermouth and nothing to mix it with!

Next is a handy-dandy set of lists from bottle-related measurements to calorie counts... This guide has it all!

Following comes a history of all the basic brews, from beer to brandy, from whiskey to wine. Each chapter lists popular brands, interesting trivia, and production information. The section on wine is short, so I suggest if this is your beverage of choice, you look into Wine For Dummies, an equally excellent guide.

Over eighty pages of recipes are listed in this handbook, which is fabulous whether you are studying to tend bar or just getting into the at-home party scene. Last year we set up a great bar at my husband's thirtieth birthday party. It was a fantastic hit, not only because we had used this book to purchase the right kinds of spirits, but because all our guests had fun using the over 1,000 recipes to try new things. You name it, it's in here: from Pink Squirrels and Fuzzy Navels to Cosmopolitans: the Gen-X martini. Directions are simple, and each recipe features a picture of the glassware which should be used to serve the drink in. (We prefer plastic tumblers at parties).

Of course, no book about imbibing would be complete without its own list of hangover remedies, and this is no exception.

A nice addition to the already chock full selection is a resource guide, which highlights web sites and bartending resources.

The only down side to this book is that the pages are not laminated, and it is in great peril of being thoroughly soaked working as an all-night bar guide. We have to be very careful while using it on the bar...

This reference is a MUST for anyone who is or would like to be a good host and entertainer. It would make a great gift for established hostesses, newly married couples and 21-year old birthday celebrations. This is everyman's guide to the complete bar.