The American Bar: The Artistry of Mixing Drinks

by Charles Schumann, Gunter Mattei (Illustrator)

Overview

The classic bar guide that launched a generation of cocktail lovers is back—completely updated.

With its cloth binding evoking a Jazz Age guide to speakeasies and its charming illustrations that could have come from a period magazine, this most influential cocktail book is reissued in a newly updated edition. Spanning the cocktail spectrum from classic to contemporary, it includes all the information the cocktail lover or mixologist needs to create the perfect drink in a stylishly retro package, making it an elegant, sophisticated gift as well as an indispensable companion for home or professional entertaining.

With 500 recipes and an easy-to-use index arranged by drink categories, this bar book is replete with fascinating stories behind the genesis of each cocktail, its creators, and component liquors—as well as a guide to bartending equipment and a glossary of bar terms and measurements.

Charles Schumann, whose appreciation of design and drinks is legendary, is the ideal guide to the perfect drink. Based on the menus at his iconic establishments—Harry’s New York Bar, then Schumann’s American Bar, which later became simply Schumann’sBar—each recipe focuses on quality and balance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847863075
Publisher:	Rizzoli
Publication date:	09/11/2018
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	206,750
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Charles Schumann attended hotel management school in Switzerland and in the South of France before returning to Munich in 1973 to become one of Europe’s legendary barkeeps. He has also worked as a model for Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons, and most recently, Baldessarini, Hugo Boss’s luxury menswear line.

Read an Excerpt

Foreword

You will not find the usual thousand-and-one cocktail recipes in this book. Instead, I have compiled five hundred diverse recipes that strike me as more than sufficient. However, because this book is intended as a reference for bartenders, it naturally includes the best-known indispensable international cocktail recipes.

Here and there I have slightly revised some of the recipes I compiled in Schumann's Bar Book and Tropical Bar Book. And once again I have retested many standard recipes and occasionally changed them. I always work with certain questions in mind: How much is too much in a cocktail? What does it not need? What makes it harmonious? In other words, I always keep in mind the classic three parts of a cocktail: the basis, the modifier, and the flavoring agent.

Browsing through cocktail books, I am often horrified to see recipes calling for an excessive amount of syrups and liqueurs. Sometimes just reading the list of ingredients can make me feel queasy!

In addition, there are a few classic cocktail recipes that I have not included, because I am firmly opposed to the practice of mixing certain spirits. For reasons I explain later, I would never combine gin and vodka, gin and whiskey, vodka and whiskey, gin and brandy, or vodka and brandy.

Because this book is intended for the bartender as well as the general reader, it contains more than just cocktail recipes. I have written also about the bar in general, including bar equipment and cocktails. And a substantial part of the book gives information about the individual components of cocktails, which I consider particularly important. Of course many different interpretations can be found inspecialized books in this field. My colleague Stefan Gabanyi and the journalist Karl Rudolf contributed significantly in resolving questions and problems I faced while writing this chapter.

I hope that our efforts have resulted in a readable and informative overview of the components of classic cocktail mixing.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Drink Index: Aperitifs; Brandy drinks; Cachaça drinks; Campari drinks; Champagne cocktails; Classic drinks; Coffee drinks; Coladas; Collinses; Daiquiris; Digestifs; Eggnogs; Fizzes; Flips; Gin drinks; Highballs; Hot drinks; Juleps; Low-alcohol drinks; Martinis and variations; Nonalcoholic drinks; Restoratives and pick-me-up drinks; Rum drinks; Sours; Tequila drinks; 24-hour drinks; Vodka drinks; Whisk(e)y drinks

Drinks and Cocktails from A to Z:

Drinks and Cocktails from A to Z

Main Cocktail and Drink Categories

Cocktail Components:

Distillates from Wine: Cognac; Armagnac; Brandy; Marc and Grappa

Distillates from Grain: Gin; Aquavit; Whisk(e)y; Vodka

Distillates from Fruit

Distillates from Plants: Rum; Cachaça; Tequila and Mezcal; Arak

Liqueurs: Anisees

Sparkling Wines: Champagne; French Cremant; German Sekt; Italian Spumante; Spanish Cava; U.S. Sparkling Wines; Other Sparkling Wines

Fortified Wines: Vermouth; Sherry, Madeira; Port

The Artistry of Mixing Drinks and Cocktails: The Artistry of Mixing Drinks and Cocktails; Bar Equipment; Terminology; The Bartender

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

"This just might be the most influential bar and cocktail book. And it’s back with a totally brand new edition. Whether you are shopping for a cocktail fanatic or an avid home entertainer, this book gives them tips on standard cocktail making, retro drinks and elegant presentations with over 500 recipes." —Honest Cooking

From the Publisher