Product Description

This is the 7th edition of a book that is widely regarded by members of the drinks industry as the most complete and authoritative cocktail publication available. Since 2001 this trusted title has built a loyal following amongst the top international bartending fraternity as well as discerning drinkers and keen amateur mixologists. This heavyweight hardback has 432 pages containing a massive 2,200 cocktail recipes, all stipulating the correct glass and illustrated with a colour photograph. This encyclopaedic tome will also include the history of cocktails plus illustrated reviews of the world's top cocktail bars.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #187114 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

About the Author
Simon Difford has been involved in most aspects of the drinks industry from running his own off licence and wholesale company to importing and brand creation, but is best known as a drinks writer and publisher. Simon founded CLASS Magazine in 1997, a title which became the leading UK style bar title before he sold it to William Reed Publishing toprepare for the launch of his range of diffordsguide drinks related books in 2001.

Customer Reviews

BRILLIANT!
I've just started a new bar job, and I pretended I'd done it before!haha So in a panic, I needed a really good book I could learn basics from! I couldn't decide on amazon which cocktail book I wanted, so I went into Waterstones - I'd seen Difford guide mentioned on Channel 4's "Come Dine with Me" where one of the hosts had his cocktail published in it! I must say this is by far the BEST cocktail book around! This has even got the history of cocktails! Which glasses to use for what, and the different techniques for making cocktails! As well as every cocktail I could possible think of - with pictures. Tells you what glass, garnish and how to serve it i.e with straw, etc. I liked it so much, I couldn't wait ordering it from Amazon, i bought it for £25 straight away! Well worth it! I think the size of it and the fact that its hardback, makes it an added bonus! All the other books I looked at were tiny in comparison!
A friend of mine has just turned 21 and my best friend has just moved into her first home, so I bought this book for them with a bottle of booze and a cocktail shaker, and both of them LOVED it and I've been invited round to many parties! :-) They're both copying me, and buying this book for other friends!
Diffords Guide makes an excellent addition to anyones library who likes food & drink! Even if you never want to make cocktails, it's just a really nice book open up and look at! A great buy for yourself or as a gift!
5*

step by step guide to the joy of cocktails
An informative and interesting book which provides a simple guide to making those supercool drinks with ease. All cocktails featured are pictured and inform you on the correct presentation and how to correctly mix them. As soon as I got home I was getting stuck in and the results were not too bad. Highly recommended.

Keeps my other half quiet
Well we started with one of those 101 cocktail books- for some reason things never tasted perfect and there wasn't really much variety.

Soooo, the beast has been burbling for ages about wanting to have a cocktail cabinet full of spirits. A chance Amazon search, followed by a surreptitious 10 minutes in Waterstones, confirmed this book would definitely do as a pretty definitive guide. Oh it is good. There's about 6 cocktails to a page and they are listed alphabetically. It's a big, big hardback- more like a Physics textbook than any cookbook/drink book I've ever known. In the back there's a listing by ingredient. That part isn't 100% accurate- there's some links that are missing, and it's in painfully small print for my sadly aging eyes. Still it gives a reasonable introduction and collection to each ingredient.

Difford is very firm about what he sees as the best liqueur brands to buy- and generally you won't be able to buy them on the high street, only the less palatable versions, if you're lucky. Happily the UK internet has a few sites which oblige (which seems to be with a standard delivery charge). It will cost to buy up your main ingredients and we still haven't quite solved the storage problem (cocktail cabinets aren't the best solution and do you really want a BAR in your home?). Difford does helpfully list the basic set of spirits needed. Supermarkets happily provide the range of fruit juices you'll need.

Glassware is much easier to get hold of. Martini glasses are ubiquitous in the high street. Again online is the best place to get hold of the weirder shapes such as pina colada, margarita and (our favourite) the tall conical Kyoto glass. If you want a boston cocktail shaker (base and glass) and strainer, then again the global electronic village is your best bet. You'll soon be muddling with the best of them (a muddler is a wooden bar with which you bash out the essence of fruit- amazing on strawberries).

Like fondues, this is a 70s thing that is in desperate need of revival. They aren't all brilliant drinks, but wow, St Germain Elderflower liqueur is amazing - especially in a "Gin Atomic". Stay at home and crunch on a few roasted cashews instead of your credit!