Cocktails from Around the World

Spirited by cocktail expert Adrienne Stillman is a massive 432-page book of 610 cocktail recipes spanning 500 years, six continents, and 60 countries.

You might think that if you’ve seen one big book of cocktail recipes then you’ve seen them all, but I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like Spirited. It’s a monumental hardback that weighs in at 3.25 pounds (1.47 kilos) and must be the most comprehensive and varied cocktail book I’ve ever seen.

It gathers together cocktail recipes from all over the globe, from Algeria to China, from Cuba to Haiti, from Guyana to Sri Lanka, from Tokyo to Tunisia – yes, even Muslim countries which aren’t known for their cocktail cultures get a look in.

The Author

Adrienne Stillman has written another book for the same publishers, Phaidon, which sounds like a brilliant idea: Where Bartenders Drink. She co-founded Dipsology, a digital guide to New York’s best bars, is a Certified Sommelier, lives in Napa Valley, and works in digital marketing in the wine industry.

Setting Up Your Home Bar

If you’re going to become an international cocktail-maker then you’re going to have to set up your home bar pretty thoroughly, and the first section of Spirited tells you how to do just that, with entries for Bar Equipment, Glassware, Techniques, Ingredients, Garnishes, Syrups and Cordials, and Spirits. The author doesn’t tell you which particular brand of spirits she recommends, but in five pages she tells you what types of spirits and other drinks the well-stocked bar should have on hand.

Spirited Cocktails from Around the World book sample spread — The Book Also Has Features Like This

610 Cocktails from Around the World

No, I haven’t counted them but will take the author’s word for it that there are 610 cocktail recipes here. They’re grouped by types, not by country: Refreshing, Sours (over 100 pages on those alone!), Spirit Forward (my kind of cocktail), Tiki and Tropical, Coffee and Dessert, and Punches.

As you can see from the sample spreads and pages here, the book is beautifully designed and photographed, so all credit to photographer Andy Sewell for his creative photos from what must have been a monumental task.

Each recipe tells you where it came from, how long it’s been around, and has a series of icons to let you know whether it contains such ingredients as eggs, dairy, nuts, and so on. Each one also has an introduction, sometimes brief and sometimes lengthy, if there’s a good story behind the drink or the author has a particular reason for including it.

The cocktails themselves include some simple ones, like a Tequila Sunrise or a Moscow Mule, but then you can’t have what amounts to a worldwide encyclopedia of cocktail recipes without including such classics.

On the other hand, there are unusual cocktails like a Becherovka Beton, using the Czech herbal liqueur becherovka (‘tastes like cough medicine’, was my friend’s immediate reaction to a glass of becherovka in a Prague restaurant), or an Arak Madu from Bali, using Indonesian arak.

If you’re in the mood for a particular spirit, like tequila or cognac, then you’ll find a useful index of cocktails listed alphabetically by spirit and ingredients. There’s also an index of cocktails by name, from an Ace to a Zombie, so this is the place to look if you want a margarita cocktail recipe (and you’ve nine to choose from). The only thing missing, which would have been useful, is an index of cocktails according to their country of origin.

Other than that, this is a stunning collection of cocktail recipes and would make a very handsome present for any cocktail fan… or for yourself, of course!