The Bartender's Black Book: The Drink Recipe Collection for the 21st Century, Sixth Edition

Rating:
Summary: Tons of Lore and Just as Much Convenience
Review: By Bill Marsano. There are more than enough bar guides around to satisfy even the thirstiest soul, so the question becomes which one is the most helpful, the easiest to use. Well, this one has a pretty fair claim to the title.

At about 4.5 inches by 9, it is of convenient, under-bar size (no bartender wants the customer to know he has to look anything up). It has some 2,700 recipes, and it takes them all with a straight face, from the utterly genteel to the impossibly vulgar (in my view, anyone who orders a German Leg-Spreader or a Duck Fart is a lout who should be flung into the street at the earliest opportunity, but that's the bouncer's job). There's an enlarged section on the martini, that greatest of cocktails, that Bogart of drinks; and sections on flavored vodkas, shooters, floaters and wines. The wine section is especially worthy of note. Bartenders used to take the approach of Tim Costello's old Manhattan saloon, which had its wine list painted on the wall. It said: "Red, $2.50. White, $2.50. No substitutions." But times are changing and with any number of places offering wine by the glass, the able bartender has to know more than how to use a corkscrew. In this book, the wine advice comes from that demigod, Robert Parker Jr. himself. Nuff said.

But the best thing about this book is that it has a comb binding--something like a spiral-wire binding, but made of plastic. It means this book, unlike all the others I've see lately, lies FLAT. No more bending the book open, flexing it until the binding cracks, and then weighting it with a beer bottle to keep the thing from flapping closed. Sometimes strokes of genius are as easy as they are rare.--Bill Marsano is an award-winning writer and editor.

Rating:
Summary: Buy this Book
Review: I had to write a review after reading the prior one of a man in search of a picture book. There are a plethora of [bad] picture drink books on the market. It is funny, he was looking for a common thing (a [bad] picture drink book) and he got the finest drink recipe book ever written. The author painstakingly alphabetized and reworked thousands of drinks. He threw out all the [bad stuff] and made a No [fooling] essential tool, that restaurants, bars, and liquor stores must carry (they all seem to). The book is unbiased (no liquor companies pushing their product) It lays flat so I can work and read at the same time. I own a 4th, 5th and a 6th edition and I await new editions. I have learned from them all....THE BARTENDER'S BLACK BOOK IS A 5 STAR BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Best of what I have found
Review: I have used several bartender books, and have found more of the popular drinks I see at various bars in this book. Most of these popular drinks are missing from other books. Long Island Ice Tea (several variations), Sex On The Beach, Purple Hooter, Buttery Nipple, they all are in there. I am an amateur bartender with a reasonably extensive liquor cabinet (40 bottles or so). My girlfriend left and took my copy, so here I am at Amazon getting one to replace it!

Rating:
Summary: Best of what I have found
Review: I have used several bartender books, and have found more of the popular drinks I see at various bars in this book. Most of these popular drinks are missing from other books. Long Island Ice Tea (several variations), Sex On The Beach, Purple Hooter, Buttery Nipple, they all are in there. I am an amateur bartender with a reasonably extensive liquor cabinet (40 bottles or so). My girlfriend left and took my copy, so here I am at Amazon getting one to replace it!

Rating:
Summary: Just great!
Review: I saw this book at a friends house and begged to take it with me until I could find one to buy myself. It is the most comprehensive and easy to use bar guide I've seen. The spiral style binding makes it easy to lay flat open on a table while working. And it is so compact.

Rating:
Summary: Just great!
Review: I saw this book at a friends house and begged to take it with me until I could find one to buy myself. It is the most comprehensive and easy to use bar guide I've seen. The spiral style binding makes it easy to lay flat open on a table while working. And it is so compact.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended from Behind the Bar
Review: I'm a bartender and there is always one customer who comes along and orders a drink you dont know how to make. Behind the bar we keep several drink books, but this is the only one that actually gets used. Easy to read recipies, non-coded names for liquors, short, sweet, and to the point. Spiral binded so the book will not close while you are mixing. Contains the most variety of drinks I've seen from Vodka Collins for beginners (which most books don't have) through Long Islands all the way to a Mongolian Mother for the more adverse. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to shake, stir, or blend.

Rating:
Summary: This is by far the best recipe guide available...
Review: I've bartended for 7 years and I've gotta say that this book has the most current and creative recipes in the market today. It also has many alternate recipes for drinks that may vary by region. I've bought alot of bartending books over the years, but nothing beats this one. I have not been paid for this endorsement. ;)

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely no pictures!
Review: It does seem to have an awful lot of recipes crammed in there, but I was looking for a book with a bunch of curiosity-provoking, colorful pictures... something to make a guest say "hey, I want one of those!" It looks like a phone book inside-- lots of small writing, listing one drink after another.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely no pictures!
Review: It does seem to have an awful lot of recipes crammed in there, but I was looking for a book with a bunch of curiosity-provoking, colorful pictures... something to make a guest say "hey, I want one of those!" It looks like a phone book inside-- lots of small writing, listing one drink after another.