Ted Haigh

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March 22, 2010 - 8:40pm | by Daniel Priseman

I’ve just realised that I am probably (no probably about it!) a fully-fledged cocktail geek (a suspicion I’ve had for some time actually!). Having taken a look at my bookcase it seems to be rather overloaded with cocktail books, with very few books on any other subject. That’s ok though, taking a look at them, I realise that they chart my journey from ‘casually interested in drinks’ to ‘make my own bitters’. A journey any fellow cocktail geek will recognise!

 
As I browse my collection, I realise that as my knowledge of cocktails has grown, the type of books I look for have changed. I started with books that demonstrated tequniques and had lots of pictures, and now I find myself buying books from pre-prohibition that are stacked full of obscure names, measuring units and illustrations! Seeing the range of books on my shelves has got me thinking that maybe it’s time that bitters&twisted did its first book review.
 
 
Hopefully there is something for everyone here, whether you are a drinker who fancies having a go at making cocktails at home or a full time bartender looking to expand your knowledge. One thing’s for sure, there are enough cocktail books out there to keep you busy for a lifetime, but we’ve chosen a range that hopefully offer enough to get you started.
 
 
I plan on making book reviews a feature of the b&t website when it launches, but in the meantime here are some personal favourites:
 
 
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what would an old-time bartender have made if he had a bottle of...

September 1, 2009 - 2:41pm | by Daniel Priseman

Our very modern bar scene in 2009 seems to be spending a lot of time looking back. The classics are well and truly in fashion and there is a real movement towards reviving long lost ingredients, methods, recipes and styles. Well that suits me just fine as there are few things in this world that I like more than a well made Manhattan, Bronx, Ward 8 or Pegu Club. I say long let this trend continue... but let me just caveat that by saying let's not get stuck in the past.

 

The very best bartenders I know are all pretty well versed in classic cocktails; they have read Thomas, Craddock, Johnson and Duffy from cover to cover and can recite facts so obscure I wonder if they are made up half the time! But let's face it anyone can pick up a copy of an old cocktail book and with a bit of effort reproduce some damn fine drinks. One of the things that makes a good bartender great is their ability to draw inspiration from the past but to give drinks a distinctly modern twist.

 

Over the weekend I was flicking through Ted Haigh's excellent book 'Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails' and drooling over some drinks that I feel certain will become new favourites of mine. If you haven't done so yet, then I suggest that you go out and grab a copy as soon as you can, if ever there was a more timely release of a book to reflect a trend in the drinks industry I can't remember it! Mr Haigh has assembled a list of drinks that should never have fallen out of fashion and along with a lot of valuable info about their origins and some of the more obscure ingredients has bundled them into a neat package that is a real pleasure to peruse.

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