Are There Any Good Reasons to Buy a Novelty Cocktail Book?
It seems like every week there’s a new novelty cocktail book. It’s easy to disregard these books as “not serious,” but that’s actually the key to their charm. They aren’t trying to be serious. We’ve taken a look at a few recent ones and come up with the following reasons to consider buying them.
1. Gifting
The number one reason to purchase a novelty cocktail book is for gifting. These are almost always short format books made for the gift market. Pair them with a couple of glasses, cocktail napkins, barware, or with a bottle or two of something to drink and you’ve got a great gift. These books are not for bartenders or cocktail geeks but are good to have on hand for a hostess gift or a last-minute birthday celebration. Of course, the theme of the book determines whether it’s “appropriate” for someone. Let’s just say Drinking with My Dog is not for those in the cat camp. Not only are these books giftable, but they are also re-giftable!
2. Fun
Witty, and often filled with puns and humor, these books don’t take themselves too seriously and the best ones are thoroughly enjoyable. If you’ve got a friend who is just getting into cocktails, this is a less serious way of learning about what is frankly an enjoyable subject. Drinking with My Dog has charming illustrations of dogs and offers techniques like how to dry shake and while you are warned not to ply your dog with booze, the idea of pairing a cocktail with a breed is a fun idea. The French 75 to honor the poodle? That seems even more fitting than the machine gun it was actually named for. It helps that the book is written by a real drinks writer, namely “the Liquid Muse” Natalie Bovis.
3. Tone
Because these books are “gifty” they are smaller and less expensive. But they are also light and lighthearted. While bartenders are reading Cocktail Codex, Liquid Intelligence or the Jerry Thomas Bartender Guide, those aren’t necessarily the best first books for cocktail newbies. But these books are not necessarily a flash in the pan. Take for example Tequila Mockingbird, which is celebrating a 10th anniversary with a new expanded edition. The pithy notes with each cocktail are like reading a hipster version of the Cliff Notes for all those books you either read in college (or should have read in college) plus a variety of “classics” from Pat the Bunny to the Joy of Sex. The drinks are legit, written by Tim Federle and bartender and consultant Cody Goldstein.
4. Recipes
While some of the recipes may have cheeky names like the The Hand-Mules Tale from Tequila Mockingbird or the Golden (Retriever) Cadillac from Drinking with my Dog, they are usually based on classics. They are also unlikely to have lots of obscure ingredients, or challenging techniques. They often make a very good first cocktail book because the recipes are so solid.
5. Stories
Because these are novelty books there’s an emphasis on the story behind the cocktail rather than the technical side to the recipe itself. From personal stories to historical ones, the theme of the books be it movies, literature or even pets, makes the books all the more enjoyable. Of course, the theme is the gateway to the cocktails. If the reader of the book is a fan of dogs, then reading about the author’s personal stories about dogs is going to be appealing. Likewise lovers of classic movies will really appreciate Eddie Muller’s Noir Bar for the insider notes on cherished films. Muller aka “Czar of Noir” is the host of Noir Alley on TCM. But there’s insight into the cocktails as well. Muller accurately explains why he prefers a coupe rather than a flute for Champagne and it’s done with intelligence not snobbery. And that is pretty much the approach of all the best teachers.