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Book Corner © 2008 F. Paul Pacult
 AMERICAN STILL LIFE: The Jim Beam Story and
the Making of the World's #1 Bourbonby F. Paul Pacult (Click on the book cover to go to a site providing more information about the book or click on the Amazon logo to buy a copy.) More than just a book about liquor, American Still Life tells the story of America's dynastic First Family of bourbon whiskey; a family business that has evolved and grown over time and examines issues of marketing and branding, innovation, global business and competition, and government regulation. One part family chronicle, one part cultural history, and one part business success story, F. Paul Pacult, the most accomplished and respected authority on beverage alcohol today, narrates the Beam saga with a passion for his subject.
The Wines of Bordeaux: Vintages and Tasting Notes 1952-2003 By Clive Coates, M.W. The University of California Press/2004 ISBN: 0-520-23573-8 $60.00/hardcover Comments: I've long admired the observations of Englishman Clive Coates on the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. This 720-page tome is Mr Coates's latest book, one that brims with the most complete data on Bordeaux that I know of. Part One paints the intricate picture of Bordeaux in its multitudinous, often disparate parts as Mr Coates breaks down the massive region district by district, commune by commune, property by property. His keen explanations of soil types, vineyard locations, grape varieties, and topography and how those key components each impact the individual chateaux are masterful, clear, and entertaining. In Part Two, Mr Coates's rapier-sharp palate begins with the 2003 vintage and assesses the key wines from the key vintages. Thankfully, Mr Coates wisely skips over inconsequential vintages and properties and focuses on the ones worth discussing. Eleven maps illustrate the major sections. What's so good about the to-the-point Mr Coates is, as opposed to some other wine critics, he's not concerned with building a larger than life persona as much as simply reporting with great dexterity and insight on the wines that he admires. This is an excellent resource for all lovers of fine red and white wine. SHAKEN AND STIRRED: Through the
Martini Glass and Other Drinking Adventures Using just one example, Hamilton's story titled "Deep Tissue/The Union Cocktail" takes him deep into the dubious world of a murky downtown Manhattan, meatpacking district bar called the Pop Burger. The mixed drinks that Hamilton is reviewing are called The Pink Panty Pulldown, the Flirtini, the Cosmopolitang, and the Union Cocktail. His adventures with the grumpy bartender and a cue ball-headed weirdo with thick black eyeglasses are beyond funny. Each article is almost like the short screenplay of a potential film directed by Steve Buscemi. This is seriously good, seriously funny stuff. RUM Rum as a distilled spirit category is finally coming into its own by moving past its largely negative history (which is well told in this book) and by focusing on its many virtues, virtues that hold much attraction in the contemporary drinking world. But RUM is not only rum's finest chronicle and biography to date it is likewise a remarkable visual treat due to the sometimes stunning, always alluring color photography of Jason Lowe. As much as Broom's crisp copy captures the heartbeat of rum in the raw by spending ample time describing the people who make it, Lowe's unforgettable images of face and places sear into one's brain. Author Broom wisely includes tasting notes and ratings (more than a few of which I agreed with) at the end. All in all, RUM is a sweeping, honest, and thorough account of the largely misunderstood spirit of the tropics. Bravo, Dave and Jason. 365 COCKTAILS Mixers - Shakers
- Shots: The Complete Bartender's Guide Overall, I mildly liked
this cocktail tome, though I could think of a half dozen other
cocktail books that run rings around it. Things right with it
include the makes-sense grouping of recipes by the base spirit,
meaning vodka, gin, tequila, etc. I also liked the clever inclusion
of a nifty service guide with each recipe that suggests the proper
kind of glass to use, how much alcohol is in the drink based
on a one-to-five circle rating, and the author's personal like/dislike
for the recipe as depicted via a one-to-five star rating. THE COMPLETE BOOK OF MIXED DRINKS The Revised Edition by Anthony Dias Blue Quill/HarperCollins, $17.95  Highly
Recommended
NOTES: Aside from the wealth
of valuable and practical home bartending and drink-making information,
to me the best part of Blue's updated cocktail tome is how the
drinks recipes themselves are presented in categories of Classics
(the old standards), Creative Concoctions (often new and exciting
recipes), Signature Drinks (of famous watering holes), Hot Drinks.
This format clearly illustrates for the reader the wide spectrum
of possibilities for each variety of distilled spirit base ingredient.
This is the perfect book touched with Blue's no-nonsense, entertaining
style for those just getting interested in cocktails as well
as seasoned veterans looking for some new adventures. Over 1,000
recipes. THE NEW AMERICAN BARTENDER'S GUIDE Packed with over 2,300
mixed drink recipes, the updated NABG is an indispensable guide
for any amateur or professional bartender. But more than the
hundreds of original, new and standard recipes, Poister's keen
insights into the art of bartending, presented as "Bartender's
Secrets" sidebars, and the world of distilled spirits are
what drive this book and make it so worthwhile. Very few bartending
books contain so much on-the-mark material that can help make
mixology so fulfilling.
THE CRAFT OF THE COCKTAIL NOTES: Upside is Dale DeGroff himself, America's pre-eminent cocktail-meister/historian and the decades of bartending savvy, insight and wisdom that he brings to the table. DeGroff's grasp of cocktail lore and history makes this the best record of mixed drinks that I know of. Yet he doesn't dwell completely on the past when it comes to his recipes. DeGroff is the consummate mixologist who is constantly aware of the newest and most exciting spirits and other ingredients entering the marketplace. With his recipes, DeGroff often explains what the ingredients are, how they evolved, and why he's using them. Craft is a bartending clinic. Not only is Craft practical reading, it's fun reading. Without any doubt, the new gold standard of cocktail books and one which I personally doubt will ever be equaled, much less surpassed. This is the cocktail culture equivalent of Joe DiMaggio's 56 game record. A classic already. Downside - None, other than not owning a copy.  MICHAEL
BROADBENT'S VINTAGE WINEFifty Years of Tasting Three Centuries of Wines by Michael Broadbent Harcourt 2002. Hardcover $50.00 Highly Recommended
NOTES: Upside - A remarkable chronicle of the evolution of mostly European wines (though there are mildly insightful chapters on California, Australia-New Zealand and South Africa) as experienced first-hand by the keen taste buds of Michael Broadbent, who as a true wine critic isn't afraid to say that a wine is uninspiring. THE book to have for anyone interested in red and white Bordeaux, Vintage Port, German whites and red and white Burgundy, in particular. The vintage ratings and discussions alone are worth the fare. Downside - Though I fully understand that Broadbent's position at Christie's auction house guided his direction to the wines of Europe, his viewpoints are so pointed and authoritative that the paucity of New World wine coverage makes me yearn for more. The sole other negative is that there's only one Michael Broadbent.
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