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Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How A Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized
Drinking World – Robert Simonson (Ten Speed Press)
The New York Times has a cocktail writer. Yep you read
that correctly; the so-called “Old Grey Lady” reportedly struggling to keep the
doors open in the internet age, has a guy whose beat is cocktails. I can’t
quite put my finger on whether that is the greatest job ever or the saddest job
ever.
The writer in question is Robert Simonson, a
bestselling author of books about cocktails. Yep you read that correctly. Maybe
it’s my beer drinkers mentality, but books about cocktails…really? And no I am
not talking about those handy little guide books that nearly everyone with a
home bar, which now seems like an oddly 1970s concept, had tucked away for the
occasion when a guest called for something off the beaten highball path.
It turns out that Simonson’s new book, A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How A
Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World, is a fine mix of travelogue
and bartender tale, with just a splash of drink recipes. Simonson clearly knows
his subject and is a fine tour guide on the journey through cocktail-land.
He skillfully mixes the characters, the locales and
their concoctions into an entertaining brew. While it won’t shake me off my
choice of brew, it was an interesting look at the hipsters and nerds that
answer the siren call of alcohol.
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