Reviews Cooking, Food And Wine Book

Product Details

From Publishers Weekly
With authority and just a hint of snobbery, Wall Street Journal columnist Felten indulges the dedicated drinker with this unwavering, well-informed appreciation of the "secular communion" of a good drink. Chock-full of obscure and fascinating anecdotes, Felten's guide covers cocktail history, culture and craft, featuring appearances by the likes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway (who "ranked 'dry' martini drinking somewhere between bullfighting and big-game hunting in his hierarchy of the manly arts"), Queen Elizabeth II and James Bond, along with a long list of notable bartenders and drink experts. Felten seamlessly interweaves drink recipes with their respective histories, detailing for instance the "culture wars" over the Bronx's paternity before divulging instructions for this near-forgotten gem, "robust enough to have spawned a slew of other solid cocktails" like the Income Tax Cocktail, the Maurice and the Smiler. Felden's wry, almost lyrical writing style is quickly absorbing, like bellying up next to a funny, friendly, knowledgeable career drinker. Quoting the New York Times, Felten asserts that "we should know mixed drinks if we care to be thought cultured"; if that's so, this fun read should turn any unrefined boozehound into a class act.
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Customer Reviews

Great Addition to Our Cocktail Library
One of our favorite Saturday evening exercises is to host a cocktail hour based on the recipe that appears in Felton's Wall Street Journal column that day. We've enjoyed his column since its beginning and we were excited to finally get a copy of his book. How's Your Drink does a great job of expanding on what Felton does weekly in the paper. He not only provides great cocktail recipes but more importantly he uses cocktails as a foundation to discuss our culture. It's an interesting look at America through the eyes of the bar, a unique, funny, touching and honest reflection at a major part of our culture.

Expected more recipes
not many cocktail recipes are in it............. it can be interesting a few pages now and then. much prefer reading his column in WSJ Saturday,.

Fine writing as well as a fine reference
Even though my wife has subscribed to The Wall Street Journal for years, and I have a general interest in cocktails and "the art of drinking well," it wasn't until I spread out a section of the paper for the equally manly art of polishing a pair of shoes that I encountered the work of Eric Felten -- and even then, it was his excellent review of Men to Boys: The Making of Modern Immaturity, not his regular column. I noticed this book in his bio blurb and got hold of a copy as soon as I could. From now on, I'm going to make a point of borrowing the Journal weekend section so I don't miss any more of his writing (I'm also, on his recommendation, going to read "Men to Boys").

"How's Your Drink" is an entertaining summary history of mixed drinks in America, a look at cocktail culture, and an entertainingly opinionated review of drinks and drink recipes. While not a "bar book" in the traditional sense, it would certainly be handy to keep around for that purpose too, both for the classics and for variants and new drinks invented by Felten himself. Whether you're a historian of American culture or an aficionado of the "cocktail resurgence" in need of some facts to back up your swank, "How's Your Drink" should both entertain and satisfy.