Boozy Book Review: Zen and Tonic

On Drinking to Your Health

Did you know that before people drank wine and cocktails as recreational intoxicants, they were using them as medicine? Do you know how to tell whether your produce is organic, conventional or GMO by simply reading the label? These two tips are among many helpful tidbits found in Jules Aron's Zen And Tonic: Savory and Fresh Cocktails for the Enlightened Drinker. 

I recently came across a few Instagram posts mentioning Zen and Tonic and requested a copy for review. Honestly, I'm glad I did. In addition to beautiful cocktail imagery by Gyorgy Papp and imaginative cocktails made with natural ingredients, Jules AKA the Healthy Bartender packed the pages of her hardcover ode to drinking with great tips and helpful tidbits about everything from fruits and herbs to ice and glasses. For example:

Aron also provides recipes for syrups and infusions to use in cocktails, along with a list of health benefits for many of the fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and flowers used in the recipes. Most importantly, though, she stresses the importance of moderation and reminds readers that her recipes shouldn't be used to cure or treat diseases (smart!). 

My favorite aspect of the book, though, is that while its language and content is easily understandable for someone who's not in the liquor and spirits industry, it doesn't pander or condescend. In fact I found it quite enjoyable despite already knowing much of the health-related info (I'm in to living la vida healthy). As we enter summer, with all its soirees and barbecues, it's probably worth getting a copy... you'll be the star of every BYOB event. Trust me. Zen and Tonic is published by the Countryman Press and has a suggested retail of $24.95. You can purchase it in the Shoes N Booze Shop, on Amazon or at various locations. In the meantime, here's the title cocktail.

*All images were taken from the pages of Zen and Tonic. Though I took pictures of them with my own camera, photography credit for the originals goes to Gyorgy Papp.

For your Boozy Book Club: You Deserve a Drink by Mamrie Hart

You Deserve It

When the introduction to a book informs you that said book has a written-in drinking game, you know you're in for trouble... and a good time. Youtube star and avid drinker, Mamrie Hart's "You Deserve a Drink: Boozy Misadventures and Tales of Debauchery" (released today by Plume Books and available at Amazon.com for $12.57) clearly takes its title seriously. Before delving into the collection of drinking and hangover stories, readers are instructed to take a drink whenever Hart references an old television show, talks about a food product that could be purchased at 7-Eleven or uses a slang term for a reproductive organ (consider yourself warned. She does a good amount of all three). Additionally, each tale comes with its own cocktail recipe. (Either take small sips, or be prepared for drunkenness around page 12.)  Here are our top 5 reasons to start  a boozy book club and make YDAD your first book to read (in no particular order and typed while sipping a bloody mary):

1. The lesson in Chapter 1: After a drunken night leads to a chipped tooth and a life wake-up call. Hart comes to the hard realization that hard-partying friends may not be her best bet. "Sometimes, the person you've got to protect yourself from the most is yourself."
   
2. Topless Tuesdays: Mamrie had always wanted to start some kind of club. After any failures, she finally got it right in college with Topless Tuesdays. They eventually had their own official membership acceptance protocol. First thing about this: a club that encourages a liberation from social constructs is crazy cool. Second, the idea of a group of folks gathering once a week to enjoy the act of learnign something new is totally kick-ass.
   
3. The writing is pun-in-a-million. (Mamrie, we hope we did you proud with that one.) Seriously, though, if you love a good pun the way the SNB squad does, you will get a kick (or 5) out of this book. Seriously... all types of pun envy over here. Mamrie Hart is the queen of puns.
   
4. Quickshots!: No complex cocktail recipes. Only instructions to take a reader's-choice shot- straight and a few abbreviated anecdotes. Call it drinkers' digest.
   
5. No need to read in sequential order. Seriously, with this book you can jump around. (90s music reference. Pretend I'm talking about TV and take a drink!) Since the stories aren't in sequential order, you (and your book club) can litterally skip from chapter 1 to chapter 10 and back to chapter 4 (depending on what cocktail ingredients are readily available on when you meet on Topless Tuesday). See what we did there?

Now that you have our top 5 reasons, please excuse us while we chat with Mamrie for a bit.

Mamrie, first off, we can't wait until we can swap troll stories with you... actually we can't wait until we actually have trolls instead of just spammers. (You're nobody 'til somebody hates on you, right? Secondly, do we drink when there are references to old movies as well as old TV shows? Lastly, in the first "Quickshots" chapter, you instruct us to take a shot, and then two lines down, you insert a trigger word. For that, dear friend, we are tempted to affectionately call you a trigger word. All jokes aside, dear, thanks for sharing your debacles with us. They help us see we're not alone, and if we keep a sense of humor about things, they might just turn into a dope ass book.

Booze Book Review: Skinny Cocktails

 

Hey, Good Bookin’!

 

For some, the end of summer means an end to calorie counting and rigorous gym routines (chunky sweaters hide extra pounds, right?). However, others don’t let lower numbers on the thermometer mean higher numbers on the scale. Does that mean you have to forego yummy Autumn cocktails and warm sippers? Not if expert bartenders, Jaclyn Wilson Foley & Ray Foley, have anything to say about it. They recently released “Skinny Cocktails,” (via Sourcebooks) a pretty comprehensive pocket guide to diet friendly cocktail recipes with carb and calorie counts for lots of beers, spirits and mixers.

There are at least 250 cocktail options in this book, listed in alphabetical order, so it’s not short on choices. My favorite parts of it, though, are the lists of zero-carb liquors and the top 10 low calorie liquors (which are both pretty close to the front, so you can find it easily). I also like that it’s really compact (only a little bigger than my hand), so you can keep it in your purse and refer to it when you’re out. The only thing I’d change: I wish the cocktails were categorized by liquor type instead of being listed alphabetically. Granted, there’s a liquor index in the back, but who remembers to look back there after a Maker’s Mark Manhattan (170 Calories) or two?

If you want to tipple without tipping the scales (remember, colored skinny jeans and skinny cords are a must-wear this Fall,not to mention sleek sweater dresses),  “Skinny Cocktails” is definitely worth the $6.99. I actually carried it with me on a few outings, and it really came in handy. Oh, another caveat- keep your eye out for covetous friends. Mine have tried stealing my complimentary copy on more than one occasion.

 

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Booze Book Review: Cosmo’s Official Cocktail Book

 

Sipping Sexy

Not long ago, I was watching Today with Kathy Lee & Hoda (as I do almost every morning), and they were sampling drinks from COSMO’S OFFICIAL COCKTAIL BOOK: The Sexiest Drinks for Every Occasion (prepared by some of the sexiest bartenders in New York- see video HERE). As I envied their morning swill, I also made a mental note to purchase the book However, I didn’t have to. I was sent a complimentary copy to review!

I often refer to Cosmopolitan Magazine’s online drink guides for cocktails to pair with the shoes you see on this blog, and this book is a compilation of  their readers’ favorites. The first thing I noticed upon opening it was the Cocktail Recipe Visual Index. If you’re planning a party with a color theme, or want to remember the name of a drink that matches your new hot pink platforms, this feature makes it easy. In addition, it’s categorized by liquor type. I wish it was also indexed by occasion/ season, but that’s just because I’m spoiled. However, the recipes are broken down into six chapters, based on whether a drink is flirty, fun, fabulous, romantic, sweetly seductive or “What A Guy Wants.” Plus, there are cool tips and trivia throughout. For instance, some cocktail recipe pages also feature “Hook Him Hints,” while others include conversation starters or cool facts.

COSMO’S OFFICIAL COCKTAIL BOOK also includes quick, fun quizzes (it wouldn’t be Cosmo without the quiz, right?). Upon taking them, you’ll find out whether you’re a “Hell Raiser” or “Party Pooper, ”Flirt Fanatic” or “Flirt Averse”, a “Way Brave Babe” or “Shrinking Violet.” If I had my druthers, each “type” would be matched with an example cocktail or two, but the quizzes were still fun to take. I’m sure everyone can guess where StyleScrybe rated.

Then there’s the “Cocktail Crash Course” toward the end of the book, which puts lots of useful information into digest form. From which glasses to use with which cocktail types, to a metric conversion chart and a Q & A with Belvedere Vodka’s head of Mixology, Claire Smith, this chapter may have your friends thinking you’ve taken a bartending course (or studied Shoes N Booze from day 1). You know how you look at drink recipes in restaurants sometimes and wonder WTH bitters are? Well the “Liquors Worth a Shot” section answers that question and more.

I’d say this book is worth its weight in rim sugar. Plus it looks great on your in-home bar. Whether you’re hosting a girls’ night in, pregaming before the club or trying to score big with a new beau, you’ll find something suitable in COSMO’S OFFICIAL COCKTAIL BOOK.

*NOTE: Photos, information and images Reprinted with permission from Cosmo’s Official Cocktail Book, by the Editors of Cosmopolitan Magazine, copyright 2011, Hearst Books.

Technorati Tags: Book Review,Cocktail Recipe,Cosmopolitan Magazine