Top 5 Drink Books of 2023

I read about 40 drink books in 2023 and these are my top five favorites.

5. Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks--a Cool History of a Hot Commodity by Amy Brady
https://amzn.to/3tAkKpS

Amy Brady's book about the cultural history of ice was a perfect pairing to my how-to book on ice cubes, coming out just a month after my own. This has the history of "Ice King" Frederic Tudor, plus how ice fundamentally changed America in numerous ways from food and drink to sports and travel.

4. How to Taste: A Guide to Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life by Mandy Naglich
https://amzn.to/3ttIpbI

It's mostly about tasting beer, wine, and spirits but it's a book about tasting everything from cheese to chocolate to honey, and approaching it like a professional taster. There are tips of developing your palate and tons of interviews with professionals in many different specialties. It makes me want to host tasting parties for everything.

3. Tropical Standard: Cocktail Techniques & Reinvented Recipes by Ben Schaffer and Garret Richard
https://amzn.to/41F1cgO

This is the only recipe book on my list, because it introduces new techniques to old drinks. Tropical Standard will probably be known as a book of tiki cocktail recipes made with modern techniques like clarification and isolated acids from Liquid Intelligence, but many of the drinks include no such razzle dazzle: It is really a book on raising the standard of tropical cocktails, optimizing them with everything we've learned in the decades since they were first invented.

2. A Field Guide to Tequila: What It Is, Where It’s From, and How to Taste It by Clayton J. Szczech
https://amzn.to/41GrcIA

The title and cover copy really undersell it: This is the tequila book the world needs. About half the book is about the production of tequila and the historical circumstances and sometimes-ridiculous regulations that lead to it being made that way. Tequila is a moving target in many ways, but Szczech has done a great job at nailing the parameters that make it what it is, along with highlighting some of the largest and most traditional players in the category. This is now the first book I recommend about the category.



1. Modern Caribbean Rum by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith
https://moderncaribbeanrum.com/
This came out at the end of 2022 but I read it - all 850 pages of it - this year. And it seems like it was written just for me. I am a production nerd and want to know all the ingredients, equipment, and regulations that go into making something and how those things impact how something tastes. Here we get the information on the specific stills- down to the manufacturer- used at every distillery, plus that level of detail about everything from every producer in the covered region. It's a lot, and I like it. So it is all of that wrapped up in a huge heavy package with terrific photos and design - a pleasure to flip through too.

BONUS: My Book!
The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres, and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts by Camper English
https://amzn.to/3vl0fhC

Crystal clear spheres, cubes you can read through, embossed, branded, and blinged-out chunks, chips, blocks, and 'bergs: it's time to elevate your ice!

In The Ice Book, internationally renowned cocktail icepert Camper English details how to use directional freezing to make perfectly pure ice in a home freezer, carve it up into giant diamonds and other shapes, and embed it with garnishes, including edible orchids and olives. You'll learn how to create a frozen bowl for Negroni punch, serve a Manhattan inside an ice sphere, and infuse cubes with colors and flavors to create cranberry cobblers, a color-changing Gin and Tonic, and other awesome drinks.

Featuring striking color photos throughout, this handy guide―and great gift―offers easy directions for dozens of ice projects and suggestions for further freezer fun. Both instructional and inspirational, The Ice Book will help you take your nonalcoholic and boozy beverages to the next level.