Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined

Great cocktail book. I have a bunch of others, but this is definitely my go-to book when looking for a solid drink. It's certainly not an encyclopedia of different recipes, but rather a distillation (pun acknowledged) of classic and new recipes into a core set of reliable, interesting drinks. I personally hate bar books that have 1000 recipes, since it's impossible to narrow down which ones to choose, and even more impossible to randomly select a good drink. I'd much rather have a well-curated list of several dozen drinks to choose from. I was a bit nervous about it at first since most of the recipes in this book call for specific liquor brands or have relatively esoteric ingredients, but it turns out it's a great excuse to experiment a tiny bit. It also helps that many of the recipes have the classic formulation (e.g., classic Manhattan) and then the authors' take on the drink ("Manhattan cocktail"), which are often taken from historical formulations of the cocktail. You quickly realize that these drink recipes are a lot more malleable and forgiving than you'd otherwise think, and they have always been changing with the times. Overall a fun book, both for solid classics and for trying some new drinks. I've never yet had a drink go wrong, and have added about 10 awesome drinks to my rotation.

Love it! I have a few cocktail books and they always end up on the shelf unused. This book however is different. Once you try one of their recipes you’ll be hooked. We have tried a lot of them and they are all excellent. The same quality you would expect at an upscale bar. The pictures are beautiful and very helpful so you know what the final result should look like. I also like how each recipe has a chart at the bottom describing the flavors so you don’t waste your time and ingredients on something that probably won’t appeal to you. The only problem is that they are so good that you are going to end up drinking more and looking forward the next cocktail. It should probably come with a AA welcome packet.

If you want to make your own craft cocktails, this is the book to buy. It is a commitment to buy many of the liquors for mixing these drinks so not for the broke college student but Wow, you can actually make incredible drinks just by following the directions. I have not been disappointed in any I've made and several have become my signature cocktails. I have this book for myself and have bought one for my best friend and probably will give it again as a gift.

I've been interested in better cocktails for a couple years now and have visited a bunch of well known places in NYC (Pegu Club, Death & Co., Apotheke, Clover Club, etc.) that specialize in this style. I'm so happy I can finally have this book. I've made 4 cocktails so far, in the first couple days, and have loved every one.Be prepared to get a bottle or sixty of something you may not have yet. Stuff like, 5 kinds of bitters, Maraschino Liqueur, Absinthe, High-proof Rye, High-proof Bourbon, Green & Yellow Chartreuse, etc.But its all worth it if you love these kinds of cocktails.They also include great stories of how the drink ended up on their menu and, tasting notes (how it Should taste).The ones I tried: Martinez, Aviation, Billionaire Cocktail and Greenwich Sour.Can't wait to visit in the city.

It is quite nice book. Lots of interesting stories about the drinks. Also many nice and elegant pictures. I also liked those particular "Tasting notes" of each cocktail / drink which were included. Also the "Resource" section was useful. I recomend this book.

I've used this book for 3-4 years as my go-to cocktail prep book. Every recipe I've made is fantastic, with perfect balance amongst ingredients/elements. Whenever I look up cocktail recipes online, for example, the balance tends to be way off. Not the case with Speakeasy. Some reviewers are complaining about the expense of the ingredients, which while not entirely unfounded, I think is way overblown. Yes, many different named (and expensive) spirits are called for (e.g., Charbay Ruby Red vodka), but I've found substitutes readily available at my local Bevmo. Sub a decent triple sec for Grand Marnier, for example. Use common sense and decent inputs and you will be delighted with the results!

If you're a cocktail nerd/aficionado this book is excellent. It was written by the group at Employees Only in NYC, a trendy "speakeasy" style bar. While the bar is fun, its more fun to have their delicious cocktails in a setting that doesn't involve you bumping into 200 people all night. Buy the book, invite your friends and have your own bar for the night.

This is a new wave of bartenders, new styles, new techniques, new flavors, this is employees only bar cocktails style and tecniques, bravo!!! this is what every bartender in progress need to increase the quality of cocktails and different flavors, I am learning a lot, the most important part of a cocktail is the flavors, aromas and body, this book tell you all........