Shake Strain Done

Hirsch presents drinks in a 'language that we can taste.' You can peruse the book for a primary liquor, like bourbon, and for a dominant characteristic. So, for instance, if you want a refreshing vodka drink or a warm bourbon tipple on a cold night, the book will guide you.

[T]he recipes: dozens of them, delicious and complex without being effete, full of fresh flavors that, more often than not, will have you saying to yourself, “Why didn’t I ever think of mixing things that way?”

Lots of people are drinking at home during this unsettling era, but they’re getting a little bored with their same old, same old. Shake Strain Done, from J.M. Hirsch, comes at just the right time to break up the tedium. … One of the nice things about Shake Strain Done is that it groups recipes by flavor — warm, refreshing, sweet, sour, bitter, fruity, herbal, creamy, spicy, strong and smoky —not only by the type of liquor. You don’t need anything fancy to make his drinks: as the title says, you simply shake (or stir), strain when required, and sip.

[P]ractical, peppered with useful drink hacks and emphasizing drink flavors (spicy, smoky, herbal, etc.). Enticing illustrations show how the finished drinks should appear. The book is designed to be friendly to home bartenders, but the cocktail recipes are solid, and pros can glean some new tricks too.

A great read with an encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails that’s never too geeky or snobby. Hirsch has an unusual palate and dreams up flavor combinations most of us never could.

...a detailed guide to demystify the process of cocktail making. It’s the kind of book that you’ll want to leave out on your bar: elegant and engaging with an art deco motif and lots of fascinating charts on flavor profiles and useful techniques. But, best of all, it’s filled with dozens of enticing recipes begging for your personal experimentation.