In our current spring issue of Sip Northwest, Sonja Groset details four drink-related books to thumb through for solid summer reading.
1) Portland-based bartender and writer Jacob Grier is on a mission to make beer cocktails mainstream. In “Cocktails on Tap,” Grier introduces readers to seven styles of beer cocktails: beer flips, hot beer drinks, beer-topped cocktails, beer punches, cocktails with beer syrup, beer-incorporated cocktails and prepared beers. There are recipes for more than 50 cocktails—with history and origins included for each—ranging from a twist on the Harvey Wallbanger, called the Harvey Weissbanger, made by combining Galliano, orange juice and wheat beer to a Portland Rickey made with gin, green Chartreuse, lemon juice and a saison-style beer. || jacobgrier.com
2) There are more than a dozen River Cottage handbooks covering culinary techniques from meat and seafood to preserves and cooking for kids. Now, this popular series from the U.K. has released “The River Cottage Handbook No. 12: Booze” by John Wright. It introduces readers to making wine, beer, cider and boozy infusions at home. Learn about the fundamentals of fermentation, the importance of cleanliness and keeping records, and plan your own projects with a seasonal calendar for infusions with various herbs, berries and nuts. There are more than 75 recipes from blackberry whiskey and cherry plum wine to dry sparkling cider and dandelion brandy. There’s even a recipe for a homemade hangover cure. || rivercottage.net
3) Get to know some of Washington’s wine industry pioneers in “Wines of Walla Walla Valley: A Deep-Rooted History” by Catie McIntyre Walker. This book chronicles the birth of the eponymous wine region, with profiles of the visionaries behind some of the most celebrated wines produced in the valley. Learn about the valley’s history spanning from the cataclysmic Missoula floods 13,000 years ago to the establishment of Fort Walla Walla in the 19th Century, Prohibition and the current wine boom. Each chapter of the book name-checks families that have helped put Walla Walla on the map, and continue to contribute to the story of Walla Walla wine. || historypress.net
4) The long-anticipated first book from Seattle-based cocktail writer, former Sip Northwest contributor and Imbibe executive editor Paul Clarke hits bookstore shelves June 2015. “The Cocktail Chronicles,” named after Clarke’s pioneering cocktail blog of the same name, is an approachable handbook to the cocktail revival of the last decade. Over the course of five chapters and more than 200 recipes, Clarke chronicles the early days of the cocktail renaissance, obscure cocktails, enduring classics, contemporary cocktails and offers expert advice for stocking your bar and further pursuing your cocktail passion. || cocktailchronicles.com
