Twist: That's the spirit

by Heather Bouzan, 03-10-2008

A.J. RATHBUN, we'd kill to buy you a drink. Your book, Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist (Harvard Common Press, 2007; $29.95), is some of the most exhaustive cocktail reading we've done in a long time, and whether we order a Bees Knees Martini, a Ward Eight, or an Alabama Slammer, we're sure you'd have a captivating story with which to tickle our brain. Rathbun's hefty tome features 450 cocktail recipes (many coupled with some seriously thirst-inducing photos) divided into 12 thematic chapters such as "The Gold Standards," love-to-hate-them "Collegiate Classics," and "Fresh Faces," with information on all that's new and cutting-edge in drink-making. Rathbun also includes warm- and cold-weather tipples, a scholarly treatment of shots, and recipes appropriate for both intimate twosomes and raucous crowds. Rathbun writes with wit, creativity, and an infectious enthusiasm for the simple pleasures of a well-poured drink, featuring cocktails that range from old-school classics to the weirdest of the weird (the Bacontini? Really?). And for those in need of cocktail-savvy conversation topics, he also works in notes on drink history, in-depth "Liqueur Spotlights" on spirits such as Chartreuse and Parfait Amour, and boozy quotes from famous imbibers. While the chances of sharing bar space with the author are slim (he currently lives in Seattle), you can pick up a copy of Good Spirits at Trident Booksellers & Café (338 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.267.8688).