Jim Meehan’s earlier PDT Cocktail Book remains a vivid and highly practical guide to the recent generation of craft cocktails and revived classics. In his Meehan’s Bartender’s Manual he lays out a definitive approach to operating a top-flight bar, addressing all the fundamentals: from menu and recipe development, to bar technique and design, to the creation of an aura of hospitality. Any restaurant owner hoping to create a first-class beverage program will benefit from this book. Throughout the Manual, Meehan features interviews with other leading practitioners, from bartenders to distillers, expanding the perspective on the industry. You’ll find floorplans of legendary establishments, tips on troubleshooting fussy tap systems, and a clear reverence for the work of cocktail historians who can tell us not only what was drunk in days of yore, but why. There are also 100 drink recipes, carefully annotated to showcase the essential bartending skills required to make them, and to explain how they have evolved and can evolve further. This is a fascinating, generous, and remarkably practical work. Pros and amateurs alike will benefit. Strongly. Color photographs throughout. Hardcover.
