Tulleeho, the Delhi-based beverage education & training organisation, has come out with a book on cocktails. Edited by Rayna Jhaveri, and published by Westland Ltd., the book presents a variety of different alcoholic cocktails, the objectives being to enable you to make them yourself, not get lost in conversation about them, even though you might have never touched one.
All the cocktails in the book are either classics or Tulleeho productions (Tullee Tipples), and they're all helpfully tagged - Desi Dhamaka, Market Fresh, Old Boy's Club, Dessert, Ladies Special, Herb & Spice.
Pages 1-5 detail the various things you will need to make your own cocktails. This home bar essentials section recommends that you stock different alcohols (vodka, rum, tequila, gin, whisky, brandy, liquer, beer, wine, vermouth), barware (shakers, strainers, crushers, spoons, knives, openers), glassware (beer, old-fashioned, tall, flute, wine, shot, martini, margarita), mixers, condiments & garnishes.
Pages 6-12 comprise a crash course in Mixology, with pages 6 & 7 looking at different ways in which cocktails are divided (classic and contemporary, look and glassware, preparation process, cocktail family), pages 8 & 9 looking at bartending techniques (stirring, shaking, blending, layering, flaming, dusting, frosting), page 10 looking at measurements, and pages 11-12 looking at various bartending tips and tricks.
The rest of the book is mostly made up of cocktail recipes, beginning with vodka cocktails (pages 15-40). What strikes you immediately is the originality of the content - only 5 out of the 25 recipes in this section are classics. The rest are all Tullee Tipples, or originals. This trend continues throughout the book, with originals outnumbering classics in the tequila, gin, rum & whisky sections (though the brandy, beer & wine sections seem to marginally include more classics).
But coming back to Vodka, I'm looking forward to trying the very original Vasanth Neer, which involves coconut water. Originals in other chapters that I'd like to try are the interesting iced tea variant in the tequila section, the Khus syrup cooler in the gin section, the Black Knight (made of rum and coffee), the Godfather (made with whisky and almond-flavored liqueur) and the Boiler Maker (beer and whisky)
Each section also comes with a short history of the main base alcohol used in that section, some trivia, and preferred ways to serve it. Recipe pages also helpfully include brief descriptions of unusual ingredients and possible substitutes, should you not have them.
The book also offers, at the intervals between each chapter, 'Specials' lists i.e lists of cocktails that can be served on special occasions like festivals.These include Holi, Valentine's Day, Monsoon, Diwali, Christmas & Dessert, with the recipe page numbers included for the cocktails on each Specials page, allowing for easy navigation.
Also hidden somewhere in between is a quick liqueur guide.
The latter part of the book is made up of Monin & Bacardi cocktail specials (Tuleeho's sponsors), a list of ways to say 'Cheers' around the world, a very useful party planner to help you estimate the amount of alcohol you will need according to the number of people attending, a smart drinking guide, a nation-wide where-to-buy guide, and a glossary.
A very organised book with useful information and a recommended buy.
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!
No comments:
Post a Comment