Book Review: Edible Cocktails by Natalie Bovis; Adams Media Publishing

Your favorite food is fresh, local, and homemade—and now your cocktails can be, too!

Whether you're plucking fresh mint from your own garden or buying buckets of juicy blackberries from the farmers' market, taking these inspiring ingredients from garden to glass is what Edible Cocktails is all about. And mixing unique, delicious drinks like a Lavender Gin Sour or a Basil Grass Lemon Drop is easier than you think. Just try the following:

• Plant your own cocktail garden"

• Utilize seasonal, fresh farmers' market finds or pluck tasty treasures in the wild

• Infuse spirits and make homemade liqueurs

• Create homemade syrups, purees, and jams
• Use eggs, dairy, and even meat in your cocktail for modern mixology explorations

With full-color photographs and more than 100 cocktail recipes, you'll be infusing your life—and your cocktails!&151;with wholesome and homegrown ingredients in no time.

 

My Review

The book begins as many others with the chapter Mixology Basics, where learn or re-;earn the basics of mixing cocktails. She explains what to plant in your garden or look for at the farmer’s market next time you go to ensure that your cocktails are fresher than fresh!

The “intro” chapters show in great detail how to mix the drinks the right way, the tools you will need to do so, and the herbs that you need to have on hand. She also shows you how to properly store ingredients that aren’t in season, so you can make that drink even if it isn’t summer!

I truly appreciate her “tools of the trade” where she shows what is needed before you try to mix up all this amazing deliciousness. Although I’m familiar with mixing them up, I’ve never used fresh veggies and herbs in drinks before!

You shouldn’t just ADD this to your collection of cookbooks/ home mixology because the pictures make you drool a little or that it has 150 recipes for drinks, syrups, jams, jellies, and purees but because of how eco-friendly your winding down will now be!!

She thoroughly breaks down all the “know-how” of making the jams, jellies, purees..etc so that even if you’ve never made any before, you’ll be in the mix very quickly.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s in your wine? She explains red, sparkling, white, and fortified. Don’t understand the different cocktail terms such as cobbler, swizzle, or smash (there IS more), she explains. This is definitely more than just a recipe book. This is a cocktail “reference” guide as well!

There are tons of recipes, starting out with the classics like the sidecar, Manhattan, and Pisco Sour. There are a lot of drinks that have a “fresh” exciting twist on them as well. I really want to give all the Sangria’s a try! She’s got the Warm Winter Sangria, Sustainable Summer Sangria, Tropical Sangria, Allegria Sangria, and Seasonal Sparking Sangria!

I love how many “syrup” recipes are in here. She starts out with the Basic Simple Syrup and moves on to the more sophisticated ones that have added herbs and fresh fruits to them!

These recipes are definitely more creative than the other cocktail books out there. I love all the different ingredients she throws in the mix, but she also tells you where they can be located if they are extravagant.

What’s even funnier is that she adds a “meat” section, making drinks with meat such as bacon. I wouldn’t have thought it would be appealing to drink a drink with bacon in it, but the Bacon Cherry Creek Cocktail DOES!

Here are a few unique drinks that I AM going to try!

• Spring Sherry Cobbler
• Sustainable Summer Sangria
• Blueberry Yogurtini
• Violet Hour
• Hot Brazilian Passion
• Espresso Brandy Milk Punch
• Cilantro-Cucumber Vodka Collins
• Watermelon Margarita
• The Sweetest Vice
• VeeVa la Vida
• Mango Nuclear Daiquiri

MUST HAVE BOOK!

Chapter Outline for Edible Cocktails:

• Mixology Basics
• Garden to Glass
• Grape to Glass
• Party with Preserves: Syrup, Jams, Purees, and Shrubs
• Mixing it Up: Infusions, Meat, Dairy, Eggs, Liqueurs, and Bitters
• Mixers, Garnishes, and Ice
• More Cocktail Recipes!

BUY IT: Edible Cocktails by Natalie Bovis for $11.53

Natalie Bovis, aka The Liquid Muse, is a recognized beverage consultant, mixologist, and author of Preggatinis and The Bubbly Bride. She is the spokesperson for Fre Alcohol-Removed wines and is the cocreator of a line of prebottled organic cocktails called O.M. Visit her website,www.theliquidmuse.com.

Jessica Renee