The Canon Cocktail Book: Recipes from the Award-Winning Bar

Seattle’s Canon: Whiskey and Bitters Emporium has won numerous high-profile awards; those who’ve never had a chance to check out the bar can see what all the fuss is about in this collection of 100 of their best cocktail recipes. With the grating exception of using a gritty, lowercase typewriter-like font to display the bar’s name whenever it’s mentioned, Boudreau is a humble and enthusiastic host, generous with his cocktail tips (including some terrific practical advice on opening a bar of one’s own) and freely giving credit where credit is due in regard to each cocktail’s origin. As for the cocktails themselves, the collection is unassailable. The usual suspects (the old-fashioned, Tom Collins, daiquiri, etc.) are all here, as are riffs (the Cubed Old Fashioned adds complexity via additional liquors and bitters) and some of the painfully specific cocktails one has come to expect from this genre. The Khaleesi Cocktail, for example, requires Blanton’s Single Barrel Whiskey, Punt e Mes, Amaro Meletti, Giffard strawberry syrup, Angostura bitters, and an ascorbic acid solution. Fortunately, Boudreau is more than happy to pull back the curtain and break down cocktail recipes into a simple formula (which he calls the golden ratio), allowing readers to substitute or add flavors for variety and complexity in order to come up with their own creations. This terrific resource is sure to send armchair bartenders scurrying to their shakers. Agent: Andrea Hurst, Andrea Hurst & Associates. (Nov.)