The One-Bottle Cocktail: More Than 80 Recipes with Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit

Modern-day cocktails with a laundry list of ingredients and complicated directions can discourage many home bartenders. Hoffman, drinks writer for Serious Eats, has created a guide for novices and those looking to improve their technique. Her drink recipes use only one bottle of spirits and rely on spices, vinegars, fruit, and other common ingredients to build flavor. The author culls the recipes from professional mixologists around the United States. The recipes are simple; only a few have additional subrecipes for unusual syrups (such as thyme or bitter tea) and premade combinations (such as strawberry gastrique or cranberry cinnamon shrub). Hoffman divides the recipes by spirit (e.g., vodka, gin, rum) and provides suggestions for alternatives when needed. She also gives a guideline on tools to have handy. Technically, these drinks are not cocktails, but the colorful pictures illustrate that these elegant libations will not be refused for just using only one bottle.