Cocktail Books

We’re absolutely thrilled to have some of our favorite cocktail books now available here at Stanley’s. These are books we come back to time and time again, not only for the cocktails themselves, but also to learn how to think about building cocktails.

If you want to feel confident at your bar cart, instead of anxiously referring back to some recipe you found online — these books are for you.

We want to spotlight two books in particular that we’ve learned a ton from:

Aperitif: Cocktail Hour the French Way by Rebekah Pepler

Pepler excels at a sort of effortless, thrown-together cocktail that somehow ends up impossibly chic (truly French Girl vibes). 

Most interesting lesson: You don’t need a million bottles to build complexity — just a few, unexpected ingredients.

Great recipe: Kir Normand ou Breton
1/4 oz Current crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
5oz Le Pere Jules Normandy Hard Cider, cold

Pour creme de cassis into a tall glass. Top with Cider.

Drink Lightly by Natasha David

In this low-ABV cocktail book, David, a Death & Co. alum, provides a framework for thinking about hard liquor as the accent, not the star, of your cocktails.

Most interesting lesson: Just a teaspoon of peated scotch or bourbon can help ground a spritz or cocktail that’s leaning too juicy-juice.

Great recipe: Fair Play (summery, citrus, floral)Ingredients:
1 1/2oz Lillet Blanc
1/2oz Suze
1/2oz Timbal Extra Dry vermouth
1/2 oz Medley Bros. Bourbon
1 heaping bar spoon of orange marmalade

Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Fine strain into a double rocks glass over large-format ice. Garnish with an orange wheel.

Enjoy!

-Sara-