Food and Wine Cocktails 2006

Raise a glass to Food & Wine's updated tribute to the cocktail, a slim, softcover companion to the magazine's popular Official Wine Guide. In addition to offering 150 signature drinks from the country's most exciting restaurants, bars, and lounges, it contains definitive recipes for the classics.

 As a scene-scoping, style-setting, modern magazine, Food & Wine always keeps tabs on the trendiest nightlife. These cocktails are the ones making a sensation in the newest, hippest eateries and bars throughout the nation, the drinks bartenders get asked for again and again. And that's not all: mix-masters won't find better recipes for such traditional favorites as Manhattans, martinis, and mojitos. Each of the chapters focuses on a particular spirit type—vodka, rum, whiskey—and every page highlights one special cocktail, along with a short description of the establishment that provided the recipe, its address and phone number, and an interesting behind-the-scenes anecdote. There's also useful information on simple recipes for the best bar food, a list of the hottest bartenders around the country, and tips on stocking the bar and buying glassware. For those who want to visit the showcased restaurants and bars, an index lists them all geographically—making this a guide-within-a-guide to America's best nightlife.