Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Getting Started With Bartending 5 Chapter 1: For Openers: Gathering the Tools and Glasses You Need 7 Covering the Basics: Bar Tools to Have at the Ready 7 Wine opener 8 Cocktail shaker 8 Strainer 9 Adding Other Helpful Tools 10 Pour It Out: Giving Some Thought to Glassware 12 Chapter 2: Methods to the Drink Making Madness 17 Shaking a Drink 17 Stirring a Drink 18 Every Day I''m Muddling 18 Chillin'' on Ice 19 Making the Cut: Common Garnish Shapes 20 Slices 20 Wedges of all sizes 20 Wheels 23 Twists 24 Adding a Little Something Sweet: Simple Syrup 26 Opening Wine and Champagne Bottles 27 Wine bottles 27 Champagne and sparkling wine bottles 28 Chapter 3: Setting Up Your Home Bar 31 Preparing for a Party 31 Situating the bar 31 Serving smartly 32 Stocking Your Bar 33 The basic bar 33 A more complete bar 34 The ultimate bar 35 Picking up mixers and other important supplies 35 The Party Charts: Calculating Liquor and Supply Needs 37 How much liquor should you buy? 37 How many supplies should you buy? 39 Chapter 4: Keeping Tabs: Helpful Charts and Measures 41 Bottle-Related Measurements 41 Bar Measurements and Their Equivalents 42 Beer Measurements 43 Drinks per Bottle 44 Calories and Carbohydrates 44 Part 2: Distilling The High Points Of Various Spirits 49 Chapter 5: Vodka 51 How Vodka Is Made 51 Popular Vodka Brands 52 Flavored Vodkas 54 Storing and Serving Vodka 55 Chapter 6: Gin 57 Quality Gin and How It''s Made 58 Popular Gin Brands 58 Storing and Serving Suggestions 59 Chapter 7: Tequila and Mezcal 61 One Tequila, Two Tequila 61 Types of tequila 62 Popular tequila brands 63 Messin'' with Mezcal 64 The famous worm 65 A few brands 65 Storing and Serving Suggestions 65 Chapter 8: American and Canadian Whisk(e)y 67 How Whiskey Is Made 67 Bourbon 69 Popular bourbon brands 70 Specialty bourbons 71 Flavored American bourbons 72 Rye Whiskey 73 Tennessee Whiskey 74 Canadian Whisky 74 Blended Whiskey 75 Wheat and Corn Whiskies 76 Storing and Pouring the Most Popular Serves 77 Chapter 9: Irish Whiskey 79 What Makes Irish Whiskey Taste So Good? 79 Popular Irish Whiskey Brands 80 Storing and Serving Suggestions 81 Chapter 10: Scotch Whisky 83 Types of Scotch Whiskies 83 How Scotch Is Made 85 Dispelling Myths about Scotch Whisky 86 Popular Blended Scotch Whiskies 86 Taking a Closer Look at Single-Malt Scotch 87 Storing and Serving Suggestions 88 Chapter 11: Japanese Whisky 89 How Japanese Whisky Is Made and Aged 90 Popular Brands 90 Storing and Serving Suggestions 91 Chapter 12: Rum 93 How Rum Is Made 93 Popular Rum Brands 95 Getting Familiar with Flavored and Spiced Rums 96 Cachaça: The "Brazilian Rum" That Isn''t 96 Storing and Serving Rum 97 Chapter 13: Brandy 99 Making Brandy 99 Brushing Up on Brandy Varieties 99 American brandy 100 Pisco 100 Fruit brandy 101 Fruit-flavored brandies and pomace brandy 101 Sampling Brandy Brands from Around the World 102 Enjoying Brandy: Storing and Serving Suggestions 103 Chapter 14: Cognac and Armagnac 105 Cognac 105 How cognac is made 105 What are all those letters on the label? 106 Popular cognac brands 107 Armagnac 108 How armagnac is made 108 How to read the label 109 Popular Armagnac brands 109 Storing and Serving Suggestions 110 Chapter 15: Aperitifs, Cordials, Digestifs, and Liqueurs 111 Whetting Your Appetite with Aperitifs 111 Digesting Digestifs 112 Cordials and Liqueurs 113 Storing and Serving Suggestions 118 Chapter 16: Beer 119 How Beer Is Made 120 Types of Beer 120 Storing and Serving Beer 122 Chapter 17: Hard Teas, Seltzers, and Ready-to-Drink Products 123 Hard Teas 123 Hard Seltzers 124 Ready-to-Drink Beverages 124 Storing and Serving Suggestions 125 Chapter 18: Wine 127 Wines from Around the World 127 Popular wines named after grapes 128 French wines by region 128 German white wines 129 Italian wines by region 129 Australian wine gaining popularity 129 Notable South American wines 130 North American wines for sharing 130 Poppin'' Bubbly, and other Types of Wine 130 Port 131 Sherry 131 Vermouth 132 Sparkling wines 133 Storing and Serving Suggestions 133 Chapter 19: Low- and No-Alcohol Options 137 No-Alcohol Beer 137 No-Alcohol Wine 138 No-Alcohol Spirits 139 Serving Suggestions 139 Part 3: Drink Recipes: Creating Classic Cocktails And More 141 Chapter 20: Recipes from A to Z 143 Chapter 21: Shots and Shooters 311 Chapter 22: Martini Making 321 Chapter 23: Drinks for Special Occasions 329 Crowd-Pleasing Punches with a Punch 329 Holiday Cocktails 334 Chapter 24: Mocktails and Low-Alcohol Cocktails 337 Low-Alcohol Cocktails 337 Alcohol-Free Alternatives 341 PART 4: THE PART OF TENS 349 Chapter 25: Ten+ Toasts to Mark Any Occasion 351 Saluting Special Occasions 352 A Nod to Friendship 353 Chapter 26: At Least Ten Cures and Lores 355 Hiccups 355 Hangovers 356 Chapter 27: Ten+ Terms That''ll Make You Sound Like a Pro 357 Ordering and Pouring Slang 357 Working the Bar 358 Recipe Index 361 Topics Index 393.