Carey Jones ’08 on Crafting Cocktails

Carey Jones ’08 is a food, travel, and spirits journalist, writing widely for publications including Food + Wine, Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many others. Her third cocktail book, Every Cocktail Has A Twist — co-authored with her husband, mixologist and spirits consultant John McCarthy — delves into the history of 25 classic cocktails, along with recipes for numerous riffs on each one. PAW asked Jones to recommend three more books for the home bartender, and she suggested these.  

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The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique

By Jeffrey Morgenthaler

When my husband and I come across a tricky cocktail question, we often ask, quite literally, “What does Morgenthaler say?” One of the great modern mixologists, Jeffrey Morgenthaler lays out the basics of bartending with a professional’s rigor. Accessible but authoritative, it’s a must-have for any aspiring drink maker. 

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Batch Cocktails: Make-Ahead Pitcher Drinks for Every Occasion

By Maggie Hoffman ’04

Written by fellow Princetonian Maggie Hoffman ’04, Batch Cocktails understands that most home bartenders aren’t making one drink at a time — they’re trying new recipes for a party. Every single drink in this book, developed by professional bartenders, is written as a make-ahead recipe, ready to go from a pitcher or punch bowl. It’s a smart book written for the way most drinkers really entertain — a batch at a time. 

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The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks

By David Embury

Like any discipline, the cocktail world has its own canon. And while there are at least a dozen books that could be considered foundational, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, dating to 1948, is the work I most highly recommend. Some classics are heavier on narrative than recipes; others are rich resources for historical recipes but provide little context. Embury creates a taxonomy of classic cocktails — what’s a Sour? a Collins? a Buck? — within an engaging and witty guide. The rare readable reference book.