About IACP Cookbook Award Winner Good Spirits:

Imagine the perfect party, where drinks, good humor, wit, and lively company are abundant and free-flowing. If that mood can be captured in book form, this is that book. Vivacious, witty, and genial mixologist A.J. Rathbun presents 450 recipes featuring every type of spirit, mix, and garnish you might expect, plus many more that will surprise and delight you, with some recipes scaled up (those in Pacifying a Crown particularly), some scaled for two (those intimate numbers in Dinner for Two), and many scaled for a single drink (from the classics in The Gold Standards to the newbies in Fresh Faces and everything in between). And all the recipes are surrounded by tangy insights, juicy information on and histories of liquors and liqueurs, exuberant bar talk and party chatter, vignettes, suggestions quotes, and enough home entertaining ideas to keep anyone’s calendar stocked. 

 >> Read Publisher's Weekly Starred Review of Good Spirits

Good Spirits Sample Recipes:

White Rose

Doesn’t this have a dirge-y, haunting piano sound to it? I see the slow camera shot: a white rose slowly descending on to a blank stone surface while wistful piano plays softly. Well, forget about that moody action, because the real White Rose is more likely to be served with a bouncy Fats Waller song swinging in the background, and more likely to serve smiles and maybe some back corner cuddling than frowns and sullen cinema. Remember to have the floor cleared for dancing and polish up those shoes.

Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce Marashino liqueur
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 egg white, preferably organiz
Maraschino cherry for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker half way with ice cubes. Add the gin, Maraschino, juices, and egg white. Shake well while swinging those hips.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Add the cherry (don’t forget that bouncing cherry).

A Warning: Do not serve raw eggs to the elderly or anyone with a compromised immune system.

The Eden

Whether thought of religiously, metaphorically, or as the finest party ever thrown, Eden sounds like a pretty dandy spot. It deserves a signature drink, and luckily the Eden fills the bill. A fruity mix (but not forbidden fruit, so don’t fret) that has a plentiful kick combined with just a bit of bubbles, it gets any Adam or Eve into a meditative state of mind.

Ice cubes
2 ounces white rum
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce fresh pineapple juice
1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
Prosecco (or other slightly sweet sparkling wine)
Orange slice for garnish

1. Fill a highball glass three quarters with ice cubes. Add the rum, Campari, and juices, naming each as they’re added. Stir 6 times.

2. Top with Prosecco. Stir once more. Garnish with the orange slice. Then sit back and enjoy what you’ve created.

A Note: After one of these, you’ll feel as if any old backyard is a garden of paradise. After two, you might just want to put on a fig leaf. Warn the neighbors in advance (or, invite them over to have a few Eden’s).

Seven Party Packages

Worried about when to throw your next wingding, what to have as the signature drink, what to serve for snacks, and what to spin on the CD player? Fear no more. The following party suggestions cover the bases for you.

Hang Loose Hawaiian Hoedown. Date: Anytime when the temperature’s over 85 degrees. Signature drink: Lava Flow (page 422) or Blue Hawaiian (page 325). Snacks: Grilled pineapple and pork kebabs (or grilled pineapple and pepper kebabs). Music: Don Ho, Greatest Hits.

St. Urho’s Day Soirée. Date: March 16th. Signature drink: Grasshopper (page 418): St. Urho drove a swarm of grasshoppers out of Finland. Snacks: Grasshopper pie. Music: Lordi, the Finnish metal band, which won the Eurovision song contest in 2006.

Halloween Spooktaculuar. Date: October 31st or thereabouts. Signature drink: Steaming spiced cider or Blood and Sand (page 204). Snacks: pumpkin risotto cakes or stuffed tomatoes (which look just bloody enough). Music: Andrew Gold’s Halloween Howls.

Croquet Celebration: Date: late spring or early fall. Signature drink: Go Team (page 336). Snacks: mini sandwiches and cheese straws. Music: Duke Ellington, Masterpieces: 1926-1949.

Poppin’ Poker Party. Date: Anytime after the sun goes down. Signature drink: The Set Up (page 231). Snacks: Speared shrimp and mini frittatas. Music: Tom Waits, Small Change.

Get Down Groundhog Day. Date: February 2nd. Signature drink: Spiked Hot Chocolate (page 457). Snacks: Cheddar cheese, sliced summer sausage, pretzels. Music: Frankie Yankovic, Songs of the Polka King, Vol. 1.

Cantamaggio (an Italian party celebrating spring). Date: Any day between April 15th and April 30th.  Signature drink: Soledan (page 402). Snacks: Basil and tomato bruschetta, mushroom crostini. Music: Dean Martin, Italian Love Songs.