The Geeky Bartender: Real-Life Recipes for Fantasy Cocktails by Cassandra Reeder
My Rating: ★★★★★
I received a copy from Race Point Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I saw that these geeky recipe books extended to cocktails, I had to check it out. I’m a glass of wine or one fun cocktail kind of woman in addition to being a huge geek, so I thought this was right up my alley. What’s more fun than trying out some sci-fi and fantasy inspired drinks? Probably drinking them with one of Cassandra Reeder’s fantasy inspired foods!
This book features a nice variety of drinks with fun pictures and short descriptions on their inspirations. I love the tips given at the beginning of the book on making syrups yourself. Plus, the special effects are pretty neat. I’m particularly drawn in by the shimmer effect, which gives a really neat effect that’s perfect for fantasy and sci-fi inspired drinks.
While the recipes and instructions are pretty straight forward, expect to see brand names listed on and off. With drinks, there are some brands that have a flavor that make it hard to avoid recommending particular brands to get the desired flavors. However, I do think that the more experienced you become with making your own cocktails, the more you develop your own preferences and that may help when wanting to substitute brands and other items to make the drinks.
Of course, this book isn’t purely alcohol based. There is a chapter with non-alcoholic recipes in addition to the tips on taking some drinks and making them without the alcohol. For example, there is a tip on making a non-alcoholic version of Butterbeer.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to having fun making some of these drinks.
