by Luke McKinney
FoodConnect Toronto
luke.mckinney@foodconnect.com

Want to be come the cool Cruise*-cocktail shaker behind the bar, but putting things together at random isn't working? Are your home-made mixes more toxic than alcoholic? You have to be manly enough to admit when you need help - and since the result is more drinking, even the manliest man must make that effort.

"A man's place is behind the bar" by Tucker Shaw is a great book for the beginner beverage blender. The big pictures and white-open-spaces might make you think it's a cash-grabbing space-filler, but in among the graphic design and the loving photos of chilled glasses there's a cool crash course in cocktails.

The book begins with starting notes on all the things the wannabe will need, while the drinks themselves feature context as well as components. This book is more than enough to start your budding bar and develop a few favorites that will last you life-long. After this you can move on to the alcoholic encyclopedias that are nothing but ingredients and instructions, but for someone who wants to get out of the "bottles and shots" rut, this is the way.

With a cocktail shaker it also makes a great gift. Not that there's an imminent season which would make that relevant.

* pre-crazy Cruise, of course.