The Savoy Cocktail Book Paperback – Illustrated, March 26, 2015

A nice printing. I thought that the margins would bother me but they don't at all. Quirky recipes, they aren't all good and/or easy to figure out proportions, but they've all been fun. This is a classic and I am happy to have it.

What can I say about this cocktail recipe classic? If you are a fan of culinary culture or the Prohibition era, this is a must for you collection. While many recipes are old fashioned and not always what have come to be known as “standard” recipes, the combinations and names will give you interesting insight into the cocktail culture of the 1930’s. I recently picked up a copy and I’m really enjoying the author’s notes and comments throughout. Craddock has an excellent dry sense of humor. I will note that the recipes are not meant for the beginner - many are just proportions rather than actual measurements as you'd find in more modern cocktail books. As a reference for making sure you are recreating a classic recipe though, there isn't anything better. It's a piece of history and a useful reference at the same time.

This is a classic for a reason, good recipes and well written. There are hundreds of bartending books out there, competing for space in your shelf or on the coffee table - for myself, this one and Colin Field's Ritz book are the go to books and they look quite nice as well. There is another review in here slamming the Savoy book on the font used or something like that, it isn't very clear. Writing in 2012, the one I received is bound well, nice paper, well laid out and overall is a step above most books these days. Is it comparable to productions from Easton press or the Folio Society? No, but so what. This is a book meant to be used and spilled on.

I finally got it. If your a bartender, someone comes up to the he bar and orders a “MILLIONAIRE COCKTAIL.” Yes , nobody has ever heard of it). However, it is right there alphabetically,. But this is an alphabetical listing of a lot of cocktails both obscure and well known so an OLD FASHIONED is proceeded by an OLD ETONIAN.and followed by an OLD PAL. There are sections for fizzes, punches, cups, etc. But that is the limit for categorical listings. So. if you want bourbon drinks, gin, etc this isn’t the place. If you want cocktails listed A,B, C. you’re home free as long as it’s from the 1930’s -No MARGARITAS or TEQUILA SUNRISES. The wine listings are old and Euro-centric. All that being said, a fun and classic book. Meanwhile, anybody up for an OLD ETONIAN?

The book was suggested as "if you have to choose one, get this one" by one very crafty bartender. I got one for my friend and will get one for myself eventually

The Savoy guide has for a long time been seen as the end-all be-all of cocktail books. The plethora of classic recipes and witty quips the pepper the pages make this a favorite of cocktail aficionados everywhere. There are only two warnings I have about this book: 1. Many of the recipes refer to either out of production ingredients or ingredients whose recipes have changed. Therefore one should take caution when trying to make the cocktails using the exact recipes. 2. For one newly initiated into the cocktail world, this book gives no real introduction into the proper techniques and principles behind making cocktails.

Exhaustive , yet humorous presentation of the age of cocktails from the Savoy with beautiful lino cut illustrations

Excellent. I have a copy of the first printing that had belonged to my father-in-law. This reprint serves nicely as my “working copy.” The book itself is a bit obtuse, given it is from an era with which we have lost touch and thus takes many things about our understanding of terms and references for granted. But it is an indispensable text for any aspiring — or accomplished— mixologist.