Food & Wine Cocktails 2005: The Best Drinks from America's Hottest Bars, Lounges and Restaurants

Raise a glass to Food & Wine's first-ever tribute to the cocktail, a slim, softcover companion to the magazine's popular Official Wine Guide. In addition to offering 200 signature drinks from the country's most exciting restaurants, bars and lounges, it contains definitive recipes for the classics.

As a scene-scoping, style-setting, modern magazine, Food & Wine always keeps tabs on the trendiest nightlife. These cocktails are the ones making a sensation in the newest, hippest eateries and bars throughout the nation, the drinks bartenders get asked for again and again. At that's not all: mix-masters won't find better recipes for such traditional favorites as Manhattans, martinis and mojitos. Each of the chapters will focus on a particular spirit type--vodka, rum, whiskey--and every page highlights one special cocktail, along with a short description of the establishment that provided the recipe, its address and phone number, and an interesting behind-the-scenes anecdote. There's also useful information on such drink accompaniments as cocktail snacks, complete with sample recipes, and a "Cocktail Clinic," which gives tips on how to throw a great cocktail party, with details on stocking the bar and glassware. For those who want to visit the showcased restaurants and bars, an index lists them all geographically--making this a guide-within-a-guide to America's best nightlife.