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On Beverage: Miss Charming wrote the book on professional bartending—and it’s a good one

On Beverage: Miss Charming wrote the book on professional bartending—and it’s a good one

Remember the days when the “Old Mr. Boston De Luxe Official Bartender’s Guide” was more or less about the only cocktail book you’d ever find behind a bar? I do, and it wasn’t too long ago.

Now there are dozens and dozens of new volumes on the subject, and although a number of them are little more than compilations of as many recipes, good and bad, that the author can lay his or her hands on, more than a couple of the new bar books are well worth the price.

One that stands head and shoulders above the rest is “Miss Charming’s Guide for Hip Bartenders and Wayout Wannabes,” and this one is just for professional bartenders or people who want to become bartenders. To my knowledge a book like this one has never before hit the shelves.

Author Cheryl Charming tends bar in Florida, and she really tells it like it is. She cuts to the chase on myriad topics, gives hundreds of tidbits of information about cocktails, spirits, history and specific brands, and she offers time-tested advice.

Though she does impart plenty of wisdom on the craft of mixology, Miss Charming doesn’t direct this book at cocktailian whizzes. It is more of a practical guide for anyone who stands behind the bar or at least aspires to that lofty position. I can’t imagine that there’s a single bartender in America—be it at a swank cocktail lounge, a trendy nightclub or a neighborhood saloon—who wouldn’t learn something from this book.

If you’re traveling to Malaysia and would like to be able to say cheers in the native tongue, for instance, Miss Charming explains that the phrase “yam seng” will fit the bill. Would you like to learn some simple magic tricks to perform for your customers? Uncomplicated acts of prestidigitation are detailed within the pages. And you’ll also learn some basics when it comes to dealing with rude guests, intoxicated guests, snobby guests and “I-wanna-be-your-best-friend” guests.

We all know that there is no single answer to any of these situations, but Miss Charming has good rule-of-thumb advice for all of them.

Another pressing issue behind the bar: How many recipes is it really necessary to commit to memory? According to the book, not many. Sure, there are probably hundreds of thousands of mixed drinks, but if a bartender knows how to make, say, a couple of dozen basic cocktails, he or she will be able to handle most bars after learning a few house specialties and one or two idiosyncrasies of the geographical area.

Miss Charming breaks the most important drinks down into 10 categories, and she lays them out in an easy-to-remember format. She flits from fruity drinks, such as the Madras and the Cape Codder, to creamy drinks like the Mudslide and the White Russian, to sours, tropical drinks and muddled drinks, and then makes her way to shooters, classics, highballs and a final category that she calls miscellaneous drinks.

If I attempted to describe all that Miss Charming covers in her book, I could probably fill three of these columns.

Instead I’ll finish with just one key thought: The most seasoned bar vets and aspiring bartenders alike will be better equipped to do their jobs after they read this new behind-the-bar staple.

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