As a result of the current cocktail renaissance, a minor treasure trove of cocktail books abounds, from straightforward manuals to more eclectic historiographies. Few, however, are as fanciful and downright fun as the new “In the Land of Cocktails,” by renowned New Orleans restaurateurs and self-described “cocktail chicks” Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan.
The volume, which features an introduction by Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh, tales of life in the Big Easy, and colorful, sometimes ribald, illustrations by Tim Trapolin, is clearly no ordinary cocktail book.
While it contains recipes for such familiar drinks as the Negroni and Mojito, readers also discover proprietary recipes like the late Jamie Shannon’s Bloody Mary and the Redheaded Stepchild, while at the same time learning about the social history of everyone’s favorite party city and one of its most celebrated restaurant families, the Brennans.
It’s an entertaining and illuminating book, even if you never make a single one of the cocktails. But I highly suggest that you do.