The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender's Guide from the Celebrated Speakeasy

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Beautifully made, but poorly organized
by BRK212 (4 out of 5 stars)
January 1, 2016

I have a love / hate relationship with this book - on the pro side it's a gorgeous book. Full color, beautiful illustrations, a very unique and timeless look, that's also a handy size for you to tuck near your bar. There are also tons of recipes with fairly straightforward technique, though I find that many drinks either have an obscure ingredient or require you to make an ingredient (like a syrup or an infused spirit). It's great to page through and to use as inspiration, but I find it frustrating to actually use for making a drink at home all that often.

What I really dislike about the book though is that it's not well organized in my opinion - the recipes are simply arrange alphabetically by name, which is to say, in an entirely random and arbitrary way. You can't easily say "I want to make something with gin" and easily pick something out from this book, and there's absolutely no index to help you either.
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Good, but suffers in comparison.
by J. Brinkman (3 out of 5 stars)
November 11, 2015

This is a good cocktail book if you're looking for a pure quantity of cocktails. The problem I have is that it suffers against others in its category, specifically the Dead Rabbit Cocktail book The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual: Secret Recipes and Barroom Tales from Two Belfast Boys Who Conquered the Cocktail World and the Death and Co cocktail book Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails, with More than 500 Recipes
, which for my money is the best cocktail book on the planet right now. The issue is one of organization. Both the DR and D&C cocktail books break down the recipes by either cocktail type (smashes, juleps, bishops, swizzles, flips, etc) or by ingredient (gin stirred, whisky shaken, Sazerac Variations, etc). This makes for fantastic mood-based recipe hunting. The PDT is simply alphabetical, albeit with an index at the back. I think this ultimately makes for good leisurely reading, but not necessarily convenient cocktail hunting. For instance, it's a chilly night on the northern California coast and I'm looking for a hot toddy. I started with PDT but gave up, however the Dead Rabbit literally has a Hot Toddy and a Bishop section.

In short, it has a place on my cocktail shelf, but I don't find it indispensable.
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My favorite cocktail books as of late are
by A Vasquez (3 out of 5 stars)
March 27, 2017

My favorite cocktail books as of late are: 1. Death and Co. For innovative AND classic cocktails that are organized by liquor. 2. Dead Rabbit for having some demanding and time consuming drinks that will increase ones' repertoire. PDT is organized in any way and the drinks that are included can be found in any number of books. About ten days after ordering and not receiving the book (no blame here) I decided to see if the book was at my local library which it was. I checked it out and soon regretted buying it. I don't see it being a keeper to refer to.
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Incredible resource, terrible organization
by Erin Mays (4 out of 5 stars)
May 21, 2017

I can't help but agree with some of the other reviews I've seen... This is an amazing resource that has been terribly organized. I could only take off 1 star for that given that the content itself deserves 10 stars, but seriously - you can't find anything in here unless you know the name of a drink you want to make in advance. I get they had to organize it somehow, and they may have a reason for not wanting to organize it by base spirit, but at least give us an index that isn't equally useless! Or provide access to an electronic version so it's searchable.

Do try to get past that, though. The attention to detail in the craft cocktail recipes herein is incredible, and the illustrations are nothing short of beautiful works of art. Aside from how it's organized, the thing I've been looking for and can't find - and was hoping to find here - was more on the art of mixology itself. I was hoping for more of the art and science behind their creations, but I have to say, this is among the best cocktail recipe books I've ever seen.
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Essential. 10/10
by Daniel Villa (5 out of 5 stars)
May 27, 2017

Absolutely essential. An invaluable modern classic. The writing is engaging, practical and accessible to both professionals and home enthusiasts alike. The artwork is excellent. And the recipes have all been incredibly tasty and approachable thus far. I've borrowed friend's copies of the book and the past and admired it in stores for years, I'm so glad I finally just sucked it up and purchased my own. It's a great investment and addition to any cocktail nerd's bookshelf.

Highly, highly recommended.
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What Hath Thou Wrought.
by C.J. Capdeville (5 out of 5 stars)
December 29, 2015

The bartenders behind PDT are absolute, mad geniuses. If you want to make a cocktail that will blow your customers' or your friends' minds, this is the book to get. There are a lot of ingredients in here that are a little difficult or expensive to obtain, but if you put in the leg work or have a very kind restaurant owner that will let you go a bit over budget you can make some masterpieces. For those of us who don't always know exactly what to look for in a spirit (why would there be a gradation in vodka? It's vodka.) there's a helpful "What To Purchase" guide in order to have a nicely stocked and consistently delicious home or professional bar. A triple plus.
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Beautiful book with lots of great ideas
by B. Smith (4 out of 5 stars)
December 16, 2013

This is a beautiful looking book, full of great artwork and a huge collection of recipes. My only gripe is that recipies are organized alphabetically by name, and that is not the most helpful way to look up certain types of drinks. I would prefer organization by season or base spirit. There is an index in the back so you can look things up that way, but the index isn't at all complete and doesn't list every recipe with a certain ingredient. Still, the collection of recipies is a good one. There's a mix of fancy recipes with rare ingredients, and accessible ideas too, though it leans towards the former.

It's great that the brand names of spirits used is listed in the recipies. Also, there are instructions for how to make all the syrups and infusions, which is great.
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This book is like a doorway to happiness
by ROBERT H. (5 out of 5 stars)
September 12, 2015

Magical. This book is like a doorway to happiness. It has every conceivable cocktail, old and new, so it's both a place to turn to for a basic cocktail or one you've never heard of but is a total delight. Yes, as one reviewer states, many of the cocktails call for specific brands of alcohol. But I have been introduced to many wonderful brands through this book that were well worth seeking out. You do need access to a well stocked liquor store and determination to find some items. But it's all great fun and the results pure joy. If you love great cocktails that will transport you to bliss, buy it. Now!
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Nice cocktails but it is hard to find cocktails by genre
by Torrey M. (4 out of 5 stars)
January 22, 2017

The book has nice cocktail recipes but being organized by alphabetical name is kind of a cop out. It really needed a functional organization of cocktails e.g. gin, whiskey, tequila OR sweet, tart, etc. I prefer the superior organization of cocktails in the Death and Company book.
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All the good bars have this book at hand.
by Rebecca Allen (5 out of 5 stars)
March 7, 2018

Lots of great recipes, and a useful bibliography. The section on what to stock, and how to set up a bar go a long ways to explain why some places are always a disaster and others, no matter how busy, are orderly and calm. Fun look inside how it is done.

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