An extremely detailed collection of cocktail recipes, with a focus on flavor, whether the cocktail is "short" or "long" (shorts are typically served straight, longs are generally served in highball glasses), and the best garnishes for everything. If you're a booze connoisseur who really likes their drinks, or just someone who enjoys savoring a cocktail, then you'll need this book.

The Modern Cocktail was a very interesting read and collection. As a sort of coming of age I suppose one should learn about other ways to drink than whatever well seems right. This book is a good introduction in to the art of cocktails which Mr. Whiley has clearly mastered. His cocktails can seem intimidating at first but I am excited to throw open my liquor cabinet, rummage through my garden and (most likely) make a mess of my counter.

I've probably never mentioned that I love food and drink books. I like to think of myself as a homebody (it's not really true) so getting the chance to make some food and drinks for people excites me and I was hoping to do that with this book.

While Matt Whiley knows his stuff, not only does he provide some great recipes but insight to the different spirits and equipment, I did not really get what I wanted for this book. I would say that the title to this book is really spot on, because wow this does spin the classic cocktail and put really modern twists to it. Mixology reminds me a lot of chemistry and I am pretty sure they use the same materials and equipment.

The recipes require ingredients that are not in your fridge and pantry, in fact you probably won't use any of it unless your making one of these cocktails. I was hoping to make a drink and share it with this review but most of this goes over my head (thinking about it I probably understand Chemistry more). The book is good despite this, loaded with interesting details and facts I never knew about the bar tending world, which made me give it 3 stars despite the complex recipes.

If your a person who loves to entertain and needs new ways to do that, this book is for you. If your a bartender that needs some inspiration, this book is for you. If your a hipster, this book is for you

I read a lot of cocktail books – if NetGalley offers me the opportunity to read one, I pick it up. Despite the glowing reviews on Goodreads, I have to say that this is the worst cocktail book that I have read in my past two years on NetGalley.

Structurally, there was nothing major wrong with the book. There was an introduction, a discussion of flavor and ingredients, a discussion of equipment and techniques, and then the cocktail recipes grouped by the main spirit. At the end of the book were the basic recipes for the syrups, liqueurs, sodas, juices, infusions, and distillates used in the recipes. There was a nifty table in the flavor chapter that classified each cocktail in the book by flavor, subflavor, and whether it was a long drink or a short drink. Having this table so early in the book got me excited about reading the recipes and preparing the drinks.

The two aspects of the book that truly turned me off were the tone of the book and the complexity of the recipes.

Although the tone of a book is an intangible and subject to interpretation by each reader, I felt that the tone of this book was so arrogant that it turned me off. The introduction felt over the top with the self promotion and self aggrandizement. Continuing into the other non-recipe matter, the author exclusively focused on his approach to modern cocktails and ignored the classic constructions. He just kept going on about being inspired by ingredients, food, and local chefs, whose names he kept dropping. Each recipe had a headnote – some longer than the recipe – and it felt like the majority of them focused on why his recipes were better than classic recipes and how popular the recipes were at one his bars (whose names he also kept dropping).

The recipes in the book were just odd. The basic ingredients were often difficult to obtain – even the basic gin and tonic was garnished with sea rosemary or, second best, a slice of lime and a bay leaf. One recipe even requires eggshell soda – which is literally soda made from ground eggshells. Aside from the gin and tonic, each recipe seemed to require a homemade distillate, syrup, soda, and/or liqueur. For example, the Perfect Martini requires homemade sweet vermouth vodka and the Whiskey Sour requires coffee oil (in addition to the standard ingredients plus absinthe and an egg white). And, oh by the way, the author freely admits that home distilling is illegal in the United States, so if you are in the States, you have to do just a basic infusion or forgo the recipe. The distillates require a rotary evaporator; the infusions often require a vacuum sealer and a sous vide set up; the juices often require a centrifuge.

I probably would not have ad such a visceral reaction against this book had I not just finished Meehan’s Bartending Manual. That was a very well researched, well written, and approachable book. The author wrote his book from the perspective that he was a mere mortal standing on the shoulders of giants, rather than from the perspective that he was a giant standing among mere mortals.

Overall, I would not recommend this book to any of my friends – not even my friends who are cocktail enthusiasts or bartenders. The book is just too arrogant and avant garde for my tastes.

Oh, my word! Heston Blumenthal meets all of those cool Scandi restaurants you see on Masterchef in this astonishing book about one of life's great pleasures: the perfect cocktail. I received a digital copy from the publisher for an unbiased review and was expecting an interesting selection of hip cocktail recipes - which this book definitely offers. But it is SO much more than this. A history of cocktails, a philosophical approach to excellence, a compendium of things to buy/do at home if you want to up your game, and a glimpse into the fascinating and highly detailed backstage look at what goes into making the sort of truly exquisite drinks they serve in Michelin starred restaurants, all delivered in a highly engaging, laid-back voice with lovely photos. Chin chin everyone. This is your Christmas shopping sorted for this year.

Innovative and modern recipes to use during the year.

This is the first time I’ve reviewed a “Cocktail” book, and believe me when I say, I’ve read an awful lot of them, I’m the Queen of cocktails, or so I thought, after reading this I realise I was touching on being the Princess of the classic cocktail! However, this is not just a cocktail recipe book, it’s so much more. I normally only glance at the recipes and look at the pictures (the photography is wonderful by the way), but I absorbed every page of this book, loving the history of the cocktail along with the how and the why. I love the mention of Mocktails, even designated drivers, children and non drinkers can get in on the action. Then we have the low sugar aspect, maybe I was in denial, I didn’t realise sugar was actually added! I thought all the sugars came from fruit juice, apparently that was not always the case, now however natural sugars are sought (still high in calories though). After absorbing every page of this book I realise I’m still a classic cocktail girl at heart, especially since most of the recipes are extremely complex with ingredients that are not readily available to the average ‘Joe’. Even though some of the recipes can be adapted for simplicity I personally haven’t got the time or the inclination (or the money for that matter) to invest in these recipes. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley at no cost, but I must say a hard copy is needed as there was too much going back and forth between recipes, links and pages. I have finished this book with every intention of visiting Matt Whiley’s bar next time I am in London, there’s a Peanut Colada with my name on it I’m sure.

I'm so sorry that I had not known of Mr. Whiley (but I do now thankfully!) and I really enjoyed The Modern Cocktail. The photos are beautiful, his information useful and interesting, and the recipes super inventive (to me at least). I learned quite a bit, and it's exciting for me to have this knowledge when I next go to a bar (with the right 'vibe' of course!) I'm a bit sad that there wasn't a kindle version of this galley, but it's a book that I'd definitely save up to buy!