I loved this! Some great retro drinks served up with loads of nostalgia! I've even made a couple and they were delicious!!

In this whimsical and fun cocktail book, cultural icons of the 1990s are invoked to inspire the children of that decade, now grown up, to explore the world of mixed drinks. The book is colorful, both in the many photographs and the playful design of the pages. The book starts with a little background on tools, glassware, basic mixing methods, and building a proper bar. The recipes are often twists on classic cocktails, while others are more original. The names of the drinks reflect the cultural milieu of the 1990s, often with a pun, like the Kimmy Gimlet (for Kimmy Gibbler of Full House) and Livin’ La Vida Coco. Even the title of the book refers to a 1990s TV show. The book ends with a few more helpful chapters about syrups and infusions as well as a 1990s playlist and a very short list of drinking games.

While I wasn't a 1990s kid, graduating from high school in 1985, I recognized enough of the references to make me smile. As I said above, the book is beautifully photographed. The colors jump out at you, and you get a good look at what finished drinks look like. Reminding me of MTV's Behind the Music, sometimes the pictures have little bubbles with trivia about the particular 1990s reference of the drink. The recipe headers also often talk about the 90s reference or about the cocktail itself.

The only thing I find strange is that measures like a half ounce and quarter cup are given in decimal rather than in fractions, and the decimals don't have leading zeros. As one who has read a gazillion cookbooks, this just looks strange to me.

That being said, I think this is a fun collection of cocktails that any 1990s kid, or 1980s kid, might enjoy for both nostalgia and the fanciful drinks.

This was such a fun nostalgia trip! I loved the titles and the inclusion of all the beautiful pictures. The facts were great, but I wish there were more, and the descriptions were good, but there were sometimes I found myself wishing to know what the drink was named after or inspired by. This would be a great book for anyone who likes the 90s or just wants a book of simple, but tasty recipes using a small collection of spirits.

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum

This is the quintessential cocktail book for all the Fresh Prince, Saved By the Bell, Nickelodeon, TGIF 90's kids. The colors are vibrant and the recipes are unique but easy to follow. Despite the name of the cocktail cookbook not all the recipes are rum based drinks. Each edition has a detailed list of ingredients and description how to make them. They each has a 90s themed name and details included that reference 90s pop trivia and nostalgia. This is a great addition to your cocktail library or next 90s themed house party

Loved this book. It’s not out for a while so posting initial feedback here, will update nearer the time with full review and blog links. Really enjoyed it though!

Hi from Snapple! Be kind, and rewind into the 90s.
I wanted a quick read during a tornado warning & didn't want to pull out the serious novel I was reading - plus I need 90s ideas for a birthday party, and this book came through. Slaughter makes sure that the reader doesn't feel overwhelmed by the terminology, but throws in a few drinks that make those of us with experience feel included. The jokes were funny, if it a bit overbearing at time. I'd buy it simply for that Red Room Punch recipe. The photography (with 90s accessory touches at times) was well done. The delightful 90s design aesthetic of the book made me chuckle -- it really did feel like I was back in Taco Bell in 1998 blabbering on about Bug's Life while drinking waaaay too much sugar.

I felt it was a bit short, even for a cocktail book, which is why it dropped a star in my opinion. I would have liked a few more recipes, and maybe a few less descriptions of how to make certain drinks. Some key 90s references (in my mind of course!) were left out (As If, I Burn I Pine I Perish, etc) but I suppose you can't please everyone.

Available June 4.

Oh, I am such a 90s girl and this is going to make for a perfect summer party cocktail menu. While some references are lost on me; I know friends who grew up with cable will love the nods.
The book doesn’t assume you’ll know all the tricks of the trade so it goes through the basics.

I. NEED. THIS. BOOK. For every party I throw from now on, I need this book will be the one I turn to for fun beverages and a good time. Sam Slaughter has mixed a love of 90s nostalgia with a collection of cocktails so enticing, I’m trying to figure out how to try every single one in as little time as possible without getting embarrassing. From the Table of Contents, I was hooked. It’s rare to find a cocktail recipe that doesn’t feel either bland or hoity-toity. This book is fun! And there are more 90s puns here than flannels at the first Lollapalooza!

Slaughter takes craft cocktails to a new level with a 90s twist. He opens with the Fresh Mint of Bel-Air. I love a mojito as a summer refresher and this drink sounds like a strawberry version made with gin and topped with Prosecco. There’s the fun-sounding sangria, I Saw The Wine. The Pog (a full-size tropical cocktail) & The Slammer (a shot version). The Hey Arnold Palmer will definitely be my husband’s favorite, as he’s a Long Island guy, but mine will probably the Juice Box Iced Tea. I love a Long Island, but I’m also lazy when it comes to making my own drink, so this particular bev, little more than bourbon and limoncello sounds right up my alley.

Slaughter not only gives the reader recipes for enticing beverages, he provides a recipe for a fantastic 90s-themed night with friends. My friends and I love theater, so we tend to know our favorite movies by heart. One of the 90s drinking games offered is a Quote-Off using fave 90s films. Honestly, we need a break from Cards Against Humanity anyway. There are also several 90s playlists featuring songs I’d forgotten, some I’ve tried desperately to forget, all guaranteed to make your Millennial and Gen Y friends say “Hey, I remember this one!” It’s as if Sam Slaughter made it his mission to make every page as full of potential fun as he could, and HE DID.

Are You Afraid of The Dark Rum? is a must have as part of any well-curated recipe book collection. Dare I use another SNICK reference? It’s ALL THAT! I came for the drink recipes, stayed for the gorgeous photos by Amy Ellis, and I’ll return to reread all the witty recipe intros and 90s trivia tidbits. For now, I’m going to binge watch some Clarissa Explains It All on Amazon Prime.

This book was fun! It gave me very appealing ideas to play with drinks (though I'm far from a bartender, I'm not sure I'll ever make them...they sound so delicious, though, that I really want to try them at least once!). The book itself has an awkwardly '90s-like design, which I loved! (I normally never liked '90s' style, but it made me feel nostalgic, and THAT I love.) As a '90s kid myself, I could relate to almost everything in the book (not all, because it's obviously written from a U.S. perspective, and of course things weren't exactly the same here, though similar, and most of the pop culture was universal). I loved how there's a little fun introduction to every drink - it's more than a simple guide to make cocktails, it's an enjoyable book in itself!

Fun book for some unique party ideas. Great little tidbits about songs to go with the drink recipe. Perfect book for '90s nostalgia fans!

Review to be posted to several sources mentioned on my profile at the end of May.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

OH MY! That was my reaction when I spotted this book on Netgalley and saw the title. OMG, that is just perfection. I already loved the book before I even read it. Anyone making cocktails from stuff from the ’90s must be awesome. 🙂 And adding puns to it? Yes, yes please.

I had tons and tons of fun reading this. Didn’t make any of the cocktails, sorry, 8.19pm here when I write this on April 16th, I am not about to go to the store and grab all the stuff one needs. Maybe I will make a list of those I want to try and one day grab all the stuff I need. There were several recipes that I have to try out, based on either the name of the drink or the ingredients, or maybe even the pictures. Because those pictures really made the book even more fun to read, seeing all those gorgeous cocktails (some were just too pretty to drink though).

I loved the titles to the drinks but also the description to each one. Some had me in stitches, some I was just nodding along or saying things like OH YES. There were a few that weren’t instantly recognisable, some I looked up and suddenly knew all about it. Like with songs… I had the whole song + lyrics in my head the moment the song began on Youtube. Others, for part maybe a cultural thing, I live in Europe, so maybe those things mentioned didn’t come over to where I live (for instance pop rocks, or that one fact about Mikey from Life cereal commercial fame (who??? what??, or things like Zima and SunnyD). Then there were others that consisted of stuff I didn’t care to watch (like Twin Peaks). I still appreciated the recipes even if I didn’t know the inspiration for them.

I was just laughing so loudly at some of the titles to the cocktails. Like this one: “I’ll never let yuzu go, Jack.” But there are also enough puns in the descriptions. For the Livin’ La Vida Coco drink: “Basically, something that’ll make you shake your bon-bon.”

There are also facts and little tidbits and even some extras to the recipes you could do or add.

I loved the added playlist and the other things that were concluded in the end. Though I just tried looking for it on Spotify.. and it is not there. 🙁

All in all, this is one cocktail book I would HIGHLY recommend. It is fun, hilarious, and there are some delicious looking/sounding drinks that you just want to try out.

Thank you to Andrews McMeels Publishing and Netgalley for an e-galley of Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum for review.
This was such a fun book to read! I loved the little facts like Pop Up Video, and the drink names really brought back a lot of memories for me! None were extremely complicated and most used pretty common ingredients. Super fun ideas for a theme party or for when you are just feeling nostalgic. Definitely adding The POG to my next party cocktail menu.
Available June 4/19 this is such a fun cocktail collection.

This book invoked a lot of nostalgia with its clever cocktail names and fun playlists! I can't wait to host a 90s-themed party and serve up some drinks!