Hollywood Cocktails - Softcover

Tobias Steed; Ben Reed

3.87

38 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1840008423 ISBN 13: 9781840008425

Publisher: Mitchell Beazley, 2003

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

The perfect book for anyone who loves Hollywood movies. From thecocktail hour to morning-after potions, there are drinks for every occasion. Alongside the recipes are movie stills from cocktail scenes, plot summaries, and some of the most classic cinema lines.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

First, a disclaimer: drinking does not make you cool, and emulating people who drink in order to be cool is a foolish thing to do. That said, if you're going to be drinking anyway, why not do so with a little style? Hollywood Cocktails makes a good case for bringing back the swanky cocktail-party-as-an-event, complete with nattily dressed movie stars to set the example. After a few words on the best way to stir ice without breaking it and the absolutely crucial importance of proper garnish selection, we're off to a fantasyland of shiny dresses and muddled cherries. Each cocktail comes with a step-by-step recipe and sample movie scene to set the mood. We start, as God intended, with the classic dry martini and a scene from the Clark Gable/Constance Bennett caper After Office Hours. The book then moves on to now-rare classics like the Champagne Cocktail (Casablanca) and the Rusty Nail (The Lost Weekend--not recommended viewing for a cheerful cocktail party). In the event of a particularly good party, fear not: hangover cures are thoughtfully included, such as the entertainingly named Corpse Reviver, featured in the appropriately titled Remember Last Night? Ben Reed's recipes are well-proportioned for flavor and come annotated with tips for proper service, such as waiting until the mixing cup has frosted before pouring your martinis and using real, fresh lime juice for the perfect daiquiri. If making cocktails look this cool is wrong, you may not want to be right. --Ali Davis

About the Author:

Tobias Steed is an expert on film and cinema, and is a contributor to The Sunday Times 1,000 Makers of the Cinema, (published by Thames & Hudson). He is currently working on a screenplay. Hollywood Cocktails is the result of Tobias Steed's extensive research on decades of Hollywood films. It is also a dedicated homage to the matinee idols of his youth.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.