Shake Strain Done: Craft Cocktails at Home

A 2021 IACP COOKBOOK AWARDS FINALIST

Revolutionize the way you drink at home with simple recipes and common ingredients -- no obscure liquors or fussy techniques needed -- from the editorial director of Milk Street, J.M. Hirsch.

Are you done with generic gin and tonics, mediocre Manhattans and basic martinis? You can use pantry staples and basic liquors to produce more than 200 game-changing craft cocktails worthy of a seat at the bar.

Many cocktail books call for hard-to-find ingredients and complicated techniques that can frustrate home cocktail makers. Shake Strain Done shows a better way:

• If you can shake, strain, stir and turn on a blender, you can make great cocktails.
• No tedious secondary recipes hidden between the lines.
• No mysteries. You'll know what each drink will taste like before you pick up a bottle.
• No fancy equipment needed. A shaker, strainer and spoon are as exotic as it gets.
• The ingredients are mostly pantry and bar staples--things you already have on hand.

Every drink is rated by its characteristics -- Warm, Refreshing, Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Fruity, Herbal, Creamy, Spicy, Strong and Smoky -- to help expand your horizons and find more drinks to love.

These are drinks with the sophistication of a high-end speakeasy, minus the fuss, like:

• The Sazerac 2.0 - a spice cabinet update that takes the classic back to its origins
• A new White Russian that lightens the load with coconut water instead of cream
• A grownup Singapore Sling that's fruity without tasting like fruit punch
• A Scorched Margarita that uses the broiler to char those lemons and limes
• A feisty new Gin and Tonic in which black pepper is the star ingredient
• And plenty of originals, like the Pooh Bear. Butter, honey and bourbon? Yes, please! And Mistakes Were Made, for tiki time

J.M. Hirsch is a James Beard Award-winning food and travel writer. He is editorial director of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street, a Boston-based food media company with a 140,000-circulation print magazine, award-winning cookbooks and public television and radio shows that reach millions of viewers and listeners. His previous cookbooks include High Flavor, Low Labor  and Beating the Lunchbox Blues. He is the former national food editor for The Associated Press and lives in New Hampshire with his son, husband and two cats.