A friend of mine recently introduced me to a new book—“Phillip Collier’s Mixing New Orleans Cocktails and Legends.” It is now making it’s way to my top reads list!

The book is part recipe book, part history book and part picture book, as each chapter gives you the background on famous local liqueurs and legendary watering holes, recipes for some of our city’s most classic cocktails, and lots of neat old photos to go along. It is even peppered with tidbits of history about various celebrities’ favorite drinks!

While many of the drinks are familiar to New Orleanians and are readily accessible on any given night in the French Quarter, this book still makes a great gift for a local lover of libations or for any out of town cocktail enthusiast. The recipes are accurate and authentic as they are sourced from the locations where the drinks originated. And although you may already be well acquainted with some of the drinks (the Screwdriver, for instance), I am certain that you will find a new addition to add to your repertoire.

Note: I had a bit of trouble tracking this book down, as it seems to have been published and distributed locally (Philbeau Publishing, Inc.). However, I did find a copy of it at one of my favorite local bookshops—Octavia Books. It is a small shop, so I would suggest giving them a call first to find out if they have it in stock; if not, I’m sure they will happily order it for you!

Filed Under: Cool Stuff