Liquid Intelligence

August 11, 2014
Arnold, the chief of New York City's bar/laboratory Booker & Dax, is apparently not kidding when he confesses, "I am okay with spending a week preparing a drink that's only marginally better than the one that took me five minutes." Through a combination of giddy writing, precise measuring, and creative behavior bordering on obsession, he presents a strong case for adding a centrifuge to the home wet bar, molding large ice blocks in the freezer and investing in some liquid nitrogen, all in the name of cocktail bliss. At times, this work reads like a manual to the most deliciously potent science kit ever. For example, the lemon pepper fizz is a mix of lemongrass-infused vodka, clarified lemon juice, black pepper tincture and filtered water. There are also instructions for making peanut-butter-and-jelly vodka (employing coffee filters if that centrifuge is not available). Many of the recipes are presented as experiments, asking the reader, for instance, to study the relation between temperature and dilution by concocting two Manhattans, using two different sizes of ice cubes, with digital thermometers as stir sticks. Arnold also has an appreciation for randomness, no more so than in the final chapter which explores the varieties of apple juice, alcoholic coffee drinks (including one called a boozy shakerato), and the unreachable goal of creating the perfect gin and tonic.

August 1, 2014

Arnold, the man behind the innovative New York City cocktail bar Booker & Dax, is no mere mixology enthusiast--he's a scientist, and his approach to making drinks hovers somewhere between obsessive, and, by his own admission, "preposterous." His book is more than a simple compilation of recipes (although there are plenty here, from classic Manhattans to something called a "Boozy Shakerato"); instead, it's a journey to the furthest frontiers of liquid science. Readers who harbor ambitions to open their own cutting-edge speakeasy will learn how to deploy centrifuges, dry ice, vacuum machines, top-of-the-line blenders, and red-hot pokers to create distinct flavors and presentations without (fingers crossed) killing their patrons. For home drinkers there are useful lessons, too, assuming that time and dedication are no object. Arnold, who is also the founder of a planned Museum of Food and Drink, writes as he mixes: with an attention to detail that is impressive but can be exhausting. VERDICT The book and the drinks are worth the effort for readers who are just as much at home in a lab as a cocktail lounge, but the less technically minded will find Arnold's equations, charts, and relentless experimentation harder to enjoy.--Joanna Scutts, Astoria, NY

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2014
The cocktail has roared back to life, but it's not your dad's manhattan. Perhaps it was television's Mad Men that lured a new generation back to the romance of the dry martini, but the contemporary cocktail's renaissance really owes its birth to the emergence of molecular gastronomy. With notable visual and literary acumen, Arnold explains how he has reinvented classic cocktails more intriguing than inebriating. He relies on high-quality liquors, rare bitters, herbs and spices, and, above all, science. Centrifuges extract and purify flavors. Liquid nitrogen works the magic of cryogenics. Other machines produce fizz where bubbles never before existed. Even the physics of making clear ice turns out to be critically important. Arnold guides readers thoughtfully through complex processes, and he encourages creativity while explicitly cautioning his students about some potentially hazardous techniques. Professional bartenders will drink up this remarkable manual, and amateurs will find Arnold's step-by-step guide to gathering requisite hardware both achievable and fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)