Six drinks books that make ideal stocking fillers

The Home Bar by Henry Jeffreys

This is the ideal book for anyone in your life with a rapidly expanding booze collection and a desire to make like Tom Cruise in Cocktail and run their own bar, albeit from the comfort and safety of their own home.

Full of gorgeous glossy photos of some of the most beautiful bars on the planet, by the end of the book you’ll be dusting off your shaker and making plans to scour vintage fairs for a cut-price cocktail cabinet.

Written in his signature conversational style and oozing with rapier-sharp wit, Jeffreys’ book is full of useful tips for those aspiring to set up their own bar at home, covering everything from glassware, lighting and equipment to sourcing spirits and the importance of comfy bar stools.

The book also charts the cultural history of bar design, from its Art Deco beginnings to the present day. At the back are 30 cocktail recipes, ranging from classics like the Negroni and Daiquiri to more daring avant-garde creations.

Having been lavished with praise for his debut tome, Empire of Booze, The Home Bar has been similarly well received. The Telegraph’s Victoria Moore called it: “A persuasive paean to the glories of the home bar. If you have dreamed of building a bar inside your house, you need this book.”

That’s The Spirit! by Jonathan Ray

Having brought us his ode to sparkling wine – Drink More Fizz! – last year, effervescent drinks writer Jonathan Ray is back with a second booze book, and this time tackles the diverse subject of spirits.

That’s The Spirit! Takes a deep dive into the world of spirits via 100 of Ray’s favourites, taking in everything from liqueurs, whisky and Tequila to rum and grappa. Each entry includes a look at leading producers, what makes certain brands so enduring, why the drinks taste the way they do and how to drink them.

Writing in a fluid entertaining style, Ray’s book is packed with anecdotes, facts and stories, including the history of the Bloody Mary and why the Burnley Miners’ Social Club in Lancashire is the world’s largest consumer of Benedictine – necking over 1,000 bottles of the stuff a year.

Ray, who is drinks editor of the Spectator, also reveals his 10 favourite bars around the globe, explores the world of classic cocktails and offers tips on home cocktail kits. The book was written in a response to the growing interest in spirits drinking, especially among millennials.

Homemade Cocktails by Helen McGinn

Drinks writer Helen McGinn, who goes under the alias ‘Knackered Mother’, has written a nifty little book on mastering the art of cocktail making at home. Like Ray and Jeffreys, McGinn, who writes for the Daily Mail and Waitrose Food magazine, took inspiration from the rising interest in DIY cocktails and a growing consumer desire to replicate their favourite mixed drinks at home.

It is, in part, aimed at cocktail lovers suffering from FOMO (fear of missing out) due to children and other obligations getting in the way of a good night out. Homemade Cocktails is packed with recipes grouped by spirit. The gin section will teach you how to shake up a Martini good enough to impress James Bond, while in the Bourbon section you’ll find recipes for classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned, Manhattan and Mint Julep.

Before any cocktails are made, mother of three McGinn talks the reader through store cupboard essentials, the equipment you’ll need to become an at home bartender, metric measurements and the five golden rules for making a good cocktail: use plenty of ice; start with a quality base spirit; keep things simple; shake like your life depended on it; and priorities balance above all things.

Gin: An Illustrated History by Tina Brown

Not to be mistaken with former Tatler and Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, this Tina Brown runs guided ghost tours of Hastings and evening classes on everything from the history of gin to tattoos.

One of her favourite topics is Mother’s Ruin, and this potted history charts gins origins from the bubonic plague in the 13^th century, when it was used as a medical aid, through to the emergence of sloe gin in the 17^th century, how “dazzling” gin palaces rivalled pubs in the early 1800s, and the rise of Bathtub gin in the early 20^th century.

With the current gin craze showing no sign of slowing, this fact-filled tome takes readers on a behind the scenes journey spanning hundreds of years, bringing the story of this much-loved spirit up to date.

Brown also profiles a number of the most significant gin distillers to have emerged over the last decade in the UK, including Silent Pool in Albury, Sacred in Highgate, Devon’s Salcombe Gin, Conker Gin from Dorset, Forest Gin from Macclesfield and Sipsmith in Chiswick.

Georgia: a guide to the cradle of wine by Miquel Hudin

One of the trendiest topics in the wine world – the skin contact amber wines of Georgia – is explored in this tome by award-winning wine writer Miquel Hudin. The book, the latest in Hudin’s self-published ‘Vinologue’ series, was written with help from Georgian food and travel expert Daria Kholodilina after Hudin won the Geoffrey Roberts Award in 2016.

With over 300 pages and numerous photographs, maps and cellar listings, the tome focuses on what both first-time visitors to Georgia and experienced wine professionals can expect from the country’s rich food and wine culture.

There is a special focus on that most iconic of Georgian winemaking tools – the ‘kvevri’ (amphorae) as well as the evolution of Georgian winemaking and experimentation with different techniques. The book also explores the impact of greater global interest in the country’s wines.

The guide is full of useful practical information for those keen to taste Georgian wines in their homeland, from the best times to visit and how to get around, to traditional cuisine and getting to grips with the Georgian alphabet.

The tome is then split into Georgia’s different appellations and regions, and profiles some of the country’s most important winemakers in the West, Central West, Central East and Eastern regions in the country.

Amber Revolution: How the world learned to love orange wine by Simon J Woolf

You wait all year for an amber wine book then two come along at once. With its striking cover, featuring a fist clenching a glass of orange wine aloft, inspired by the Russian revolution posters of the early 20^th century, even before opening it, you know you’re in for an interesting read.

The weighty tome is packed with gorgeous landscape and portrait photographs by Ryan Opaz and a foreword from amber wine convert Doug Wregg, founder of minimum intervention wine importer Les Caves de Pyrène, who describes the book as: “a rattling good read”.

Woolf takes the reader on a tour of the world’s key amber wine hubs, from Friuli and Slovenia to Georgia, and delves into the histories of the people, places and cultural traditions in each of the three key cradles of orange wine.

Packed with portrait shots, this book makes a hero of the 180 winemakers behind some of the best-known amber wines enjoyed around the world, and many hidden gems yet to be discovered outside of their homeland.

Aiming to be the definitive guide to orange wine, the book charts the origins of skin contact wines and the recent renaissance of the style, which continues to be enthusiastically embraced around the world by wine nerds and novices alike. On a practical level, it includes food pairing tips and advice on choosing the best amber wines for your palate, from light floral styles to tannic ageworthy ambers.

Wine List Confidential 2018

And finally… for the foodie loving wino in your life, pop a copy of db’s London restaurant ratings guide, Wine List Confidential, in their stocking. Rating the capital’s top restaurants for wine lovers on a 100-point scale, which takes everything from size, value, range and originality into account, the guide proved popular at our recent Green Awards ceremony at The Club at The Ivy in Covent Garden. You can pick up your copy here.