TAB's Reviews > Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails

Having only read the recipes of this book from the time I bought it five years ago until this year, I'm gonna mark it as read having properly read it cover to at least the cover of the recipe section.

This book is an incredible look into what it takes to conceive a new idea, new ways of working, new standards, new regimens and new motivations and an honest account of all the ways things go right and wrong. I guess this book is about innovation and its detail into the craft cocktail revolution in NYC in the early to mid 2000's is thrilling especially for those of us interested in "how something works under the hood." I'm talking about detail down to where people stand and how they position bottles and glasses and other tools, it's borderline pedantic, but I love it.

And then yes, the recipes are great. But what I never got from not reading this book the first five years of owning it is what I love most and that's (spoiler alert) that there are really maybe only 4 cocktails in the world and everything is a derivation of those four. As this other coffee table/cookbook author puts it, paraphrasing, innovation thrives best within categories or structures.