William Yeoward’s American Bar: The World’s Most Glamorous Cocktails

William Yeowad was not a mixologist. He designed fine crystal and glass as a living. He was a master at his craft and he had been granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment as Supplier of Crystal Glass to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales (now King Charles III). He had written several lifestyle books such as The Perfect Host and Perfect Table. This book is his look at cocktails. He wrote in his acknowledgement that the book is a ”team effort” and thanked all the people who helped him write the book. He passed away in June, 2019.

William Yeoward’s American Bar: The World’s Most Glamorous Cocktails. William Yeoward, New York, N.Y.CICO Books, 2012, Contents, Introduction, Index, Illustrations, 160pp.

William Yeoward may not have been a mixologist, but he knew several good bars in London, England and got his recipes from these bars. Each chapter starts with a page describing the bar and credits the mixologist for the drinks listed in each chapter. The bars he visited for the book are The Connaught Bar, Annabel’s, Berkley Blue Bar, Beaufort Bar At The Savoy and American Bar At The Savoy. He then gives from ten to fifteen cocktail recipes from each bar. The last chapter in the book is titles “The Knowledge” In this chapter, he gives some of his favorite “Party Drinks’ a description of his party glass, recipes for his party Canapes and some tips, terms and techniques.

The recipes are printed in a small font but the instruction for making the cocktail is printed in a larger font and is easier to read. He has a description of the cocktail and lots of color photographs. In fact, each cocktail has two pages and two-thirds of the pages are photographs. They are very nice photographs, but I would have liked to see the recipe in a larger print. The recipes are interesting. For example, the Ristretto Manhattan from the Connaught Bar is as follows:

Ristretto Manhattan

2 oz. (50ml) rye whiskey

¾ oz. (20ml) sweet vermouth

2 dashes Vintage Abbot’s bitters (or Bob’s Abbot’s bitters)

2 bar spoons (10ml) Galliano Ristretto (coffee flavored)

1 bar spoon (5ml) blackberry liqueur.

Garnish: mist of orange zest. Twist of orange.

Stir all the ingredients in a mixing jug and strain into a small wine glass (with or without ice, depending upon the preference). Mist the orange zest over the cocktail and garnish with a twist of peel.

The book is well designed and attractive. The recipes could have been printed a little larger, but they are readable. There are plenty of color photographs accompanying each recipe. The table of contents makes finding the individual cocktails easy to find and the index will guide you to cocktails by ingredient. The section on glassware has photographs of the many glasses he used in the photographing of each cocktail with the name of the glass and the cocktails in which he used the glass.

The book is an interesting book. It features several bars in London and should give the reader a list of places to visit when in that great city. It is a valuable addition to any Whiskey library.