The Four Seasons Book of Cocktails: Tips, Techniques, and More Than 1,000 Recipes from New York's Landmark Restaurant - Hardcover

Fred DuBose is a writer, editor, and book developer based in Manhattan. Head bartender Greg Connolly was inducted into the Bartender's Hall of Fame in 2002. Charles Corpion followed in the footsteps of his father, who tended bar at New York's Copacabana in the 1950s. John Varriano is a painter who often paints the portraits of the clients he serves at the Four Seasons.

This compendium, which originated in DuBose’s Ultimate Bartender’s Guide (2003), provides brisk overviews of the standard need-to-knows: stocking the home bar, mixing the perfect drink, and deciphering the labels of exotic liqueurs. And, within its sensible organization (classified by main ingredient), it offers a well-selected blend of standard cocktails, intriguing variations, and inventions of Four Seasons bartenders Greg Connolly, Charles Corpion, and John Varriano. But, just as much of the glamour of this famous New York restaurant comes from its stunning setting, with rooms designed by Philip Johnson in a building designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the designers of this book enhance its offerings by giving it a suitably elegant housing. Within the handsome bronze-hued cover, elegant photos and artwork create genuine browsing appeal (just look at the Chandelier and you’ll want to drink one), while succinct sidebars offer tasty morsels of information about the drinks and the establishment. Neither too small for the coffee table, nor too large for the bar. --Keir Graff