Ben Reed

I received this as a gift. I do like reading cocktail and drink recipe books, as I enjoy experimenting and trying new recipes. This book is alright in terms of the recipes, which seem a bit too high brow for me. I have read other books in this regard that are much more accessible to the casual mixer at home. On the other hand, the photography in this book is excellent, which makes the book a pleasure to look through, even if not as practical.

This book follows along the lines of "Vintage Cocktails", but it does not have the variety. There are at least 48 different cocktails listed & nicely photographed, including: Caipirinha, Tequila Slammer (I am so not going to mix my champagne with any type of tequila...yeeeech!), 3 types of Manhattans, Negroni, Golden Cadillac, Black Velvet (Guinness & champagne...Really?), Royal Gin Fizz, and many others. There is also a chapter on equipment & techniques.

While Starting Small did have some helpful content, it fell woefully short of providing the promised "ultimate small group blueprint." The book offered some practical suggestions (training leaders, getting groups started, what should happen at group), but lacked any clear philosophy or consistent approach. Again, Starting Small isn't without value, but in the sea of small group resources that exist today, it simply fell short of expectations. C+