This is a very attractive and durable guide printed on quality stock that my wife picked up for me in the ‘Bargain Books’ section of a chain bookstore last year. Now, I don’t know Stuart Walton’s name from Adam but one of the first things you notice is the quality of the layout and design and the amount of color used throughout the book; the production values are very good. The first section is quite large (93 pages) and gives very good information on spirits, liqueurs and alcoholic beverages throughout the world. You can immediately tell that there is a more international tone and breadth to the book than most guides because the recipes are given in ‘measures’ (parts vs. oz or cl) and each spirit’s entry gives background on how styles vary from country-to-country. For example, I discovered Slivovitz through this guide as it has its own entry (as does Arak, Kirsch, Chartreuse, etc.), whereas in most guides it’s barely mentioned, or if it is it’s lumped in with brandies in general.

Another interesting aspect of this book is when it covers a particular class of spirits, such as Eau de Vie or ‘Nut Liqueurs’ (read that the wrong way and it’s really really hilarious), it gives very detailed instructions on how they are traditionally served (often with details from the spirit’s native country) and then proceeds with describing the prevalent producing countries’ styles or quirks in the spirit’s manufacturing or flavor. The book also has an extensive non-alcoholic beverage section in which it gives similar flavor and serving notes on topics such as coffee, hot chocolate, and lemonade, leaving very little to assumption.

The book is a tad short on recipes (and some of the recipes seem a bit off from the ‘classic’ version of some drinks) and it certainly doesn’t claim to be or seek to be committed solely to classic and vintage cocktails. Overall it provides a great deal of background information and detail on spirits, liqueurs, and cordials from around the world, without going too overly in-depth into any one subject, and I find it especially useful as a reference tool.

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However, buyer beware; recently while browsing the ‘Spirits and Wine’ section of a bookstore I found a tall attractive book titled ‘The Complete Guide to Cocktails and Drinks’ (obviously Mr. Walton doesn’t suffer from a lack of hyperbole or guile) and I opened it up only to find *SHOCK AND AWE* the exact same layout, recipes, photos, and number of pages from ‘The Ultimate Book of Cocktails’ throughout the whole thing. It is basically the same book repackaged by a different publisher though I’m sure the book’s merit is intact. The only difference being that one can be had for around $6 USD (or used on Amazon.com for $0.59) and the other for $17.95 or so… sleazeballs.