We have a little stash of cocktail/mixology books that get a workout every year in December. One year I shared my top four favorite books over at SleuthSayers, in a post entitled A Serious Case of Libations.

If you want to cut to the chase, visit that post immediately.

If you don’t like clicking over, let me make this painless. If you’re one of those people who hates planning parties because you never know what to buy, what food and drinks to set out for guests, and how much is too much, or worse, too little, then the book you need is the first one on my list.

What’s a Hostess to Do? by Susan Spungen. Why this book? Because Spungen is a freaking expert, a former food editor at Martha’s magazine. She teaches you the difference between a dinner party and a cocktail hour, and she spells out exactly what sort of menu you need to lay out for each. I hate thinking abut this stuff. But with this book in hand, suddenly I look like the second coming of the Galloping Gourmet. So get this first, mostly for the food, the recipes, and the logic. Yes, she talks about booze and how much you need to buy, but so much more. And if you’re a big hairy macho dude who thinks the title is too girly, write me and I’ll mail you a Sharpie.

The Imbible: A Cocktail Guide for Beginning and Home Bartenders, by Micah LeMon. I know the author. He’s a real bartender and mixologist. This book is as beautiful as the drinks he makes. It’s a little hard to find, but it’s a really lovely book, kind of like a small coffee table book with gorgeous photos. You won’t find mixer drinks in here (such as gin and tonics) because they are frankly too easy to make. It’s also a great gift book because it’s so damn attractive. Lots of photos showing such things as what kind of glassware to buy, what tools, and how to make perfect ice cubes.

To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion, by Philip Greene. Now we get to the literary books. This one is focused almost exclusively on the world of Erenst Hemingway—his books, his real-life settings, the actors and directors who brought those books to life on the big screen, and the sexy man-drinks that emanated from his typewriter. Yes, there are recipes, but there are also movie stills and photos of Bogey. If you have a writer friend who digs that world, this is the book to get them.

Mixed Up: Cocktail Recipes (and Flash Fiction) for the Discerning Drinker (and Reader), edited by Nick Mamatas and Molly Tanzer. Another literary book, but this one is packed with actual literature. The editors asked a bunch of writers to write short stories that each feature a cocktail. So you read the story, and then you get the recipe for how to make the drink. Clever idea, and the stories are equally so. This is a great gift for writer friends too. The stories are all flash fiction, which means you’ll down them quicker than the bevs.

Okay, those are the books I mentioned in my original post, but readers and my fellow bloggers also had ideas on the subject, so I’ll add a two of those.

The Hour: A Cocktail Manifesto, by Bernard DeVoto. The author was a Pulitzer Prize-wining historian who really knew his cocktails. The original book was pubbed in 1951, but has been lovingly recreated for modern audiences. The prose is somewhat mannered and restrained tongue-in-cheek, as if anyone who drinks cocktails will be appropriate after knocking back a few. Definitely for friends who enjoy three- and four-syllable words.

The Deluxe Savoy Cocktail Book, by Henry Craddock. This is another historic text, pubbed in the 1930s in the UK. The author was an acclaimed mixologist who shared 750-plus drink recipes for newbies. You can find many versions of this book on the market. Get the cheaper one if you think you’ll spill angostura bitters all over it; save the nicer one for gifts.

Later this year, I discovered another marvelous book that I simply had to add to this list:

A Booze & Vinyl Christmas, by André Darlington. Lots of writers write about cocktails, but Darlington is the master, with 10 books to his credit. This one is the third in his Booze & Vinyl series, and grows out of his past as nightlife journalist, restaurateur, and DJ. He literally only focuses on vinyl, so if a Christmas album never appeared in that format, it’s not featured in this book. That allows him to dream up magnificent scenarios during which you can listen to, say, the A or B side of an album, drink one of his wonderful cocktails, and get your tree decorated, hide your pickle, write your Christmas cards, and so on. He includes wonderful light snacks along the way as well, and behind-the-scene stories about the songs and albums. Best of all, it’s a beautiful book with great photography. It’s my new favorite book to gift hosts when I arrive at their home for a Christmas party.

There you go—all the ones I have personally used and enjoyed.

I’ll leave you with one promise: The modern world of mixology owes a huge debt to two men, Harry Johnson and Jerry Thomas, who were bartenders in the 19th century. Both wrote bartenders’ manuals, which have entered the public domain and are often cheaply reissued. I’m trying to find which editions of their work is the best. When I do I will add them to this post in the future. Enjoy then, drink up!

Photo above by little ol’ me. (And no, that monstrosity is not in any of these books, thank God.)