You’ve stocked your home bar with all of the essentials. Glasses. Liquor. Equipment. Mixers. Garnishes.

Now it’s time to show off to your family and friends with some awesome cocktails – but where to begin? 

Why not try picking up one of these books that will help you take your mixology skills to the next level?

• The Joy of Mixology
  • Gary Regan, the “most-read cocktail expert around” (Imbibe), has revised his original tome for the 15th anniversary with new material: many more cocktail recipes—including smart revisions to the originals—and fascinating information on the drink-making revival that has popped up in the past decade, confirming once again that this is the only cocktail reference you need.
  • A prolific writer on all things cocktails, Gary Regan and his books have been a huge influence on mixologists and bartenders in America. This brand-new edition fills in the gaps since the book first published, incorporating Regan’s special insight on the cocktail revolution from 2000 to the present and a complete overhaul of the recipe section. With Regan’s renowned system for categorizing drinks helps bartenders not only to remember drink recipes but also to invent their own, The Joy of Mixology, Revised and Updated Edition is the original drinks book for both professionals and amateurs alike.
• The Ultimate Bar Book: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,000 Cocktails
  • The cocktail book for your home: The Ultimate Bar Book is an indispensable guide to classic cocktails and new drink recipes. Loaded with essential-to-know topics such as barware, tools, and mixing tips.
  • Classic cocktails and new drinks: As the mistress of mixology, the author Mittie Hellmich has the classics down for the Martini, the Bloody Mary—and the many variations such as the Dirty Martini and the Virgin Mary. And then there are all the creative new elixirs the author brings to the table, like the Tasmanian Twister Cocktail or the Citron Sparkler.
  • Illustrated secrets of classic cocktails and more: Illustrations show precisely what type of glass should be used for each drink. With dozens of recipes for garnishes, rims, infusions, and syrups; punches, gelatin shooters, hot drinks, and non-alcoholic beverages; and let’s not forget an essential selection of hangover remedies, The Ultimate Bar Book is nothing short of top-shelf.
• Cocktail Codex: Fundamentals, Formulas, Evolutions
  • “There are only six cocktails.” So say Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, and David Kaplan, the visionaries behind the seminal craft cocktail bar Death & Co. In Cocktail Codex, these experts reveal for the first time their surprisingly simple approach to mastering cocktails: the “root recipes,” six easily identifiable (and memorizable!) templates that encompass all cocktails: the old-fashioned, martini, daiquiri, sidecar, whisky highball, and flip. Once you understand the hows and whys of each “family,” you’ll understand why some cocktails work and others don’t, when to shake and when to stir, what you can omit and what you can substitute when you’re missing ingredients, why you like the drinks you do, and what sorts of drinks you should turn to—or invent—if you want to try something new.
• The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Think Like a Master Mixologist
  • The Craft of the Cocktail was the first real cookbook for cocktails when it first published in 2002, and it has had a remarkable influence on bartending. With this new edition, the original gets a delicious update, bringing expertise from Dale DeGroff, the father of craft cocktails, to the modern bar for a new generation of cocktail enthusiasts. The beloved histories, culture, tips, and tricks are back but all are newly revised, and DeGroff’s favorite liquor recommendations are included so you know which gin or bourbon will mix just right.

If you’re ready to up your cocktail-making game, then these are the books to help you do it! They’ll have you looking like a master mixologist in no time at all.

***All book descriptions courtesy of Amazon