Alcademics

I'll be giving away five copies of Maria Hunt's book The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion. To be eligible to win, just sign up for the Alcademics A-Plus email list here. I'll pick a random winner from the list later this week.

Author Maria Hunt is responsible for the website TheBubblyGirl.com. She's also a CIA-certified wine professional and freelance writer. I first met her when we judged a champagne cocktail competition together.

The Bubbly Bar, which comes out August 25th, is a recipe book for cocktails made with champagne, other sparkling wines, and sparkling sake. Each recipe specifies the type of sparkler used, which is handy to those of us who don't know our prosecco from our cava. The drinks are pretty accessible, made with liqueurs like St. Germain, triple sec, and the occasional frambois and Campari. The liquor too is mostly everyday stuff- there is lots of gin- but also one each of certain rums, calvados, and pisco. Most of the less common ingredients are fruits and juices, floral syrups, and teas, and Hunt provides a resource guide in the back of the book on where to find them. 

The drinks do not seem super challenging- the average is floral and/or juicy as opposed to  bitter and strong, but there are a lot of delicious-sounding originals. There are a few zingers in there too- drinks with a rinse of Pernod, a splash of black peppercorn syrup, or a touch of jalapeno. The final chapter has dessert drinks and desserts.

Another nice aspect of the book is that Hunt lists recommended brands of bubbly by price- a shopping list to take to the store.

Jason Wilson recently wrote about the book for the Washington Post and included a recipe that was inspired by Joel Baker of Bourbon & Branch: the Aperol Flip. 

To be eligible to win, just sign up for the Alcademics A-Plus email list here.