Saturday, February 25, 2023

*Review* The Unofficial Big Lebowski Cocktail Book by Andre Darlington

 

Genre: Cookbook
Published: March 7, 2023
Pages: 176


Raise a glass to the 25th anniversary of The Big Lebowski with this highly giftable unofficial cocktail book featuring 50 cocktails, brews, and other spirits inspired by the beloved movie’s characters and scenes.

The Big Lebowski—the hilariously quirky comedy-thriller about bowling, avant-garde art, nihilistic Austrians, White Russians, and a guy named…the Dude—is a cult classic. Now, with The Unofficial Big Lebowski Cocktail Book, you can relive the movie one drink at a time!

Award-winning beverage writer and best-selling author André Darlington shows you how to create these and more iconic cocktails at home:
 
  • The Dude (White Russian)
  • Porn Star Martini
  • The Nihilist 
  • Bowling with Jesus
  • Maude’s Manhattan

In addition to 
50 signature drinks, this beautifully designed unofficial cocktail book includes food and song pairings that align with the major characters that have become life lessons and spouted advice within popular culture. Fully illustrated, this unofficial ode to The Big Lebowski is sure to have you reliving the movie and offering up these words of wisdom to your friends.


I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I am going to preface this review by letting you know that I have not tried any of the recipes in this book at this time, because that would require me to build up my home bar or host a party where everyone brings a needed bottle of booze. I am very seriously considering doing the latter however, because I could also make the food items and we could watch the movie and it sounds like kind of a great idea to me. 

Anyway, the cocktail recipes provided here seem pretty simple, although there are a few ingredients that I'm probably going to have to google to figure out where to buy them (like cocktail onions, what the heck are those? Also ew.) But even though I haven't made any of these recipes yet, I'm fairly confident that I can pull most of them off with relative ease once I have the necessary ingredients. There are definitely some that sound more appealing to me than others, but that really boils down to personal drink preferences. 

The biggest highlight of this cookbook in my opinion is the illustrations. They are so bright and colorful and just absolutely early 90s. They're eye-catching and give a rough idea of what the cocktails should look like when they're completed without having to be actual cocktails. And while my memory of the movie is quite rusty, I'm pretty sure they include some key pieces that are relevant to each cocktail's inspiration. 

This is a book that I would definitely buy for my home cookbook collection, and you really gotta' splurge for the physical copy because the digital version just isn't it. It'll get the job done in a pinch, but there's no way it provides the same experience. 

Overall I give this book 4.73 out of 5 stars. - Katie 




André Darlington is a former restaurant critic and restaurateur turned award-winning beverage writer. He is the best-selling author of eight cocktail books, including Gotham City CocktailsBooze Cruise, and Bar Menu. He abides in Greensboro, North Carolina.

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