Gin The Ultimate Companion

This is the essential guide to the wonderful world of gin. Written by one of the country's leading experts, it's ideal for novice and connoisseur alike. As well as tasting notes and tips on the must-try latest brands and the eternal classics, it also includes details on distilleries and exciting new craft gins. There's also information on many of the best and tastiest flavoured gins on the market, hints on choosing the perfect tonic and a selection of gin cocktails which showcase the remarkable versatility of our favourite spirit.

We're in the middle of a Gin Craze. Scarcely a day goes by without an established brand offering a fresh take on their established styles or, more likely, a new boutique distillery opening its doors – where gin is de rigueur. From Adnams to Zuidam; Beefeater to Bombay and London to Plymouth (and beyond) this new book from a best-selling drinks writer is the authoritative guide to the world of gin, and the first book to explore the explosion of innovative gin brands and the artisanal distillers that are reinventing this most English of drinks. With serious gin bars stocking well over 300 brands and adding still more, how do you choose? Is Edinburgh Gin a style, or just a brand name? Can a rose-flower and cucumber infusion properly be called gin? Can gin be aged in wood or does that just make it a strange tasting young whisky? And what tonic to choose, and why? In his inimitable style, best-selling drinks writer Ian Buxton will lead readers through the great gin trap with his latest no-nonsense guide to 101 Gins.

The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails presents an in-depth exploration of the world of spirits and cocktails in a ground-breaking synthesis. The Companion covers drinks, processes, and techniques around the world as well as those in the US and Europe. It provides clear explanations of the different ways that spirits are produced, including fermentation, distillation and ageing, alongside a wealth of new detail on the emergence of cocktails and cocktails bars, including entries on key cocktails and influential mixologists and cocktail bars.