Cocktails with Bompas & Parr Hardcover – October 1, 2012

Sam Bompas and Harry Parr, of the U.K. company Bompas & Parr, take on cocktails with their own brand of spectacle and wit. This is no ordinary recipe book, and the reader may be alarmed at just how far this duo is willing to push the envelope. Some drinks include highly unusual ingredients, such as ether, gold leaf, methyl cellulose gel, and tobacco. Afterall, this is the team that created a vapor cloud of gin and tonic that could inebriate those that breathed it, and flooded a London estate with four metric tons of punch for guests to raft atop to drink. For the inexperienced, much of this book may be intimidating, but those seeking the innovative and bizarre will find plenty to delight. Some of this work may seem controversial to less tolerant readers. Several drinks incorporate a product called Buckfast Tonic Wine, which has stirred debate in Britain over alleged links to anti-social behavior and crime (Americans, think of it as a more potent version of Four Loko). Bompas and Parr even offer a recipe to recreate Buckfast at home. Another section of the book provides recipes for drinks to offer to children, though the reader should keep in mind that the legal drinking age in the U.K., with parental consent, is five years. The measures in the recipes are often presented in milliliters and fluid ounces (and occasionally larger units), yet there appears to be some discrepancy in the conversions. At times this may be due to a difference in meaning (U.S. gallon vs. Imperial gallon, for example), but at other times it just seems like inaccurate math. Fortunately, Bompas and Parr usually give their proportions in "parts" rather than distinct measures. Altogether, this is a terrific look at the potential of creativity in the cocktail world, exploring new frontiers in ingredients and techniques. The tone is whimsical, and the authors do not hesitate to poke fun where it is needed. Among my favorite lines, regarding the contempt many of today's bartenders have for vodka: "The haters are a bit like those indie kids who stop liking a band once they become popular." How true... and guilty as charged!

Fabulous copy of Cocktails with Bompas and Parr.. great quality .. fast shipping.. really superb seller

Fun and quirky! The Ice cream book is even better.

There are some good and interesting recipes in this book, along with some great snippets of history going back before the 1920s, but the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth.I definitely learnt a lot more about techniques such as foaming from this book, and I may get around to trying a few of the more accessible recipes, but a lot of the text seems to be filled with the boys showing off about their past adventures. It just reminds me of being back at university when one person just talks about old parties you weren't at, and what great quantities of alcohol they consumed.I just want to say to Bompass and Parr: "I don't care about the parties you've organised or how much alcohol you served, I just want a really fantastic recipe for a white lady". They didn't satisfy my needs.Still, all that said, I'd much rather have this than your standard '100 Classic Cocktails' books.