Post #764949 by Club Nouméa on Mon, Jun 13, 2016 12:46 AM

I received my copy of this book on Friday in Wellington NZ and am probably the first person in the Southern Hemisphere to get a copy (I pre-ordered months ago...).

Smuggler's Cove is one of the most insightful cocktail books I have ever owned, as well as providing a wonderful overview to the whole phenomenon of Polynesian-style bars and restaurants from the 1930s onwards. Over the weekend, I was waving this book in the face of various bartenders in Wellington saying things like "this is THE BIBLE!" and "You NEED this book!". Martin Cate's recommendation that we all relabel our rum bottles from 1 to 8 based on the distilling processes used is both radical and makes sense. He has also provided the first succinct, logical, and understandable analysis of the various types of rums used in exotic cocktails that I have ever seen, and his outline of how the range of ingredients used in tropical cocktails developed from Don The Beachcomber onwards is priceless. His cocktail choices include various usual suspects, but the depth of his analysis of the history of drinks like the Mai Tai is very insightful, and his showcasing of things like North American 18th-century rum cocktails will switch on a few lightbulbs among craft cocktail people who previously thought that the US was traditionally the land of whisky and beer. I will be going back to this book again and again, not only as a list of recipes, but for ideas and insights regarding how to make old and new concoctions.

All this and a very attractive layout, colourful photos and a sturdy, hard-bound embossed cover. 10 out of 10!