Pantry Cocktails by Katherine Cobbs

Pantry Cocktails

by Katherine Cobbs

Craft delicious, creative mixed drinks using pantry staples with this essential recipe book guaranteed to satiate any cocktail craving.

We all want to be the type of host who can put together a tasty meal or a delicious appetizer for unexpected company by creatively using the odds and ends from our pantry or fridge. That same improvisational approach can be applied to home bartending with impressive (and tasty!) results. Knowing how to enlist the everyday basics cluttering up your kitchen, like condiments, jams, pickles, and sauces, means you can craft inventive, flavorful cocktails on the fly, satisfying cravings and fulfilling your guest’s requests.

Pantry Cocktails is an organized, easy-to-follow guide that not only includes cocktail recipes but accompanying themed food boards (such as The Warming Hut Board inspired by New Mexico flavors), helpful tips and hacks, and useful pantry suggestions. Recipes include:
-A Sushi Mary with the wasabi and white miso pastes in your fridge (from that sushi delivery last week)
-A Basil-Cello Frosecco or Ginger-Orange Shrub Shandy from your garden
-Off-Season Bellini using peaches from your cupboard

You will learn which key bottled spirits to keep in your liquor cabinet, which fridge and cupboard staples you can repurpose, and how to use seasonal herbs from your patio or garden to create outstanding cocktails that are sure to satisfy and impress.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Pantry Cocktails is an interesting collection of barcraft recipes made with ingredients which are emphatically outside the normal range of cocktail items. Due out 1st July 2021 from Simon & Schuster on their Tiller Press imprint, it's 176 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats (ebook available now).

This is an.... eccentric... collection of recipes. The positive aspects for me personally were the spirit of adventure and frugal economy in many of the recipes. The illustrations are charmingly whimsical and attractive. The writing is lightly humorous and full of appeal. I understand the impetus, the year+ of hunkering down and sheltering in place have required a spirit of grit and ingenuity from all of us. I'm willing to make a lot of sacrifices in the name of public safety; I'm not at all sure I'm willing to extend that to my cocktails.

The ingredients are varied and, in some cases, quite odd. There is a lot to be said for a gin & tonic - gin, tonic, ice, and a lime wedge. This author would have you creating cocktails from mustard, miso paste, and the drained liquid from a can of baked beans (thankfully not in the same drink). There are pickles here, peppers, spices galore, and the juice and/or drained liquid from canned fruits and vegetables.

More miss than hit in the cocktails for me, but I will say that the author is masterful and gives logical reasons for her choices and blends. There's a fair amount of background and history and it's clear she's knowledgeable and experienced. The food parts of the book were lovely and the small bites, appetizers, and boards are well thought out and beautifully curated and presented. The book contains no photography but the whimsical art suits the style very well.

Three and a half stars (almost exclusively for the food recipes - very very little for the cocktail recipes). This is one for the avant-garde urban foodies who already have white miso paste in their fridges as a matter of course.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 June, 2021: Finished reading
  • 19 June, 2021: Reviewed