Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm going to sum up this book as succinctly as possible: I'm a professional bartender that has remodeled his kitchen to be as much a chemistry lab as it is a place of cooking. I have a HUGE library dedicated to bartending books... in addition to cooking, gastro, flavor-profiling, pairing, etc. I love the food and beverage industry, and I believe that a bartender is as responsible for creating an enjoyable meal as a chef. My personality is front-of-house while my mentality and drive (and sometimes my personality, too) is back-of-house. This book is perfect for people like me that are always on the look-out for ways to bring new techniques to their libations, not to mention a thorough explanation for why things work they way they do... which is wonderful for inspiration. However, this book is also perfect for someone that simply wants to know how to make the magic happen at home. 1) Dave Arnold is a genius. Certifiably, not hyperbole. It takes a unique and gifted soul to bring this level of thoughtfulness to his trade, and a generous spirit to pass along just enough of that information to make someone incredibly dangerous if they're on a first-name basis with their welding shop (like me: former iron-worker). What he has to say about everything is worth paying attention to... especially the giant chapter on ice. It's funny to say it, but embracing 25 pages on solid water has made me a much better bartender than the hundred of other pages detailing elevated techniques. 2) Outside of understanding how ice and dilution actually work to make or break a cocktail, there is very little in this book that pertains to bringing an extra bit of flair and wonder to your bar. Tossing bottles is for kids that work at TGI Fridays. Real flair is about making the creation of something that's liquid unforgettable look effortless. This book is all about preparation. The first part is education. The second part is experimentation. The third part is learning how to set everything up in advance so that the actual mixing, building and shaking is as smooth and consistent as possible. 3) This book will force you to be a better bartender. I don't care if you're a professional or home-based booze-hound: this book will force you to elevate your knowledge and ability just from the kind of humble enthusiasm Arnold communicates for the bartending trade. Not only am I a better, more educated bartender capable of applying the various techniques and technologies discussed in Liquid Intelligence to the recipes bound within it, I've also gained the confidence to seek out my own individuality using these lessons. I have a ten-pound bottle of liquid nitrogen in my kitchen, now... and I'm sourcing a carbonator. And then there's the red-hot poker I know just enough about electrical engineering and fabrication to injure myself perfecting. 4) This book has made such an impact on me that I've begun carrying my own tools to my job. I refuse to use pint glasses for shaking cocktails, I refuse to use their muddlers, I refuse to use their strainers. Just like when I worked on steel fifteen years ago, I pack in my own tools every day I go to work, and when I take over a new bar in three months, all of the bartenders that work for me will do the same. Chefs pack their knives. Carpenters pack their saws. Real bartenders pack their shakers, clarify their juices, and analyze every bottle with a Brix meter to make sure each cocktail they craft is consistently delicious. THAT'S how good Liquid Intelligence is.