This is an elegantly packaged, entertainingly written, easy-to-use bartending guidebook that provides the budding bartender with all the information he or she needs to create the classic cocktail while also serving as a handy reference for the more experienced mixologist. Drinkology emphasizes the classic cocktails that any bartender should know how to prepare. Each of the chapters devoted to a specific liquor begins with a brief, general discussion (history, manufacture, lore) of that spirit. Recipes based that liquor then follow, in alphabetical order. Within that alphabetical arrangement, the best-known, classic cocktails are accorded a full page each; variations on the classics and recipes for other, more unusual drinks are given briefer treatment (three recipes per page). The Gin chapter, for example, begins with an introduction summarizing gin's history, distillation, and lore - and briefly explaining the various types of gin and their distinct qualities; the recipes section of the chapter features full-page treatments of the Gibson, Gimlet, Gin and Tonic, Martini, Pink Lady, Singapore Sling, and Tom Collins interspersed among other gin-based cocktail recipes, which appear in alphabetical order. (The book as a whole will contain between four and five hundred recipes in all.) Drinkology differs from most other bartending guides in that it is constructed to be used while mixing drinks. Its compact size, waterproof Kivar cover, and sewn binding mean that it can readily be used at the bar without fear of damage and that it will lie flat when opened - important attributes when one is consulting a recipe while tending bar.