Felten's /How's Your Drink?/ is a pleasurable, although at times mildly disjointed stroll through the world of cocktails and their history. Many of the transitions are well done, but a few are along the lines of, "Speaking of horses, did I tell you that I got a haircut the other day?" Though those few abrupt changes of topic serve to startle the reader, it is very easy to get fully engaged once again in the new topic at hand. The topics slide from presidents to fashionable clubs to the history of a brand of rum to the symbolism inherent in a literary character ordering a specific drink, providing a varied and highly interesting history of the drink recipes presented. Coming in at just under 200 pages, it's a quick and (mostly) well-written read.

The recipes provided are nice punctuation marks to the stories surrounding them. Perhaps the best recipes are the ones where Felten demonstrates that the drink should be made to the cocktailian's taste, such as with the old-fashioned when he proclaims, "Garnish with orange and cherry (or don't) and the other lemon peel." Beyond that, though, they offer nothing especially spectacular, and that's a good thing. Like the bitters cutting through a slightly sweet cocktail, the recipes provide a reasonable balance, answering the question just in time, as you read and wonder how to make the delicious concoction described.

Great little book! Informative and entertaining. The historical and literary anecdotes will appeal to the history buffs, that like to imbibe.

Excellent compilation of Felten's articles on the world of cocktails. He gets it right, even though he recommends a salad item in Martini's, contrary to the advice of an almost Supreme Court Justice.

Eric Felten's "How's Your Drink? Cocktails, Culture and the the Art of Drinking Well" is well-researched, well-written and a fun read. It's not a long book, and some of the material is recognizable from his excellent weekly column in the Wall Street Journal, but that doesn't diminish the effectiveness of the anecdotes, recipes, and historical context of the drinks. The cultural references don't ingnore the politics or politicians of the times; in fact, I found those moments to be among the book's best.

As the cocktail enjoys a well deserved resurgence, this new generation is quite fortunate indeed to have a guide in Eric Felten, and a guide book that is as fascinating as it is informative.

Make no mistakes -- this is no dry reference manual. Felten has an easy writing style and a marked ability to elevate the mixed drink to the level of literature while at the same time making his smart insight approachable to all. Even teetotalers will enjoy reading this rich look at our cultural history that provides insight into the culture of prohibition as well as the modern aesthetic that gave birth to the Appletini.

How's Your Drink is a literary work that will surely impact the way in which the cocktail is appreciated. In a world polluted with Martini's that are nothing of the kind, and sugary concoctions designed more for shock value than taste, Felton's book offers a smart, witty, and incisive insight into the culture of the cocktail.

I've been reading and enjoying Felten's WSJ column since it began, so I was primed to enjoy this book. But I have to say that the book exceeded my already high expectations. Felten has done a brilliant job of weaving together stories about cocktail culture into a wonderfully absorbing whole. This is an even richer book--funnier, more thoughtful, more erudite--than you might think just from reading the WSJ columns. This is not only a great book about cocktails, but also a great book of American miscellanea seen, as the cool little half-dustjacket has it, through the prism of a glass.

I have read hundreds of books on Drink (and much to my wife's dismay, have most of them in my library). Every so often, you find a good book on mixing drinks, but most are soulless compendiums of recipes from other books and endlessly repetitive with little insight or inspiration. Other times, you find a good book on the history of one type of libation or another, other times again one finds a social history. Almost never does one find all these elements in one book in equal measure. This is that almost never book.
Eric Felten combines all these elements with style, prose, twists and a wry sense of humor and insight into almost every element (or should I say cocktail) and makes each one a delight in the immediate sense and food for thought and experimentation for later. Not only does it supply a wonderful palette of cocktail recipes, but great stories to go with them and clues for research after it - be it the book or a party, is all over.
A must read for any serious Cocktailian or student of drink.