The ‘great and the good’ of London’s burgeoning cocktail fraternity were out in force. Easily identified in their smart suit jackets and scruffy denims (weren’t many gaudy waistcoats), there was much mingling and glad handing and an awful lot of great cocktails.

The book comes in at 304 pages and is large enough to adorn any decent coffee table. It is bright, colourful and easy to read. WBC isn’t just about cocktail recipes. That would be boring. Sandham has authoritative sections on the history of the Martini, the classic Manhattan, the Speakeasy concept and all the major spirits categories. There are sections featuring bars such as Milk & Honey, PDT in New York, City Space, Moscow and bartenders such as Erik Lorincz at American Bar in the Savoy and Ago Perrone at the Connaught.

Sandham says in the book’s intro: “Fans of the mixed drink will know the cocktail culture is on the rise right now – in fact, it’s a global phenomenon and historic classics are creaking out of ancient books as modern mixing minds simultaneously embrace innovative ingredients.

“London and New York remain creative hotspots for this action, but other cities from Stockholm to Sydney and Bratislava to Berlin, are now providing inspiring imbibing terrain,” says Sandham.

It is a well put together, comprehensive book on cocktails as you might expect from one of bar scenes’ leading commentators.

Author: Tom Sandham

Publisher: Jacqui Small

Price: £30