Last Call: Bartenders on Their Final Drink and the Wisdom and Rituals of Closing Time

by

Last Call: Bartenders on Their Final Drink and the Wisdom and Rituals of Closing Time

(Publisher’s Review) From the James Beard Award-winning author of Bitters and Amaro comes this poignant, funny, and often elegiac exploration of the question, What is the last thing you’d want to drink before you die?, with bartender profiles, portraits, and cocktail recipes.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE!

Everyone knows the parlor game question asked of every chef and food personality in countless interviews: What is the last meal you’d want to eat before you die? But what does it look like when you pose the question to bartenders? In Last Call, James Beard Award-winning author Brad Thomas Parsons gathers the intriguing responses from a diverse range of bartenders around the country, including Guido Martelli at the Palizzi Social Club in Philadelphia (he chooses an extra-dry Martini), Joseph Stinchcomb at Saint Leo in Oxford, Mississippi (he picks the Last Word, a pre-Prohibition-era cocktail that’s now a cult favorite), and Natasha David at Nitecap in New York City (she would be sipping an extra-salty Margarita). The resulting interviews and essays reveal a personal portrait of some of the country’s top bartenders and their favorite drinks, while over 40 cocktail recipes and stunning photography make this a keepsake for barflies and cocktail enthusiasts of all stripes.

Praise for Last Call

“It comes off as charming, in large part thanks to Mr. Parsons’s understated and often witty writing. From this simple idea, Mr. Parsons has assembled a collection of interviews that touch not only on last drinks, but also reflect knowingly on bar culture, regulars and much more. ...It’s a worthy read, and makes the idea of ‘closing time’ seem rather more poignant.”—The Wall Street Journal

“This book is brimming with great recipes, but Last Call reminds us, with intimacy and warmth, that stories and the people who tell them are the very best portion of bar life.”—Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking with Men

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Ten Speed Press (October 22, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0399582762

ISBN-13: 978-0399582769