The New Old Bar is a soft cover book subtitled Classic Cocktails and Salty Snack from The Hearty Boys Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith. This book is a collection of 200 classic recipes plus 25 small dishes to enjoy while you drink them. The dishes are "bowl-friendly" foods that do not require a folk. Steve and Dan operate the Hearty Boys catering business and Hearty Restaurant in Chicago. They won the first Next Food Network Star show and hosted the Food Network series Party Line with the Hearty Boys.
This book is devoted to all the pre-prohibition cocktails and is aimed at the everyday person. They explain the tools, ingredients, terminology and techniques needed for setting up a home bar. I loved the section on toasts that included curses, blessings and toasts about life and death. The basics talks about ingredients, juices, garnishes, bitters, simple syrup, eggs and ice.
Published by Agate Publishing- Evanston, Illinois at $19.95.
Reprinted with permission from The New Old Bar: Classic Cocktails and Salty Snacks from The Hearty Boys, by Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith, Agate Midway, November 2012.