When You’re Keyed In, It’s Less “Bar Guide” Than “Barguide”

The only — only — reason I haven’t pulled out Stan Jones’ Jones’ Complete Barguide before now is because it’s huge, and we have books stacked on top of each other in terribly inconvenient contortions, and so it’s been on the bottom of that stack.

That’s a mistake because it’s encyclopedic and incredibly useful. I like in particular the index that links individual ingredients to recipes. It’s less useful for “whiskey” but it’s very good for more obscure items: stuff like Fernet-Branca and Dubonnet. I haven’t delved too deeply into the first 200 pages (!) of single-space detail about all manner of drinkology, but it’s a great resource. Apparently the thing is out of print. The price tag on our copy is “$3.00.” I haven’t asked where it came from.

So I took advantage of that index to look up something to make with Fernet-Branca, and settled on a Fanciulli: Four parts bourbon, two parts sweet vermouth and one part Fernet-Branca. I did not make it “frappe style” in a “snow cone” type of built cocktail. It was a little Fernet-Brancatious, pretty bitter. I would try cutting the Fernet-Branca in half, just to try it.

[Googling]

Honestly, it’s a shame this thing is out of print; it’s really good. Strange in parts: unless I’m misreading what “variations” are, it appears like the two variations of some drinks are different in every way. And the layout is awesome: it’s like a 1970s dissertation. Love it.