The bartender, spirited author and bitters producer formerly known as Gary Regan now offers The Bartender’s Gin Compendium. Gaz regan has compiled pretty much everything you need to know about gin: history, distillation, styles, colorful stories and traditions, cocktails and more. Throughout the tome, Regan checks in with bartenders from pre- and post-1934, ranging from the venerable Jerry Thomas to bar stars of today including Naren Young, for their gin cocktail ruminations, rituals and recipes.
Regan is the cocktail columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle and the author of The Joy of Mixology and The Bartender’s Bible, and he co-authored with Mardee Haidin Regan The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys, The Bourbon Companion, The Martini Companion and New Classic Cocktails. Together with Mardee, he hosts the ArdentSpirits.com web site, publishes the ardent spirits e-mail newsletter (since 1999), and manages the Worldwide Bartender Database. Regan started working behind the bar in 1966 when he was 14 years old, has tended bar on and off ever since, and claims he has sucked back more gin than you’d ever dream possible.
The Bartender’s Gin Compendium is available from Ardent Spirits ($23.99 soft cover; $30.99 hard cover) via www.ardentspirits.com.