Katsuo Uyeda's "Cocktail Techniques" Now In English

Every movement has seminal texts that educate and inspire its devotees. For cocktails, our collection spans from oldies (The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them) to the tomes of contemporary legends (The Essential Cocktail).

And there's one more we think deserves to enter the vault: Japanese bartender Katsuo Uyeda's Cocktail Techniques, now available in English thanks to Mud Puddle Books.

From his Tokyo bar, Tender, the 65 year-old barkeep has mastered the art of cocktails through traditional Japanese philosophy, giving special attention to technique and methodology.

Cocktail Techniques is an extension of that ethic; as its name suggests, the book focuses on process over ingredients and recipes. It's full of obsessive advice, such as the ideal angle at which to spray a lemon peel and how to employ Uyeda's famous "hard shake," so created to get the ideal aeration and texture within a drink (click here to watch a demonstration).

In no way beholden to current trends, Uyeda also praises the flamboyant effects of ingredients like blue Curaçao. Although the idea of neon-colored drinks may make American mixologists cringe, Uyeda's penchant for color in the City Coral cocktail (click here to download the recipe) won him first place in the All Nippon Bartenders Association Cocktail Competition.