A soundtrack to mixing drinks, a how-to guide on infusing spirits and a compilation of 500 whiskies from around the world – we recommend a selection of spirits books for spring 2018.

We present our top spirits books for spring 2018

Click through the following pages to discover our selection of the top new spirits books to hit the shelves this season.

Have you read a new book that deserves a spot in our line-up? Let us know in the comments section below.

Looking for more? Here’s our winter 2017 new book selection for other recent spirits publications.

Batched & Bottled: Cocktails to make ahead by Max and Noel Venning

The duo behind acclaimed London cocktail bar Three Sheets, brothers Max and Noel Venning, have unveiled their first book dedicated to bottled cocktails.

Featuring 50 batched and bottled cocktail recipes, the book is a guide to pre-making drinks that can se served either over ice or left to mature for an hour, a month or even a year.

From Negronis and Manhattans to more complex concoctions, the recipes follow the seasons and range from simple, stir-through mixes, to more elaborate drinks that require kitchen prep.

Batched & Bottled is published by Quadrille and is available on Amazon from 3 May for £14.23.

Drinking Distilled: A User’s Manual by Jeffrey Morgenthaler

If you’re a cocktail beginner, look no further than this easy-reading introduction to drinking culture, spirits and cocktail-making from US bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler.

Novices will learn how to order a drink, how to drink with the boss, how to drink at the airport, and more. Besides covering the basics, the book also features 20 starter recipes ranging from a Dry Gin Martini to a Batched Old Fashioned.

Drinking Distilled is published by Vintage and is available on Amazon for £8.99.

The Gin Dictionary by David T. Smith

With more and more gin brands launching every week, it seems that consumers can’t get enough of the juniper spirit.

As the discerning drinker’s tipple of choice, gin expert David T. Smith has created a guide to the spirit, combining everything from history, ingredients and distilling techniques to flavour notes, cocktails and the many varieties of gin around the world.

The Gin Dictionary is published by Octopus Publishing Group and is available on Amazon for £15.

Booze & Vinyl: A Spirited Guide to Great Music and Mixed Drinks by Andre and Tenaya Darlington

From modern cocktails to old standbys, prepare to shake, stir and pour your way along to some classic tunes.

Organised by mood, genres range from rock to chill, and dance to seduce. Each entry has liner notes that underscore the album’s musical highlights and accompanying cocktail recipes designed to complement the music’s mood, imagery in the lyrics, or connect the drink to the artist.

Among the 70 featured albums are: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club, Purple Rain, Sticky Fingers, Born To Run, License to Ill, Appetite for Destruction, Thriller, Like a Virgin, and many more.

Booze & Vinyl: A Spirited Guide to Great Music and Mixed Drinks is published by Running Press Adult and is available on Amazon for £18.99.  

Session Cocktails: Low-Alcohol Drinks for Any Occasion by Dew Lazor

A growing trend for healthy living and reduced alcohol consumption is continuing to drive sales of low-abv drinks. For those interested in the trend, why not try this book dedicated to low-proof cocktails?

Driven by a renewed interest in apéritifs and the increasing availability of liqueurs and amaro in the US, Session Cocktails explores this trend through the history and evolution of low-abv drinks, tips on building a low-abv bar, and 65 recipes appropriate for occasions ranging from brunch to the end of the night, with input from some of the industry’s leading mixologists.

Session Cocktails is published by Ten Speed Press and is available on Amazon for £14.99.

Great Whiskies: 500 of the Best from Around the World by Charles Maclean

Featuring 500 whiskies from 23 countries, Great Whiskies is the perfect guide for any whisky connoisseur. Looking across single malts, blended malts, corn and rye whiskies, each whisky-producing region has been covered by a specialist, with detailed tasting notes to help you choose your ideal tipple.

The book also includes distillery information about each of the 500-plus whiskies, as well as 24 brand new expressions exclusive to this edition.

Great Whiskies is published by DK and is available on Amazon for £9.99.

Infused Booze by Kathy Kordalis

Learn all about infused booze and how to enhance cocktails with this simple how-to guide on infusing your own spirits.

Most infusions take just 10 minutes to prepare and are ready to drink in just three days, according to Kordalis. Best of all, Kordalis has included a bespoke cocktail for each recipe, to make sure you get the most out of your flavoured creations.

Infused Booze is published by Hardie Grant and available on Amazon from 3 May for £12.99.