Book Review: Winter Warmers

Disclosure: This is an honest review written based on my experience using this book to make cocktails. Although I was not compensated to write this review, this post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy here.

About The Book

Winter Warmers: 60 Cosy Cocktails for Autumn & Winter, written by Jassy Davis and illustrated by Sarah Ferone, is a 144-page recipe book that’s filled with sixty cocktails for autumn and winter, including originals and reshakes of classics.

The book is divided into two sections—an Introduction (with subsections for tools, techniques, simple syrup recipes, and DIY liqueurs) and The Recipes. All of the recipes are themed and organized by different parts of the season, beginning with early fall recipes and ending with ones perfect for New Year’s Eve.

Features:
• 60 classic cocktail recipes with ingredient lists, methods, and brief descriptions of or stories about each cocktail
• Artistic illustrations inspired by many of the cocktail recipes
• An introduction from the author
• A list of recommended equipment and glassware with descriptions of each
• 9 simple syrup recipes
• 5 homemade liqueur recipes
• A table of contents that outlines the starting pages for each section
• An index with cocktail names and ingredients for easy navigating

Pros

Here’s what I liked about this cocktail recipe book:

The cocktails are high caliber.
Although the point of this book is to share holiday recipes, not one of them was kitschy like a lot of the holiday ones you see on Pinterest. They were serious drinks that even those with more developed palates could enjoy. Take the Candy Cane Martini, for example. That one was really just an alcohol-forward cocktail that was tweaked to be slightly more festive with the addition of a candy cane rim (and it was fabulous, I might add).

Most of the recipes are single serving size.
Unlike another book I used to try holiday-themed cocktails that called for almost all batch serving sizes, this one’s recipes were for one or two imbibers at most. This was great for me because I only wanted to make one of each so I could find out if I liked them before making another.

There’s a good variety of recipes.
I thought there was a good mix of different types of cocktails—shaken, stirred, built, hot, cold, etc. There’s something for every mood and equipment repertoire.

The recipes are all tasty.
Every recipe I tried from this book was absolutely delicious and very unique, aside from one—the Let It Sloe. But I didn’t care for that one because I don’t like the taste of sloe gin.

The recipes appeal to a variety of skill levels.
Although there are a lot of simple recipes in this book, there were also several more involved ones, which makes it a great pick for beginners and more advanced bartenders alike.

Liqueur recipes are included.
Finding a recipe book that included homemade liqueur recipes was a first for me, and I thought that was a cool addition. I haven’t made any of them yet, but it was neat to read through them to learn how I could make my own liqueurs at home.

The copywriting is conversational.
The author of this book seems to be very knowledgeable and is a very good writer. Reading this book felt like I was sitting by a fire with her, chatting about cocktails. Plus, she quoted Archer (a favorite tv show of mine) in the Hot Peppermint Patty recipe’s description, so that earned her even more cool points from me.

There are illustrations weaved throughout the recipes.
The book is beautifully designed with illustrations of most of the drinks weaved between the recipes. I often used them as inspiration for the color palettes in my photos of the cocktails.

Cons

Here’s what I didn’t like as much about this cocktail recipe book:

There’s no photography.
The only downside of a book like this one that uses illustrations instead of photography is that it makes it hard to know if your cocktail looks correct once they’re made. I often found myself googling the drink before I photographed it to make sure it looked right, but that wasn’t possible for some of the originals, so I just had to cross my fingers and hope I made them correctly.

It was difficult to locate a few ingredients.
This happens with just about every recipe book I use, but some ingredients were impossible for me to find in western Wisconsin. When it did happen, I subbed in other ingredients, so it wasn’t a big deal. That’s just something to keep in mind if you don’t live in an area with major retailers.

The recipes are very seasonal.
This book features very seasonal recipes, so I’m not likely to reference it all year long like I do some of my others. I will dream about making them once the holidays roll around again though.

Who Should Buy This Book

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In my opinion, Winter Warmers: 60 Cosy Cocktails for Autumn & Winter by Jassy Davis is best for readers who:
• Love trying delicious holiday-themed cocktail recipes
• Want holiday recipes they can drink again and again during the season
• Enjoy cocktails that are served hot
• Are interested in learning more about making dessert-style cocktails

Over the last few years, I’ve tried holiday cocktails from several books, and this one is still hands-down my favorite. It truly is a wonderfully curated collection of holiday-themed recipes that will have you coming back for them when the holidays roll around again each year. And even though my former partner tended to forgo dessert drinks in general, which is what many of the recipes included in Winter Warmers are, he agreed that essentially all of them were delicious, respectable, and worth making again whether it was just for us or for family and friends at holiday parties.

Cocktails From This Book

These are the recipes I liked most from this cocktail book: