WBUR Podcasts, Boston.

We really wanted to make sure that this was going to be the final cookbook that we ever make on cocktails.

So it's going to cover the entire gamut from people who have never shaken or stirred before to people who've done it for years.

And if you have done it for years, you will learn something more in this book.

Today's episode is News You Can Use to Booze. You'll learn how to make some great classic

cocktails and find out why James Bond was wrong about his martini.

Yeah. It's Friday, December 26th, and this is here and now anytime.

NPR and WBUR Boston.

I'm Chris Bentley.

I hope you had a nice Hanukkah or Christmas or both if you celebrate, but it's time to give the eggnog and the red wine a rest because today on the show we're talking cocktails.

Indira Lakshmanan got an invite to the bar at America's Test Kitchen where the author of a new

book, they're calling Cocktails Illustrated, lays out everything you need to know about making

great cocktails and why it's not as hard as you might think. In a few minutes, we're going to

hear how to make a perfect martini, why ice is so important in the perfect drink, and so much more.

But first, Indira is here with me now, and Indira, be honest, was this the best assignment you've gotten so far as

the new host of here and now? Pretty much awesome. Being paid to mix and drink drinks for a living.

It was pretty great. I believe it. Well, this book, it sounds great. I might check it out. It promises

something for people totally new to mixing their own cocktails, but also stuff

for people who already know their way around the bar. What's your cocktail background? Are you

into them already? Do you have a favorite drink? Probably the mohito and the Kaipardina.

Oh, nice. Yeah, I like the sort of light spirits, and I like that sort of tropical or citrus vibe.

As for my experience with cocktails, other than drinking them, I can't say I had that much.

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