Where do you look for Mixed-Drink & Cocktail Recipes?
 

I'm curious what resources some of you use to locate Mixed-Drink & Cocktail Recipes?

Do you use the Web?
If so what sites do you find the most useful and why?

Do you go to the Book Store and buy a book?
What do you look for in a book?

Do you ask a Bartender or your local ABC store clerk?

I bartended for a number of years -- while that job was mostly pulling pints and making margaritas... I had the bartenders bible at my disposal.

The Old Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide, it gets updated yearly, (my old mr bostons guide is about 8 years old, and doesn't have a recipe for Cosmopolitans in it...)I think, but some of the older versions (you can usually find them at Yard sales) make for fun reading.

The web is also very useful for some trendy type drinks/

What to look for in a book? Recipes that you will use, with ingredients that are pretty easy to follow. I also like the books that tell you what glass the drink should be served in.

This is a nice "Barmixer-Tool", lots of recipes, and you can look up what drinks you can mix with the ingredients you got available

http://www.barback.com/

Barback 5.0 doesn't run on machines with 512MB of ram, and the 6.0 costs $40-$50 (electronic / CD) That's too much to spend just to find drink recipes, especially when they are free online, or just a few minute drive to the bookstore/library.

Anyone here actually forkout the $40 for Barback 6.0? Was it worth it?

www.webtender.com you can do the same thing but for free.

Give the Virtual Bar a try. www.thevirtualbar.com

I'll second webtender.com, one of the nice features is the "In My Bar" Basically you put in what you have in your bar, and it tells you what you can make, and can even find recipes that you may only be missing one item needed to make the cocktail.

Here's a web link that I've found useful on occasion:

http://www.cocktail.com/

It's got a pretty good search engine for the most common of bar delights. I agree (as usual) with mal's input on this:

" What to look for in a book? Recipes that you will use, with ingredients that are pretty easy to follow. I also like the books that tell you what glass the drink should be served in. "

Here's another one:
Sotally Tober
It, at least, has the best name. Also, I just went out and bought the Bartender's Bible. It's just plain handy to have around. Plus, it has interesting stories about drink origins and the process of making certains beers/spirits. Just make sure to get a copy with a spiral binding so you can lay it open on the counter top while experiemting.