# Tropical Standard (book)
**URL:** https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/tropical-standard-book/553
**Category:** Cocktails and mixed drinks
**Created:** [April 23, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/tropical-standard-book/553 "2023-04-23T15:18:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@martin](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/martin)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/tropical-standard-book/553/1 "2023-04-23T15:18:39Z")
_Tropical Standard_, by Garret Richard and Ben Schaffer is hitting the shelves. You can—and should—order it from the usual places. I am excited to have my advance copy, and I was one of the draft readers telling @ben everything he was doing wrong and generally driving him to question his life choices. (That’s the extent of my skin in the game, beyond being a fan, and Ben still seems to be talking to me, which is gracious of him.)
This book is interesting because:
- it focuses on new techniques for elevating mixed drinks that have been proven over the last decade of Garret Richard’s career
- these techniques are quite exciting, because they’re all **accessible** and **broadly applicable**
- it documents a big pile of Garret’s highly refined recipes that some of us have the pleasure of indulging in over the last decade—now others can make them, too!
- the book is kind of the sequel to Dave Arnold’s _Liquid Intelligence_ and documents some of the techniques developed at Existing Conditions
- it’s one of the rare intermediate-level cocktail books
I believe this is an important book, one of the most important of the year.
Topics explored:
- managing dilution, texture and aeration
- flash blending
- different ways 0f shaking drinks
- blending drinks (“frozen” drinks)
- did I mention _managing dilution_?
- use of shaved ice, creating using ice molds (ice shells and cones), lining glasses with ice
- tropicalizing stirred drinks
- infusions
- emulsification
- aromatics
- acid adjusting juices to perform like lemon and lime
- sugar adjusting ingredients (perhaps the most demanding topic in the book) to optimize sweetness, and yes, manage dilution
- creating useful syrups and cordials that build on the above
- applying all the above (example recipes)
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### Author:  [@Lukekini](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/Lukekini)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/tropical-standard-book/553/2 "2023-04-26T00:35:49Z")
I preordered it some time ago, both hardcover & electronic, so I always have it at my fingertips! Can’t Wait!
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### Author:  [@nateeagle](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/nateeagle)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2023, 1:18am UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/tropical-standard-book/553/3 "2023-04-26T01:18:14Z")
Pre-ordered! You had me at “intermediate level.” This looks great.
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### Author:  [@ben](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/ben)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2023, 4:15am UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/tropical-standard-book/553/4 "2023-04-26T04:15:49Z")
Martin, thanks for your succinct explanation of what it’s all about. And thanks to all for the support. We’d love to have everyone’s feedback when they’ve had a read.
Today Garret and I were the subject of the Imbibe podcast, where we also attempted to justify our existence. Paul, like Martin, managed to summarize it better than I’ve been doing.
> **[Episode 73: Rethinking Tropical Drinks With Garret Richard and Ben...](https://imbibemagazine.com/podcast/episode-73-rethinking-tropical-drinks-garret-richard-ben-schaffer/)**
>
> We chat with authors Garret Richard and Ben Schaffer about how techniques at cutting-edge bars can be used to boost tropical drinks.
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### Author:  [@JRCX](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/JRCX)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/tropical-standard-book/553/5 "2023-04-26T13:11:36Z")
Really looking forward to seeing this on my home screen of my iPhone & my coffee table! This book is long overdue, not more than a couple weeks away from May so I can finally dive in!