Tis the season! With all the holiday festivities, surely parties are on our minds…how to impress guests and what fun drinks to bring to social gatherings. Luckily, this new book by Aaron Goldfarb is full of inspiration.

Gather Around Cocktails is all about celebrations and excuses to drink with friends with unique ideas that will surprise and impress a crowd for any festive occasion (including those days you didn’t even know were festive 😉). I feel like as I’ve gotten older, there seems to be fewer occasions for parties – people are always busy, or just have too many excuses to stay at home. So I really appreciate that this book encourages the opposite – get out of that slump, think outside the box, and really get excited about wowing your friends.

Moreso than recipes, the art of entertaining is really all about presentation and fun, and this is where this book really excels, with ideas ranging from classic infinity aged eggnogs (and even hipster vegan nogs made with avocado), to bolder ideas like Christmas tree infused punches, and even more creative ideas like Mardi Gras baby ice cubes and a gender reveal party cocktail that will turn either pink or blue.

The ideas are not just wacky left-field gimmicks, but are backed by practical advice – how to actually serve drinks in those quirky vessels you see on the Internet (chocolate bunnies, hallowed out pumpkins, popcorn container, plant pot, and more), plant safety, where to source equipment and props, and more.

I really love Aaron’s writing style (100% echo what I said in Hacking Whiskey). It’s super casual yet informative, very relatable, not at all stuffy, and most of all, his stories and analogies are hilarious – how often do you laugh out loud reading recipe books? Much thanks to W&P Design for the copy!