*AD – the items in this review was gifted to our family for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.
Dann and I are a big Rupaul Drag Race fans, watching the series time and time again on WOW TV, where we have a subscription just to watch Drag Race after the series was removed from Netflix in the United Kingdom. When I heard there was a cocktail recipe book called Category Is: Cocktails, with Kim Chi on the front cover, I felt it was either going to be fantastic or terrible, with no in between.
Category is: Cocktails is a fantastic book for those who are a fan of Drag Race and a fan of fun drinks. None of the drinks within this book are classics with a little twist – all of them feel like very unique, tailed to each queen, cocktail. Most of these drinks do require at least one unique item, for those who don’t have a functioning cocktail bar in their home. This is worth noting if you are looking to try one of each, as they all feel like specialties!
Before you get into the cocktails, Category is: Cocktails has an introduction all about different performers and the reason for this book’s creation. A TV series that previously had different spirits sponsor it, really does pair well with a good drink. After the introduction, there is a short introduction to different equipment, glassware, ingredients, types of alcohol, garnishes, and common swaps for things. This introduction isn’t written in a boring way, so those that may already have a handle on drink making will still find it entertaining and those new will have a lot of useful information to help them make these specialty drinks.
Cocktail recipes are very short, and show up as a small portion of each of the two page spreads, making this book almost like a history of a bunch of drag queens! Each queen featured gets a two page spread, with the name of the queen on the left hand side, a small area showing the drink, then a well written history of the queen, including their time on whatever seasons of Drag Race or All Stars they were on. The ending of each paragraph tells you either how to drink the cocktail, tying it all together. On the other page, there is very stylish drawings of each queen along with their signature cocktail.
We made Peaches Christ’s Sex on the Peach, which was the easiest drink to create with our current stash of ingredients. It’s the only cocktail that’s sort of a twist on a classic, though it wasn’t that much of a twist beyond the name! The drink came out very fruity and delicious, though it’s worth noting this book has a variety of fruity, creamy, strong, and spiced different cocktails, including ones with actual kimchi in it! The drink felt easy to make and reading about Peaches Christ was also interesting – you do learn a lot!
I really like Category Is: Cocktails, and Dann instantly made a place for it on our very limited recipe book shelf, saying it is a must have for when we have a stocked mini-bar set up, especially with how fun the different drinks are.
You had me at cocktails, I do love trying new cocktails and these sound like fun named ones as well
I watch Drag Race every week. I’d love to pair it with some of these cocktails!
Well, this is fully awesome. Great cocktails always make an amazing time.
I love trying new cocktails…These are awesome, I would love to do them and to learn how to properly prepare cocktails.
I love drag race but haven’t watched the latest series for some reason, I need to get back into it as it’s so much fun. Gotta love a cocktail too x
What a fun book and recipes! This would be fun to make some cocktails that are creative. This is such a fun book, it would make for a great gift idea too.
I love RuPalul’s Drag Race too. The cocktail recipe book sounds great, lots of fun, and you’ve got to love a good cocktail night. It would be fun to have friends around to create these.
It sounds like the perfect combination of fun drinks and drag queen flair. I appreciate your honest review and can’t wait to try out .