gaz regan's Annual Manual for Bartenders will be the go-to book for professional bartenders worldwide.

The Joy of Mixology, regan's groundbreaking 2003 work, has become required reading for staff members at many of today's top cocktail lounges, and this new book is, in many ways, a sequel to that book.

The Annual Manual is directed specifically at working bartenders, not consumers, and this not only makes it stand apart from every other book in this genre, it also adds appeal directly to the men and women who actually hold forth from behind the mahogany. The Annual Manual is a book that bartenders can call their own.

Besides covering mixology and methodology essentials, regan also provides readers with in-depth lessons in bar philosophy in a section called The Mindful Bartender; he salutes a dozen "Fabulous Bartenders", details eight "Fabulous Innovators" in the industry, and provides recipes and commentary on the "101 Best New Cocktails" from bartenders all over the world.

Add to this the first part of regan's serialized autobiography, giving you a glimpse into the first 17 years of his life (yes, he has a story about the day he was born!), and you have a veritable compendium of a book, put together with love and kisses by a bartender, for bartenders.

If you're a bartender, your library isn't complete with this book.