We here at Raising The Bar are shamelessly dedicated to helping you enjoy your nights out on the town and improving the drinks you pay for. We also believe knowledge is power, and the best place to start is with cocktail books.

The first cocktail book I ever saw belonged to my parents. I'm not sure how old I was, but doubt I'd hit puberty yet. Anyway, being fascinated with the secret world of adults and, more specifically, anything forbidden to me, I filched a cocktail book from the bar and daydreamed about knocking back all the cocktails with funky and exotic ingredients. There was the Adonis with orange bitters and sherry, the White Russian (which my mom loved) with something called Kahlua and, oooooh, a drink called (snicker) The Bosom Caresser.

That book was the classic Mr. Boston's Bartender's Guide, with the red cover and the engraved portrait of man in a top hat, presumably ol' Boston himself just itching to get you soused. It's perhaps the most ubiquitous cocktail book in the world. Look up the skirt of most bars in America and you're bound to find a Mr. Boston's that collecting dust, but ready to save a bartender's ass if a weird or forgotten drink is requested, as it has been doing for 73 years. In fact, that should be that book's tagline: Mr Boston's Deluxe Official Bartender's Guide ... Saving Bartender's Asses Since 1935.

Cocktail books aren't just for bartenders. There are wonderful books out there that shine a light on the darkened corners of cocktail history and, at their best, re-introduce delicious vintage recipes that had long ago been unfairly put out to pasture, just waiting for some geek like me to get thirsty enough to try them. Below is a list of books which do just that. Now, the list is far from comprehensive. The purists and the dorks (like me) will shout how no list is complete without Jerry Thomas, they'll pooh-pooh any library without Gary Regan, and insist one can only truly begin with the mythical (but out-of-print) Jones Guide or the storied tomes by David Embury or Ted Saucier. However, the six books listed below are, in my opinion, excellent places to begin, each with their own quirky merits:

1. The Craft of the Cocktail, by Dale DeGroff. The legendary bartender at the forefront of the recent cocktail renaissance, DeGroff's book has everything you need to get started. History, technique and, yes, classic recipes, over 500.

2. The Savoy Cocktail Book. You want the classics? Here's your book. Originally written in 1935 by Harry Craddock, The Savoy is one of the best old-timey cocktail books still in print.

3. Straight Up or on the Rocks, by William Grimes. Clearly the best book written on the history of the cocktail and how drinking is tied up with American history. Beloved by cocktail enthusiasts (I've read it more than once).

4. Esquire Drinks, by David Wondrich. One of our field's best authors, Wondrich is masterful and hilarious. The tagline reads "An Opionated & Irreverent Guide to Drinking" which is as perfect a summation as it gets.

5. The Ultimate Bar Book, by Mittie Hellmich. Ultimate may be pushing it, but this is a handy little book chock full of recipes (with great notes written regarding the iconic drinks) and is as well-presented as any book out there.

6. Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails, Ted Haigh. My personal favorite, this for when you really want to roll up the sleeves and get hardcore. Obscure ingredients, below-the-radar cocktails and a wonderfully concise back-story are the highlights.

(See Keith in action behind the bar at Union - 1400 First Avenue, Seattle, WA, 206-838-8000)

Previous Raising The Bar Columns:

• An Introduction
• The Old Fashioned
• Call Your Booze / The Manhattan
• Match the Drink to the Digs
• Rules to Drink By
• Safe Holiday Sipping
• Classic Holiday Drinks