In Ten Cocktails, The Times drinks columnist Alice Lascelles uses ten of her favourite cocktails to distil the stories, recipes and tips she has amassed in more than a decade in pursuit of the mixed drink. Join her as she dodges the washing lines of backstreet Havana in search of the perfect Daiquiri, scours the cocktail bars of Tokyo for the world's best ice carvers, harvests juniper in the hills of Umbria, goes sipping Sazeracs in New Orleans and unearths the mixological secrets of The Savoy.

What makes a G&T glow in the dark? Who threw the world's first cocktail party? Why does a Bloody Mary taste best at 35,000 feet? And what's the key to opening champagne with a sword?

By the time you finish Ten Cocktails you will have the answers to these questions and many more, as well as an armoury of cocktail recipes for every occasion, from convivial party-starters and lip-smacking sours to slow-stirred whiskey drinks and indulgent nightcaps.

Whether you've just forked out for your first shaker, or you've got your Martini mixing down to a tee, this book will have you thirsting to try new things come 6 o'clock.