Review: Mrs. Lilien's Dessert Cocktail Swatch Book by Kelly Lilien

Received copy for review.
Publisher: Potter Style
Published: May 13, 2014
Amazon - Goodreads

From the author of Mrs. Lilien's Cocktail Swatchbook, Kelley Lilien presents 50 delicious recipes from the cocktail world's newest trend--dessert-inspired drinks--infused with her signature mix of well-mannered style and down-and-dirty indulgences.

Beautifully designed in an easy-to-use swatchbook, Mrs. Lilien's cocktails are pictorially represented in glossy four-color photographs. Simply fan the book out to your desired recipe, glance at the artfully arranged photos, and instantly know which ingredients and festive trimmings the cocktail requires. Organized by hot and cold after-dinner cocktails, and each recipe includes a bold bonus ingredient suggestion (rock candy swizzle sticks, anyone?), sure to surprise and delight.

Recipes Include:

COLD

Gin and Tonic Sorbet, Frozen Watermelon Poptail, Rum and Coke Float, So Co Snow Cone, Frozen Chocolate Whiskey Malt, Riesling Rhubarb Slushy, Lemon Sorbet Float, Champagne Jell-O Shots

HOT

Campfire Cordial, Hot Chai Bourbon Tea, Hot Buttered Rum, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Toasted Coco-Rum Steamers, Vanilla Bourbon Bon Bon, Ginger Tart Toddy, Spiked Peppermint Patty

I was immediately drawn in by the bright colors and cheerful design of Mrs. Lilien's Dessert Cocktail Swatch Book: Delicious Drinks With A Twist. I absolutely love how this recipe book is set up: like that title says, it's a swatch book. The pages are joined together by a sturdy peg in the corner and are able to fan out and then safely go back inside the cover. It looks just like a regular book because the pages fold inside the cover so you don't have to worry about them slipping out. It's great!

Mrs. Lilien's Dessert Cocktail Swatch Book has 100 recipes: 50 hot and 50 cold. Depending on the pattern on the beautifully color cards is how you can tell if a recipe is hot or cold. It's not only drinks that you can make, but there's also recipes for ice cream, popsicles and things like jello shots too! There's a cute legend in the beginning of the book that shows you what each symbol means so you'll be able to tell what type of dessert cocktail you'll be making.
All the recipes look delicious and I love that some are more seasonal; like the Mrs. Maple and Caramel Apple Cider would be perfect for Fall!

Each recipes shows pleasing photos of everything you need. The directions are clearly written at the bottom and there's even a little tip on the back of each card to make your creation extra special. The only thing I didn't like was that there was no pictures of the finished product. I thought, for me, instead of showing what special type of spoon or glass you could use that it would be more beneficial for me to see what the drink would look like in the end. 

I found that the ingredients are easy to find, I found everything I needed at Target! I'm not a huge fan of how any alcohol tastes (I just turned 21 in March so maybe I'll grow to like it) but I definitely think most of these recipes could be made without adding any alcohol and taste just as good!

I decided to try out two recipes from the book: one hot and one cold. The hot one is called Mrs. Campfire Cordial.

It's essentially hot chocolate, bourbon, graham crackers and marshmallows. The recipe called for a torch (for the marshmallows) but I didn't have one so I just plopped them on top. I had a little trouble getting the graham crackers to stay on the cups' rim since it was just hot chocolate holding them on. The recipe said it would make two, but I found it making more like one and a half. 

Honestly, I didn't like it and didn't finish it. However, it was the first time I've ever had bourbon and holy cow is that strong! 

I could see myself making this without the bourbon and using something else to stick the graham crackers on the rim with for next time and totally loving it. 

The second recipe I tried was called Mrs. Rum and Coke Float. 

I really liked this one! It was cool and refreshing with just a little punch because of the rum. I made one with rum and one without and they both tasted awesome! It was super easy to make and turned out looking pretty cute! The book suggested putting it in a soda fountain glass but I couldn't find one at the store so I just used a wine glass we already had at home. Whatever works, right? 

Mrs. Lilien's Desert Cocktail Swatch Book is super durable and is something that I see myself keeping always. It has a wide variety of fun and delicious drink options that will be delicious for years to come. It's perfect for making any number of drinks depending on the occasion. If you like cocktails I'd definitely recommend it. If you're not a huge fan of alcohol you can still make some of the drinks without it, but I wouldn't recommend it to the non-drinker.

*I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for a honest review. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.