Mitchell Beazley acquire insiders’ guide to drinking Straight Up

Mitchell Beazley is publishing an insiders’ guide to the world’s most interesting bars and drinking experiences in October.

Group publishing director Denise Bates acquired world rights to Straight Up: Where to Drink & What to Drink on Every Continent from Martine Carter at Sauce. The book will be published on 5th October 2017 by Mitchell Beazley in hardback, priced £16.99.

The book has been edited by fine spirits specialists Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley who have gathered a team of expert contributors, comprising "world-leading" bartenders and "locals in the know", to nose out 500 of what they consider the "most interesting and characterful" experiences and places where they would drink themselves. Drinking destinations include a tiny basement bar in Tokyo, classic hotel bars and an absinthe bar in Berlin.

The book also comprises additional features such "A day drinking in..." (with the perfect itinerary for a city visit), and articles on star bartenders and signature cocktails. A foreword is authored by award-winning "cocktail guru" Ryan Chetiyawardana.

Harrison and Ridley are the authors behind Distilled (Mitchell Beazley), which won the Fortnum & Mason award for Drinks Book of the Year in 2015. They are regular contributors to other publications such as Whisky Magazine, BBC Good Food and the Telegraph, and have featured on Channel 4’s "Sunday Brunch" and Channel 4’s new series "Tried and Tasted: The Ultimate Shopping List" with Michel Roux Jr. They also sit as judges for the World Whiskies Awards (where Ridley is chairman) and the IWSC International Wine & Spirits Competition (where Harrison is category Chairman). 

Bates said: "There could be no better guides than Joel and Neil when it comes to finding just the right bar for the right drink, wherever that may be in the world. Their taste is fantastic, their contacts superb and this is the ultimate insiders’ guide to drinking in style from Athens to Tasmania."

Harrison and Ridley commented: "We are delighted to be working with Mitchell Beazley again to follow up our award-winning debut book. Our new book is inspired by smiles and soundtracked by laughter, with a backdrop of the clinking of glasses and the chitter-chatter of conversation. It is a book rooted in hospitality, where the house pours are conviviality and cordiality. We hope it will take you to unexpected places with the only certainty being a great drinking experience."