spirits of relationships past

Dating is hard, and mistakes happen. Whether it’s a bad date or a doomed relationship, we all need time to recover and means to heal. Pour Decisions is filled with cocktail and mocktail recipes that celebrate getting free from the bad choices and moving on. Whether you’re wanting to get the gang together to commiserate or you’re flying solo, there are 100 different drinks to help you remember all the reasons you’ve blocked that person from your phone.

Each chapter focuses on a different spirit, so if you have a favorite spirit, you can drink your way through the chapter. Or if you’d rather drink by the nature of your bad relationship, then you can jump around as you want. Did he want to be a star? Grab your mezcal and make an Aspiring Rapper/DJ. Was she a Gold Digger? Buy yourself some tequila. Was he a Mamma’s Boy? That rum drink with the coffee liqueur, chocolate liqueur, and heavy cream will be perfect. Or were you looking at a Land Mine? Then go all the way to whiskey to deal with that bomb of an ex.

The drinks vary from simple to complex. You don’t need an entire home bar to make these drinks, but you do need a handful of tools to get started. And if you’re worried about the expense of the alcohol, they offer up affordable brands that bring the flavor to help you out. A lot of these drinks include add-ins like fruit or cola, cream or herbs, as well as simple syrup (they include a recipe you can make yourself).

My biggest problem with this book is that there are lots of gorgeous photos throughout. It makes me want to drink so many things at once, which would not end well. But on the plus side, the chapter of mocktails look just as beautiful, and those come with fewer consequences for the next morning. But seriously, with 100 recipes, there is something for everyone, whether dealing with a Trauma Dump, a Terrible Texter, Mixed Signals, a Big Yikes, or Cling Wrap. And if you just can’t deal with any of it any more, there is always the Bare Minimum (a simple shot of vodka).

I thought that Pour Decisions was so charming. There is a wide variety of flavors, and the tie-ins to bad exes is clever. The recipes are accessible and can be scaled for a party, if you need to get the gang together to mourn the past or to celebrate the chance to move on. I love the creativity of Pour Decisions, the stylishness of these drinks, and the feeling of camaraderie with others who have had bad dating moments (even for the times the mistakes were my own).

Egalleys for Pour Decisions were provided by Cider Mill Press through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.