Unvarnished
A Gimlet-Eyed Look at Life Behind the Bar
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Narrated by:
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Eric Alperin
About this listen
A Kitchen Confidential for the cocktail profession, Unvarnished is a fly-on-the-wall narrative peek at the joys, pains, and peculiarities of life "behind the stick."
When it opened a decade ago, the acclaimed Los Angeles speakeasy The Varnish - owned, designed, and managed by award-winning cocktail aficionado Eric Alperin - quickly became the stylish standard bearer for modern bars. Unvarnished is a candid, voice-driven, no-holds-barred look at the workings of a bar, and the foundation of The Varnish’s success: attention to hospitality and an abiding belief in the nobility of service.
Alperin and veteran bartender and writer Deborah Stoll push back against the prevailing conceit that working in the service industry is something people do because they failed at another career. They offer fascinating meditations on ice as the bartender’s flame; the good, the bad, and the sad parts of vice; one’s duty to their community as a local; the obsessive, compulsive deliberations of building a bar (size matters); lessons from Sasha Petraske - Eric’s late partner, mentor, and the forefather of the modern day classic cocktail renaissance - and the top 10 reasons not to date a bartender. At the book’s center are the 100 recipes a young Jedi bartender must know before their first shift at The Varnish, along with examples of building drinks by the round, how to Mr. Potato Head cocktails, and what questions to ask when crafting a Bartender’s Choice.
A sexy, gritty, honest look at the glamour-less work of a glamorous job, written with the intimate honesty of The Tender Bar, the debauched inside view of Kitchen Confidential, and the social commentary of Waiter Rant, Unvarnished will take its place among these classics of the service set.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Eric Alperin and Deborah Stoll (P)2020 HarperAudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar
- By: David Wondrich
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The first edition, published in 2007, won a James Beard Award. Now updated with newly discovered recipes and historical information, this updated edition includes the origins of the first American drink, the mint julep (which Wondrich places before the American Revolution) and those of the cocktail itself. It also provides more detail about 19th-century spirits, many new and colorful anecdotes and details about Thomas' life, and a number of particularly notable, delicious, and influential cocktails not covered in the original edition.
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Interesting history, but needs recipies
- By E. Atkinson on 03-02-20
By: David Wondrich
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Life, on the Line
- A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat
- By: Grant Achatz, Nick Kokonas
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2007 chef Grant Achatz seemingly had it made. He had been named one of the best new chefs in America by Food & Wine in 2002, received the James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef of the Year Award in 2003, and in 2005 he and Nick Kokonas opened the conceptually radical restaurant Alinea, which was named Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet magazine. Then, Achatz was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma - tongue cancer.
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A Tasteless World?
- By Exec. Chef 'Special K' on 03-18-14
By: Grant Achatz, and others
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Hotbox
- Inside Catering, the Food World's Riskiest Business
- By: Matt Lee, Ted Lee
- Narrated by: Matt Lee, Ted Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Matt Lee and Ted Lee take on the competitive, wild world of high-end catering, exposing the secrets of a food business few home cooks or restaurant chefs ever experience.
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Needs to be a series!
- By Sallyterra on 04-27-19
By: Matt Lee, and others
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A Taste of Sage
- A Novel
- By: Yaffa S. Santos
- Narrated by: Inés del Castillo, Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Lumi Santana is a chef with the gift of synesthesia - she can perceive a person’s emotions just by tasting their cooking. Despite being raised by a single mother who taught her that dreams and true love were silly fairy tales, she decides to take a chance and puts her heart and savings into opening a fusion restaurant in Inwood, Manhattan. The restaurant offers a mix of the Dominican cuisine she grew up with and other world cuisines that have been a source of culinary inspiration to her.
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Great summer read!
- By David S on 05-21-20
By: Yaffa S. Santos
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I Am Not Myself These Days
- A Memoir
- By: Josh Kilmer-Purcell
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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I Am Not Myself These Days follows a glittering journey through Manhattan's dark underbelly---a shocking and surreal world where alter egos reign and subsist (barely) on dark wit and chemicals...a tragic romantic comedy where one begins by rooting for the survival of the relationship and ends by hoping someone simply survives.
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depressing
- By Barry Morrison on 08-02-16
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Hot Mess
- By: Emily Belden
- Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Twenty-something Allie Simon is used to playing by the rules - until Chicago's most sought-after, up-and-coming culinary genius, Benji Zane, walks into her world and pulls her into his. The only thing more renowned than Benji's mouthwatering masterpieces and equally luscious good looks? His struggle with addiction and his reckless tendency to live life on the edge, no matter the havoc he wreaks along the way. But loving someone means supporting him no matter what, or so Allie tells herself.
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Just finished...
- By Joanne Cunningham on 01-08-19
By: Emily Belden
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Out East
- Memoir of a Montauk Summer
- By: John Glynn
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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They call Montauk the end of the world, a spit of land jutting into the Atlantic. The house was a ramshackle split-level set on a hill, and each summer 31 people would sleep between its thin walls and shag carpets. Against the moonlight the house's octagonal roof resembled a bee's nest. It was dubbed The Hive. In 2013, John Glynn joined the share house. Packing his duffel for that first Memorial Day weekend, he prayed for clarity. At 27, he was crippled by an all-encompassing loneliness, a feeling he had carried in his heart for as long as he could remember.
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Pregame, pregame, pregame
- By Ketster on 06-27-19
By: John Glynn
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Flipped for Murder
- Country Store Mystery Series #1
- By: Maddie Day
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Nursing a broken heart, Robbie Jordan is trading in her life on the West Coast for the rolling hills of Southern Indiana. After paying a visit to her Aunt Adele, she fell in love with the tiny town of South Lick. And when she spots a "for sale" sign on a rundown country store, she decides to snap it up and put her skills as a cook and a carpenter to use. Everyone in town shows up for the grand reopening of Pans 'n Pancakes, but when the mayor's disagreeable assistant is found dead, Robbie realizes that not all press is good press.
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Distracting
- By Lola on 04-18-16
By: Maddie Day
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On What Grounds
- By: Cleo Coyle
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Clare Cosi used to manage the historic Village Blend coffeehouse…until she opted for quieter pastures and a more suburban life. But after ten years and a little friendly cajoling from the owner (a fresh pot of Jamaican Blue Mountain was all it took), she's back to the grind. With a sprawling rent-free apartment directly above the Village Blend, her cat Java by her side, and plenty of coffeehouse redecorating ideas, Clare is thrilled to return to work. Until she discovers the assistant manager unconscious in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere.
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Stands out
- By Pam on 06-07-13
By: Cleo Coyle
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Plantation Shudders
- A Cajun Country Mystery, Book 1
- By: Ellen Byron
- Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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It's the end of the summer and prodigal daughter Maggie Crozat has returned home to her family's plantation-turned-bed-and-breakfast in Louisiana. The Crozats have an inn full of guests for the local food festival. But when the elderly couple keels over dead within minutes of each other - one from very unnatural causes - Maggie and her family suddenly become suspects in a murder.
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Unimpressed.
- By shannon on 10-04-16
By: Ellen Byron
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Just Add Magic
- Just Add Magic Series, Book 1
- By: Cindy Callaghan
- Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky
- Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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When Kelly Quinn and her two BFFs discover a dusty old cookbook while cleaning out the attic, the girls decide to try a few of the mysterious and supposedly magical recipes that are inside. To their surprise, the Keep 'Em Quiet Cobbler actually silences Kelly's pesky little brother and the Hexberry Tart puts a curse on mean girl Charlotte. Is it possible that the recipes really are magic? Who wrote them and where did they come from? And most importantly of all, when boys get involved, what kind of trouble are the girls stirring up for themselves?
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A fun story with a pinch of magic
- By Jennifer C. on 09-22-22
By: Cindy Callaghan
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The Midwest Survival Guide
- How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink, and Eat... Everything with Ranch
- By: Charlie Berens
- Narrated by: Charlie Berens
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you ever had a goodbye lasting more than four hours? Do you lack the emotional capacity to say “I love you” so you just tell your loved ones to “watch out for deer”? Have you apologized to a stranger because she stepped on your foot? If you answered yes to any of these questions, there’s a good chance you’re a Midwesterner - or a Midwesterner at heart.
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Perfect for the Long Drive to WI
- By Amazon Customer on 01-24-22
By: Charlie Berens
What listeners say about Unvarnished
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Matthew macias
- 03-19-24
Not your average mixologist book
I enjoy how the author does not just read recipes. Instead he speaks on his journey through the lifestyle of bartending and owning his own bar.
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- Brian T
- 07-14-23
One of the most accurate accounts of being behind a bar
I have spent more than 25 years behind a bar. Working in fine dining, all the way down to dive bars… this book, this author and his first hand account; anyone who has done this and has a S/O that just doesn’t understand should recommend this read.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Benjamin
- 06-25-20
Audio Gold!
This is a wonderful telling of life in front, behind, and beyond the bar. Read by the author, it is endearing and surprisingly adventurous, with a candor that reveals fascinating details about what went into delivering one of the most exquisite nightlife experiences in this lifetime. It describes hospitality taken to the level of art, and is rendered with the humility and civility of a present day gentlemen with all his strengths and vulnerabilities. A fine book suitable for all, and especially valuable to young social and service oriented entrepreneurs.
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- Jonathan Sandler
- 08-03-21
Great listen
Highly recommend listening to Eric Alperin’s reading of Unvarnished. Hearing the recipes and stories directly from the man himself lends another layer to an already fascinating tale of LA bar BTS. Lots of fun insider tips and tricks that anyone can use or just enjoy. Kinda like being at the bar again after lockdown.
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- Jacob L Robbins
- 10-12-24
Moving, Real, and Truth
I have 30+ years in customer service with 22 years of hospitality behind the bar. This story was amazingly infallible. The accurate description of a bartenders modus operandi, brought forth emotions which briefly leaked from my eyes. Those tears had a BAC all to themselves.
A MR, Potato Head & a copy of this book is a must have to any seasoned or novice bartender. To seriously be reminded or reconfirm ones commitment to service to ours. Add it to your shelf ASAP.
Thank you!
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